But that’s not what they’re doing. Whenever Troi asks for a scoop of chocolate ice cream, there isn’t some ship gremlin pulling the Sundae out of storage and duplicating it every time.
Sure, they could easily get the design file (“pattern”,) by stuffing it in a replicator and reversing the process…. But there’s really no reason that’s necessary unless you really wanted a copy of the Mona Lisa or some bit of tech you didn’t really understand.
Once you have the pattern, and they could use any number of workflows to get it- “computer, design me a stuffy to look like that character in the holonovel that kid loves” or through a proper design flow in the holodeck.
(Actually… one has to wonder, why they didn’t design shuttles to be replicated. They blew up enough of them…)
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.
But that’s not what they’re doing. Whenever Troi asks for a scoop of chocolate ice cream, there isn’t some ship gremlin pulling the Sundae out of storage and duplicating it every time.
Sure, they could easily get the design file (“pattern”,) by stuffing it in a replicator and reversing the process…. But there’s really no reason that’s necessary unless you really wanted a copy of the Mona Lisa or some bit of tech you didn’t really understand.
Once you have the pattern, and they could use any number of workflows to get it- “computer, design me a stuffy to look like that character in the holonovel that kid loves” or through a proper design flow in the holodeck.
(Actually… one has to wonder, why they didn’t design shuttles to be replicated. They blew up enough of them…)
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.