The Open Community License we just released wasn’t something we came up with overnight. It was years in the making, involving long discussions to ensure it actually serves the community right. One of the people we consulted was Dr. Adrian Bowyer. Because… Who better to ask about the future of open-source than the founder of the RepRap Project, right?

Adrian has always been clear that he wants 3D printing to stay open, and his input was crucial for us. But we didn’t just talk about licenses. We used this opportunity to visit him, camera in hand, and ask him all the questions we could think of. Including the one that always comes up: what is he up to these days? With RepRap out in the world, is he finished?

Spoiler: he’s not done. Not even close.

Not your ordinary farm

At first glance, nothing seems unusual. A quiet farm in the English South West, cats on patrol, a tractor parked by the side, a few animals in the fields. But then you notice the big building to the right. Once a stable, now converted into a workshop.

Inside, it’s unmistakably a maker’s space: 3D printers sit side by side with heavy tools, stacks of parts, and ongoing projects in every corner. A RepRap machine greets you on the table.

Projects are everywhere.

“Oh, and here’s where I’m inventing a new type of solid-fuel rocket engine…” Adrian says casually, pointing to a corner setup.
We must have looked surprised, because he chuckles and adds:
“We had to get a license from the police to work with explosives for that.”

The walls are covered with memories. “This,” he says, holding up a small circuit board, “is the original stepper motor electronics from the first RepRap.”

In the storage area, treasures keep appearing. A delta printer catches our eye.
“Oh, that? I wondered how delta printers worked, so I built one. They’re fine machines.”

And then there’s an old piano, patiently waiting for those moments when inventing is put on hold and mind needs a break.

Still inventing

Although officially retired, Adrian clearly hasn’t slowed down. Together with his daughter, he keeps working on practical applications of 3D printing, research, and consulting. He shows us projects in progress: painting robots, upgrades for a Petoi robot dog, and educational ideas. The drive to create is very much alive. You can see some of these projects yourself: they’re open-source, available at reprapltd.com and on GitHub.

As for the rocket engine development – space is another area that excites him. He talks with real curiosity about how 3D printing could be used beyond Earth.

Sitting down to talk

Finally, we sit down with Adrian to talk about RepRap, research, and the future.
“My expectations of the project were… I had no idea if it was going to work or not,” he laughs while talking about 2005. “I didn’t know if it would work technically, and even if it did, I didn’t know if it would take off. So I gave it a 50/50 chance. If it failed, it failed. But if it succeeded, it would succeed quite well, because anything that copies itself grows exponentially. If it didn’t die out from lack of interest or technical problems, I knew it would spread. If you do a research project and you already know the result, it’s not really a research project, is it?”

As for RepRap, Adrian considers his role complete.
“The project is finished in the sense that it’s out in the world. There are hundreds of designs. People build the machines. Many commercial 3D printers today are based on our work,” he says.

But he’s far from finished thinking about what comes next. Especially in space:
“In a couple of years, we’ll be going back to the Moon, and people are developing 3D printing systems that work with lunar regolith. That’s actually what drew one of the earliest RepRap pioneers, Vic Olliver, into the project. On the Moon, you have a vacuum and plenty of sunlight for energy. The idea of 3D printing buildings may end up making more sense out there than here on Earth.”

A humble maker

Adrian is well-read, sharp, and always curious — yet he never pretends to have all the answers. What he is certain about is the value of open-source.
“I would love it if everything stayed open-source, but my influence is very limited. If others can keep working toward that, it would please me greatly.”
That’s the message he leaves for the 3D printing community.

Watch the full video to see Dr. Adrian Bowyer’s workshop, hear his stories, and get his thoughts on where 3D printing might take us next.