[rgzz]

I don't know much about this topic but you still need the magic bricks in the printer to make the magic bricks though, no? I guess this can be either depressing or relieving but I'm in the former category, I wish you could do this stuff from sand or something, without relying on modern technology, would be fun.

[fc417fc802]

In my mind the printer counts as a tool so it's a different category. Also you could always do the same by hand with a mask. The feature size might be a bit larger though.

As to doing it all "from sand". You can! At least sort of. It's always a question of how far down the stack you want to take it. After all you probably need to source rare earths from somewhere that isn't your backyard.

Check out pictures of the old processes before automated VLSI. It was all done by hand including crystalizing the silicon. You'll need a clean room and a bunch of weird supplies though.