This could probably be done via patch or via an edit to the original.

Background: The persistent problem I have with replicators is accidentally using up too much of the material before a pawn gets around to replicating more.

The idea for a solution: add template objects, instead of duplicating a material directly you'd be able to convert an object into a template and then could use that template to make more (with the replication recipe not consuming the template).

To be clear, I'm not suggesting anything so complicated as dynamic templates. Just a duplicate set of recipes that take the material and make a template out of it followed by an edit to the existing recipes to use (and return) the template instead of using the original item.

This keeps the limitation that you need to get the item first, but removes the problem of accidentally using all of it (because the templates are *only* used to replicate items).