Spoilers Star Trek: Prodigy 1x18 - "Mindwalk"

[Oddish]

There are probably things on ships that can't be replicated, though. A sublight shuttle may be easy enough, but replicating the dilithium and antimatter needed for a warp capable vessel harder. Also, replicators may only be able to manipulate protons, neutrons, and electrons... fine for making everyday objects, but inadequate for certain components that use more exotic particles.

I don't remember if the shuttle the Protostar replicated was warp capable. If it was, the VR was probably designed to beam in some of the mothership's antimatter and dilithium.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

Constructing a ship by combining transporters and replicators would after all be possible, and yet its alluded its not possible to replicate ships into existence (which technically should be possible in-universe).

It is, but only by the 32nd century.

In DSC, Archer Spacedock is essentially a giant replicator.

 

[Deks]

There are probably things on ships that can't be replicated, though. A sublight shuttle may be easy enough, but replicating the dilithium and antimatter needed for a warp capable vessel harder. Also, replicators may only be able to manipulate protons, neutrons, and electrons... fine for making everyday objects, but inadequate for certain components that use more exotic particles.

I don't remember if the shuttle the Protostar replicated was warp capable. If it was, the VR was probably designed to beam in some of the mothership's antimatter and dilithium.

Dilithium and antimatter don't need to be replicated with the ship.
Those can be added later (via regular means).
Otherwise, the rest of the ship should be replicable.

 

[jackoverfull]

By the way, the Vindicator said they only had a limited number of Drednoks left…yet they had access to the Protostar’s vehicle replicator, which can easily make more!

 

[Oddish]

By the way, the Vindicator said they only had a limited number of Drednoks left…yet they had access to the Protostar’s vehicle replicator, which can easily make more!

Very true! All they would need is the program, and they could create an army of the things.

 

[Kamen Rider Blade]

You'd think so, but I'm sure the producers of Trek will never use transporters like that. Constructing a ship by combining transporters and replicators would after all be possible, and yet its alluded its not possible to replicate ships into existence (which technically should be possible in-universe).
Heck, even if you can't replicate a whole ship into existence, they could still replicate pieces and transport them directly into place.
Internal upgrades and damage repair could easily be done by using transporters to beam out the old/damaged section, decompose it into base materials, restructure it into new one and beam it back into place (and presto).

Didn't they basically show that type of Repairing/Manufacturing in the Alien Repair Station in ENT: "Dead Stop"?

StarFleet of the 24th Century should be pumping out StarShips as fast as they pump out Automobiles in modern day times.

Especially if StarFleet were to have millions -> billions of Ships in Active Service.

 

[Timofnine]

Didn't they basically show that type of Repairing/Manufacturing in the Alien Repair Station in ENT: "Dead Stop"?

StarFleet of the 24th Century should be pumping out StarShips as fast as they pump out Automobiles in modern day times.

Especially if StarFleet were to have millions -> billions of Ships in Active Service.

There may be certain materials, precious metals and ores used in Starship construction that are hard to come by which cannot be replicated. So in theory Starfleet could replicate as many Starships as they wanted to but they would just ‘not work’. Voyager did not have this problem with shuttlecraft though, so I am not sure if the same rule applies for those.

 

[Oddish]

I think dilithium and antimatter are the biggies, but there might be other rare or exotic materials required to build or outfit a ship.

 

[Timofnine]

I think dilithium and antimatter are the biggies, but there might be other rare or exotic materials required to build or outfit a ship.

Bio neural gel packs and circuitry may also need to be grown or ‘cultured’ in some way, this could take time. I’m not sure if this tech became Federation standard though.

 

[jackoverfull]

I think dilithium and antimatter are the biggies,

we can already make antimatter out of deuterium today, even if at an high energy cost, I’d assume the process has been refined by then.
By the way, apparently they can’t replicate deuterium, as otherwise the Bussard collectors wouldn’t make sense.

 

[The Wormhole]

IIRC, the whole "you can't replicate whole starships into existence" has been a rule since TNG. I believe the old TNG Tech Manual even has a line saying something like "the minute you're able to replicate a starship is the minute you no longer need a starship."

 

[Kamen Rider Blade]

IIRC, the whole "you can't replicate whole starships into existence" has been a rule since TNG. I believe the old TNG Tech Manual even has a line saying something like "the minute you're able to replicate a starship is the minute you no longer need a starship."

I concur, you can't replicate the "Entire StarShip". But many of the corresponding parts can be, some of the parts can't, ergo the giant Assembly Factory with advanced Automated Manufacturing like modern day Automobiles where giant Robotic Arms work hand in hand, with replicators and Android / AI manufacturing like we see in "Dead Stop".

It doesn't have to be "Instantaneous", but it can be reasonably fast.

In one Shipyard, during WW2, they were making & launching cheap Escort Carriers at the rate of 1 per week.
Per Orbital Shipyard Factory, StarFleet should easily be able to do that with any of their main line large StarShips that has a full supply chain behind it.

 

[DEWLine]

IIRC, the whole "you can't replicate whole starships into existence" has been a rule since TNG. I believe the old TNG Tech Manual even has a line saying something like "the minute you're able to replicate a starship is the minute you no longer need a starship."

On page 17, where the authors attribute the argument to a Jon Singer...?

 

[Nerys Myk]

This guy (an edditor of "screenrant", apparently) agrees:

Impossible. Sites like Screen Rant, don't actually have editors.

 

[cooleddie74]

Many barely have content.

 

[Ar-Pharazon]

IIRC, the whole "you can't replicate whole starships into existence" has been a rule since TNG. I believe the old TNG Tech Manual even has a line saying something like "the minute you're able to replicate a starship is the minute you no longer need a starship."

Why would god need to replicate a starship?

 

[The Wormhole]

Why would god need to replicate a starship?

Everyone needs a hobby.

 

[UssGlenn]

By the way, apparently they can’t replicate deuterium, as otherwise the Bussard collectors wouldn’t make sense.

I'm of the camp that thinks Replicators can't create anything but the most simple stuff, and usually just reorganize elements from a slush tank. But we could make deuterium today in a nuclear reactor, if we wanted to, it's just way more efficient to collect if from seawater. The logic in the future may be similar.

 

[The Old Mixer]

IIRC, deuterium is the raw material they use to replicate stuff from. There's no point in using deuterium to replicate deuterium.

 

[jackoverfull]

Deiterium is the matter they annihilate to keep the warp core going, it has nothing to do with the replicators.