alt Hacker News> Also I'd argue that a CNC machine is a robot as well, no different than a programmable industrial robotic arm.
It's true - a robot arm is not so different from a CNC machine.
But a 5-axis CNC is not so different from a 3-axis CNC, a 3-axis CNC is not so different from a laser cutter, a laser cutter is not so different from a vinyl cutter, a vinyl cutter is not so different from a large-format printer, and a large-format printer is no so different from an inkjet printer.
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bitwize • yesterday at 10:46 PM
When I was a kid my dad had an HP-7475A pen plotter. When explaining this device to friends today, I describe it as "a robot that draws with a pen". It's got a little robot hand and everything that can pick up and replace one of six pens.
I used to write printer drivers. I jet printers are tiny evil robots and I’ve been saying so for years.