Chapter 36 Making the 3D Printer

Hax watched the 3D printer come into being. It's been more than two weeks, and the progress was quite satisfactory now that more manufacturing bots came and helped.

Like a normal 3D printer, this one was no different in shape. It looked like a huge box with all kinds of cables and machinery inside it.

Two manufacturing bots were currently working on their printer bed. This square-looking stage was where the object would be printed. The size of this printer bed alone was enough for five wagons, pulled by four bulls, to fit in it.

Hax had done the complicated part such as configuring the motherboard and setting up the display screen. There were still other parts that he needed to do later. For now, Hax let the bots do their work.

After the bots finished working on the printer bed, they moved to get some parts from the muscled men and worked on the frame. This frame would hold the extruder. This was one of the essential components in a 3D printer, because it was responsible for drawing, melting, and pushing the materials. Normally, a 3D printer would use a filament to print something. This was the perfect material as the filament was a plastic that melt rather than burn when heated, but his advanced 3D printer could melt iron, steel, and any other metal.

Naturally, this used a lot of energy. The harder it took to melt the material, the more energy was consumed.

Gorre stood beside him with an orange juice. "I can't believe something like this exists. It's so… SCIENTIFIC!"

"You'll see what science could truly do in the future. This is just the beginning," Hax said.

"Science," Gorre said, seemingly deep in thought. "We norm isn't so useless after all. With science, we have a role and a place in this world."

"Are you interested in learning more about science?"

"If that means I can make cool robots and weapons then hell yeah!"

"It will be hard."

"I know. I've been studying with the kid a lot. That kid is smart. Where did you find her?"

"In a cave, just like you."

"Haha, I know it. Living in a cave makes people smarter. I should share this method with other people."

"I'm kidding," Hax said. He didn't want the norm to have a mass conversion into a caveman.

"Hey, what's that pointy thing?" Gorre pointed towards the nozzle.

"That's the part where the melted materials will come out. It conducts the thermal energy provided by the heating cartridges to the materials to keep it from melting."

"And what's that spinning thing?"

"That's the cooling fan. It prevents the heat from melting the nozzle."

"Cooling fan? What do you mean?"

"It produces cool air."

"Then why the hell is your workshop so hot? It's already hard enough to study the materials you gave, combine that with hot and humid air, and you could kill a man."

"The ventilation holes aren't enough for you?"

"Of course not. Even my cave has better ventilation."

"You could always study in the shooting field or any other building. You can even study in the forest if you want."

"Your workshop is the only place where I can look at the physical parts and compare them with the drawings. It's easier to learn because of that."

Hax considered the suggestion. Installing the cooling fans inside the workshop seemed like a good idea. He would think about that later.

As the manufacturing bots finished the frame, Hax proceeded to make the power supply for it. How big was a power supply needed to power a building-sized 3D printer? Really big! The blueprint showed that the power supply was so big that four wagons, without the bull, could be stacked upon each other inside it.

As six manufacturing bots floated around him, churning out the electronic parts necessary, Gorre followed from behind and observed. Because the electronic parts for the power supply were too big, the bots had to churn them by parts and then assemble them. It took quite a time for six bots to do the work, but there were no more bots for Hax to call, so he had to make do with them.

Hax explained each part and what their functions were to Gorre. The list of parts such as voltage-capacitors, transistors, rectifier, filter, and a large number of diodes made him dizzy.

Hax didn't expect him to learn it immediately. Even he had to study the blueprint for a while to understand it.

"What are those yellow lines on the board?" Gorre asked.

"Those are the copper metal traces that carry the electric signals. Without those lines this board is useless."

"What does it do exactly?"

"It sends signals and tells each part what to do."

"Wow, so they kinda talk to these parts?"

"Precisely."

Hax worked on the power supply for a few more days. The bots had helped him greatly. There was no way he could finish it in a matter of days without them. Ratha also joined in and observed what he was doing after she finished her study.

Both of them asked what each part did, and why it was necessary. Hax explained them with as many details as possible. The questions helped him more in understanding the machine and its workings. Having more brains, even though not as capable, was very useful.

After Hax installed the fan, connectors, and power plug, he ordered the bots to cover them with a thin sheet of iron.

