RepRap: Blog

Nicely done. Working microscale flexures and joints are a big step forward. Maybe sometime in the future you could try a joint rotating around a fixed vertical shaft. From there gears, then a shaft in a sleeve bearing and you could maybe get to a "push-pull" NAND gate. There are many and varied macroscale "LEGO NAND gate" designs on the Internet.
 

Exactly. Rod logic. Or even sheet logic as the Germans pioneered at the start of WW2. This will come in handy because it will allow an existing 3 Axis RepRapMicron to signal instructions into a mechanical logic controller that drives the smaller scale RepRapMicron. Saves having to invent really small motors at this point and gives digital precision.
 

Personally, I think nanoscale computing will probably be vast arrays of mechanical diamond NAND gates - but you doubtless already know that - DiamondAge and all. I also think that nanoscale constructors will probably consist of vast arrays of simple assembly machines all driven by "line shaft" style power sources and fed by simple channels of "pusher rods" which move the source material along.

Sigh, so, so, so many cool things. I am really going to have to get off my ass and devote more time to the FPath Project so that maybe I can contribute a bit.