Simultaneous prototyping across scales
This topic is beyond atomically precise manufacturing.
It is about digital control over matter and how progress towards it can be made
given the current (and changing) constraints in manufacturing capabilities and costs.
Working around the current limitations wherever possible
Limits in manufacturability and rises in price come with:
- smaller scales
- better materials (metals instead of plastics, and eventually the still unreachable nanoscale gemstones)
The idea is to work at both …
- the production of the base parts and
- the means for assembly of the base parts
… in parallel. At the scales that are currently accessible.
This seems to be the approach that the Center of Bits and Atoms at MIT is taking.
Caveats
Some cheap manufacturing techniques come with quite stringent design constraints.
Like e.g. cutting and folding is operating on 2D materials only.
Yes, no question, one can do absolutely amazing things with just cutting and folding.
Nonetheless if the base materials is not restricted to 2D the design space is much bigger.
Due to that prototypes adhering to these design constraints are likely to
need a radical redesigned (if they not need to be ditched all-together) once
new manufacturing methods become available that no longer feature these constraints.
More concretely in the context of mechanosyntheiszed crystolecules as buildin blocks:
One would likely not use piezomechanosynthesis to make slot-together sheet material structures.
Well, ok, one could. But there are likely much more optimal solutions.
E.g. A slot-in crosshatched grid made from sheet material stripes is quite weak against shearing unless the material is very thick.
Hmm … one could add grooves to counter an other undesired DOF in slot-together structures … food for thought …
