Help! Ok so we were at the MIT museum and while walking around behind the scenes, I saw this machine. There’s a plaque above the says “100 R&D presented to MIT for 3d printing process and machine” 1994.
From what I can tell, looks like a power ink jet printer. According to near by sources it’s much older than 94 and has been developed earlier but has been worked on for several years during those times. Also maybe the first “z-corp” color 3d printer according to rumors around the place.
Very interesting. I wonder how many different mechanisms in this printer are currently patented, and if we can verify its dating to open up the possibilities of those patents being invalid.
It’s the patents. Fact is, humans are enthusiastic about the things they love. These inventions and their investment would come about regardless of “protections”.
Just about everything in the modern patent system is broken. In the old days, people paid money to the King in exchange for exclusive sales rights, now companies pay to get exclusive sales rights via patents, just the money no longer goes to the King. Are ideas invented or discovered? It seems absurd that anyone can “own” an idea. http://en.swpat.org/wiki/Studies_on_economics_and_innovation
