http://www.playfuls.com/news_005301_Scientist_Fabbers_May_Be_Home_Staples.html
…called the ‘Fabber’ or what some of us would call a ‘Replicator’ (Star-Trek type). Indeed, this endeavor must rank among the top ten most worthy science projects around! (Meaning, “I want one!”)
Questions: Will this fabbing contraption re-cycle stuff and be energy-efficient? Will it promote earth-life sustainability? Will it require cold-fusion capability to operate? Will it cause shopping to become obsolete? Will it serve “Earl Grey, hot”?
Have you seen RepRap. It’s an Open Source project to make a fabber, and it’s already pretty along. Check it out. They have a great website and some interesting code for the firmware and they’ve released a lot on Sourceforge.