Andrew - Latest Comments in idea: a machine that eats dirt and prints roads

Re: idea: a machine that eats dirt and prints roads

Hadley Wickham — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 22:58:09 -0000

See http://www.youtube.com/watc... for the complete set up ;)

Re: idea: a machine that eats dirt and prints roads

ph0rque — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 16:51:50 -0000

I don't think it would need to be larger than a bus/RV... there would be little pressure needed, because of the high temperature of the freshly-printed road; the plasma torch itself wouldn't need to be very large (http://science.howstuffwork...

Re: idea: a machine that eats dirt and prints roads

Ilya Shindyapin — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 16:47:50 -0000

How huge would it be to be able to: 1. lay and press all the layers, 2. generate the 15,000 C plasma to fuse together the materials?

Here is someone who patented the "Rapid Road Repair Vehicle"
http://www.sandia.gov/media...
"Under ideal conditions [..] the vehicle could possibly patch roads at up to 35 miles per hour [...] [u]sually, however, [...] it [will be] moving at 10-15 mph"

BTW, are we supposed to have flying cars already? Then we wont need much roads...

Re: idea: a machine that eats dirt and prints roads

ph0rque — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 16:31:33 -0000

Hmmm.... good point. The machine could emulate gravel by "printing" several layers, with the first layers being more dense.

Re: idea: a machine that eats dirt and prints roads

Tim — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 16:26:42 -0000

the challenge would be to make this machine lay down all the necessary levels, mandated by whoever mandates these things. (i picture a guy in khakis and a pressed shirt, with a big yellow helmet and safety glasses, looking at a half-rolled-up blueprint and pointing to some object behind the camera).

examples: http://en.wikipedia.org/wik... and http://en.wikipedia.org/wik...