Is This How the U.S. Might Regain its Manufacturing Base?

[NJCher]

Fascinating! The democratization of manufacturing (long-term view).



Shirky's observation came to mind while watching a recording of Bruce Sterling's closing keynote for the ReBoot conference last month. Late in the talk, Bruce tosses out this line: "Objects are print-outs." He goes on to discuss how to rethink one's relationship with material possessions in an increasingly precarious world, but the "objects are print-outs" line stuck with me. It encapsulates not just an attitude towards material possessions, but--in one pithy phrase--one possible shape of the next economy.
Fab This

Take a design for a simple product--an engine part, for example, or a piece of silverware, and feed it into a computer. Press "print." Out pops (for a sufficiently wide definition of "pops") a physical duplicate, made out of materials plastic, ceramic, metal -- even sugar. Press "print" again, and out comes another copy--or feed in a new design, for the next necessary object.

http://www.fastcompany.com/blog/jamais-cascio/open-future/material-issue


Cher

[Bonobo]

1. Yeah, that should help unemployment. nt

[Statistical]

2. Economies of scale

1) Just because you can make something doesn't means someone else can't use a process that is cheaper per unit.
2) Even if this method someday is the cheapest (unlikely) it doesn't mean mass production doesn't have an advantage.

[Odin2005]

3. I've been a fan of fabbers for a while.

It might blow the minds of those with little imagination, though.