Self-Replication Growth Simulator

Monte Carlo simulation of self-replicating manufacturing foundries with exponential growth, closure ratio degradation, and vitamin supply constraints.

Replication Parameters

80% 90% 99%
6 mo 15 mo 24 mo
1 5 10
100 1,000 100,000
1 t 50 t 100 t
0.1 t/mo 500 t/mo 1,000 t/mo
0% (perfect) 2.5% 5%
Doubling Time Never
Est. Vitamin Budget 20.0k tonnes
Vitamin per Foundry 2.0 tonnes

Self-Replication Concept

A foundry with 96% closure can self-produce 96% of its own mass. The remaining 4% ("vitamins") must be imported from Earth or other sources.

Simulates 2 foundries growing toward 10,000 with 1.0% closure degradation per generation.

Growth Curve

Run a simulation to see the growth curve

Simulation Results

Configure the replication parameters and run the simulation to see results.

Self-Replication Physics

Closure Ratio

The fraction of a foundry's mass that can be manufactured using only locally-available materials and the foundry itself. Higher closure means less dependence on imported "vitamin" components.

Vitamin Components

Specialized components (microchips, rare elements, precision optics) that cannot be self-produced and must be supplied externally. The vitamin fraction is (1 - closure ratio).

Generational Degradation

Each generation of replication accumulates manufacturing errors, reducing the effective closure ratio. This eventually causes growth to plateau unless foundries are periodically recalibrated.

Supply Rate Constraint

Even with high closure, growth can be bottlenecked by the rate at which vitamin components are delivered. This models real supply chain limits from Earth or ISRU operations.

Monte Carlo variation applies stochastic perturbations to closure ratio (+/-2%), cycle time (+/-20%), degradation rate (+/-50%), and vitamin supply (+/-10%) to model real-world manufacturing uncertainty.

Project Dyson — A volunteer-led nonprofit. All plans and research are publicly available.