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Originally Posted by daver
Replicators can reproduce matter down to proteins (if they couldn't, replicated food would be either non-nutritious or poisonous). Replicators can reproduce phasers. There's no real reason (other than technology police) why replicators can't reproduce living matter, replicators, holodecks, androids, or starships.
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Actually there are very severe limitations on the capabilities of replicators. For example.
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TNG Season 3, Ep# 55: "The Enemy"
BEVERLY: I don't need him to like the idea, Captain... just to do it.
PICARD: There is no alternative?
BEVERLY: The alternative is the Romulan will die. Worf is quite correct on that point.
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The obvious alternative to Worf's blood donation would be to replicate the ribosomes, but since that is apparently not an option, this means that they can't do it. Note that with modern technology we can already clone ribosomes, so they've made precious little progress in this area over the next few centuries. Also
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TNG Season 7, Ep# 158: "Phantasms"
PICARD VO: Captain's Log, supplemental. The creatures infesting the Enterprise have been completely eliminated. We believe the infestation originated within the warp core we obtained on Starbase Eighty-four.
GEORDI: This conduit was manufactured on Thanatos Seven using a new interphasic fusion process. We think that process must've attracted the organisms to the conduit, where they lay dormant ... until we activated the warp core.
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Obviously, if they're experimenting with various fusion processes in order to make their warp conduits, they must not be able to replicate them. Therefore, Star Fleet can't explain all of their starbase spare-parts requirements by simply providing starbases with huge industrial replicators. Finally
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NG Season 7, Ep# 173: "Firstborn"
QUARK: I believe the rumor was that the sisters were trying to buy some second-hand mining equipment.
RIKER: What for?
QUARK: They learned of a magnesite deposit in the Kalla system... it belongs to the Pakleds, but those fools don't even know it's there. Your friends were trying to get at it.
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Huh???? The Duras sisters have replicator technology, but they were still running around trying to buy mining equipment in order to steal some magnesite ore from the Pakleds. Obviously, magnesite is beyond the capabilities of their replicators.
MAGNESITE!!!!!!! Magnesite is simply magnesium carbonate, which is a monumentallyunremarkable material, thus highlighting the limitations of Federation replicators. Just One More Time.....
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TNG Season 1, Ep# 4: "Code of Honor"
PICARD VO: Captain's log, stardate 41235.25. Our location planet Ligon II, source of a rare vaccine needed on Federation planet Styris IV.
PICARD: Meanwhile, you were testing whether we can replicate the vaccine.
BEVERLY: And we can't! Their sample works fine when used as an injection, but it becomes unstable when we try to replicate it. You must get vaccine from the planet, Captain. As much as you can. Immediately!
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A very early example of a long list of substances which they desperately need but obviously can't replicate, even with a sample on hand.In this case, since it is a vaccine, it must be safe for injection into a living organism. Therefore, it must be composed of safe, mundane elements, yet they still can't replicate it.
In short, replicators work fine for simple things and crude work (they can't, for example replicate caviar either) but anything that requires precision, skill or complexity is out.