Which imported part should a printer-replicating shop learn to make first?
research/selfrep-learnfirst
Which imported printer part to learn to make first (stylised, assumed inputs): by mass or cost the NEMA17 motor (+22 and +26 points of closure, first in 90% and 76% of draws with masses and costs scaled 0.5x to 2x), by unit count the M8 nut; by lines every vitamin ties.
What it found
A stylised, preliminary ranking of the 29 parts the printer + router + laser shop of selfrep-closure still imports, by the closure gained if that one part became makeable (free and certain, so an upper bound). By mass or cost the NEMA17 stepper motor is first (+22 and +26 points) and stays first in 90% and 76% of 2,000 draws with every assumed mass and cost scaled 0.5× to 2×; by unit count the M8 nut leads, and by distinct lines every vitamin ties. Three lines buy +52 points of cost closure but +39 of mass. Masses, costs and makers are assumed; difficulty of learning is not modelled.
A figure from its own output
Paper, code and results
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Produced with AI assistance (Claude). Results are from the code in this repository and are simulated or stylised unless the abstract says otherwise; nothing here implies affiliation with or endorsement by any lab, researcher or company cited. MIT licensed.