He needed two of these power supplies. One for powering the printer, and one for the melting machine. Using one power supply to power both of these machines would be impossible.

"And it's done," Hax said. A bot came and wiped his sweat with a white cloth.

"It's so big."

Gorre nodded. "That's what she said."

Hax asked for someone to bring him a chair. Ratha and Gorre pleaded to have one too. After they sat down with a small round wooden table beside them, a server gave them their drink of choice.

"Ah, I really like this cold orange juice. It's amazing how this small block called ice could make something taste so good. How do they make them anyway?" Gorre asked.

Hax also got curious. He never saw a refrigerator in this world, so that was impossible.

"They collect the ice from the top of the mountains," Ratha said. "Because the mountaintop is cold, it freezes water and it becomes this ice block. There's also a building called Glacies Pit that could make ice."

Hax smiled and sipped his drink. Norm was truly creative. The two methods mentioned by Ratha were either very hard or took a very long time to do. This meant the drink they enjoyed now was very expensive.

He could make a refrigerator if he created the refrigerant. It was a substance in the form of liquid that absorb heat in its surroundings. If he put them in a small box and circulate them with a fan, the temperature inside the box would cool and everything inside would be cold, just like a fridge.

Hax couldn't make the refrigerant without the right knowledge. So it was impossible for now.

"That's interesting," Gorre said. "Anyway, I've been wanting to ask. What is this giant structure for? You said it was a printer? And it can make stuff quick?"

"You know my manufacturing bots can print out pistols right?" Hax said.

"Yes…"

"Well, now scale that as large as a building. What do you think will happen?"

"You can make bigger weapons?"

"Precisely. It's that simple."

"I can't imagine anyone holding a house-sized pistol. How do you aim with it?"

"That's just the general idea of it. I will not make a house-sized pistol." Hax handed him the power suit blueprint. "This is what I'm planning to make.

Gorre stared at the blueprint. He made a variety of expressions such as interest, and confusion. "Is it armor?"

"You want to make armor? The local blacksmith can make one for you. But note that cultivators could kill you with or without it."

Hax shook his head. "This armor will make our army as strong as a cultivator. You know they could lift heavy stuff or run very quick, right?"

Gorre nodded.

"It's possible for the norm to do that with this armor."

"Wow, and it mentioned here that it needs a battery. I see you make one for the printer, but why would an armor need one?"

"It required a lot of energy to run fast or lift heavy stuff," Hax said with simple terms. He didn't want to confuse the man. "The mechanical arm I made doesn't require energy but its design has limited capability. Only with a battery could the machine show its true might."

"What happens if they run out of battery?"

"The armor is too heavy for any norm to wear and move without power. So the person inside has to get out if that ever happens. But I plan to make a supply squad that focuses on taking care of these armors whether in the battlefield or in storage."

"Can we really defeat the cultivators with this?"

"I don't expect them to win against cultivators with one versus one, but I believe our odds are higher with this armor."

"I see," Gorre said, drinking his orange juice. "You guys really want to defeat them, huh?"

That made Hax curious about this guy. "Most people have bad memories about cultivators. What about you?"

"I've seen the things they do, yeah. My father and I would always avoid them. But they never did anything to me, so I'm not really into that."

"If you say the wrong thing to them, they could kill you. And if they want something from you, they can take them. Doesn't that make you angry?"

"I guess it would."

Hax nodded. "Then you understand why these people want to defeat the cultivators."

"I think so," Gorre said. "It's kind of pitiful if you think about it. But it has always been that way. Ever since I was born and until now. Norms are treated no differently even before I was born."

"Things can change. And it can change for the better. Some day, I will make a place where norm like you can enjoy orange juice every day without being scared of anyone."

Gorre lit up. "That's a fantastic goal. This orange juice is fantastic. If everyone can enjoy it then that would be for the best."

Hax smiled and shook his head. The man didn't even mention anything about the norm being scared of the cultivators. Years of isolation inside a cave must have turned him into this. This guy had customers, though, so that might be the only thing that kept his sanity.

"You guys want to eat something?" Hax asked.

"I want a cheesecake," Ratha said.

"It's stir-fried cloud chicken for me. That thing is really good," Gorre said.

"Go order your food. After that, we'll continue working on the printer."