Or that time that OBrien trained the Cardassian systems to make a “decent bowl of oatmeal”,
Every time someone adds a variation or something, it’s altering the pattern. As well, with food, the computer would likely be using some kind of generative design to create variations in the foods- otherwise it’d start getting boring very quickly.
Just because it’s tucked behind a handy gui doesn’t mean it’s not altering some file then printing that pattern rather than having 14 variations of the same file.
Or that episode in Voyager where Nelix is freaking out about protecting Naomi from scary things in that kid’s hollow novel; and he gets Kim to make her a stuffy- it’s dubious the computer of a purpose built warship would have design files (parametric or otherwise,) for a children’s stuffy that would likely infringe on somebody’s IP.
Similarly, most of the delta flyer would have been replicated (we see them designing it in the holodeck,) it’s dubious they could have produced the flyer in a few days without replicating most of its structure and materials.
Well, we don’t get to see the patterns being created. When we see replicators they were supposed to be standard appliances for decades.
But they were mainly aimed at food, and people don’t design food in a CAD.
Sure we do. All the time.
“Earl Gray, Hot.”
“Tomato soup… plain. Hot Plain Tomato Soup”
Or that time that OBrien trained the Cardassian systems to make a “decent bowl of oatmeal”,
Every time someone adds a variation or something, it’s altering the pattern. As well, with food, the computer would likely be using some kind of generative design to create variations in the foods- otherwise it’d start getting boring very quickly.
Just because it’s tucked behind a handy gui doesn’t mean it’s not altering some file then printing that pattern rather than having 14 variations of the same file.
Or that episode in Voyager where Nelix is freaking out about protecting Naomi from scary things in that kid’s hollow novel; and he gets Kim to make her a stuffy- it’s dubious the computer of a purpose built warship would have design files (parametric or otherwise,) for a children’s stuffy that would likely infringe on somebody’s IP.
Similarly, most of the delta flyer would have been replicated (we see them designing it in the holodeck,) it’s dubious they could have produced the flyer in a few days without replicating most of its structure and materials.