Serpo
2nd June 2013, 10:56 PM
The Economic ‘End Game’ of 3D Printing
Last week, Oxford University (http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2013/04/05/3729985.htm) announced the development of synthetic material capable of performing some of the functions of living cells, built using a specially modified 3D prototype printer.
It is the latest in a series of exciting developments relating to 3D printing, especially in the biotechnology and medical applications.
Professor Hagan Bayley who led the research said that this development will probably result in damaged human tissue or even organs in the human body being able to be replaced.
But behind 3D Printing’s exciting facade lies a darker side – the potential of total destruction of worldwide manufacturing, and the crippling job losses that will go with it.
Unless you have been living under a rock over the past 10 years – and many people do – you would be aware of the 3D Printing innovation that will change the world as you know it.
Though the 3D Printer was developed before the turn of the Millenium, it is only now that it’s practical applications are coming to fruition.
In short, it is the process of creating a blueprint with computer aided design software, which is able to be translated by a 3D printer. To actually ‘print’ an object, the machine reads the design and lays down successive layers of liquid, powder or sometimes sheet material to build the object in a layer by layer ‘cross section’ system.
Materials used are varied and include plaster, paper, metals and thermoplastics and there are a number of different printing methods that are used to create an object.
Some say that because of this method of creating objects, 3D Printing will also lead to a revolution in industrial design.
Currently, because many goods are produced with the cost of manufacture as a key consideration, elaborate design for anything but the upper end of the market is cost prohibitive and as a result design for the mass market of common everyday items is very basic. Design in the future could be limited only by the 3D printers’ ability to make it and the Designers imagination.
http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5090/5299857042_9f31d3b5bf_n.jpgElectric Saw created by a 3D Printer
The expansion of 3D printing when you take it to its logical conclusion, will even the playing field of the global economy in ways not previously imagined.
For example; currently when an Electronics company decides to manufacture 100,000 television sets, it look to the likes of China to do it for them efficiently, but most importantly – cheaply.
In the future, with 3D printing machines being commonplace everywhere and the raw materials they use being inexpensive to purchase, an Electronics company will simply manufacture their sets as closely as they can geographically to the wholesaler.
Taken further – a retailer in the future may simply purchase the schematic or software program direct from the manufacturer for a set fee. The retailer could simply let you point out which television you would like to purchase from the display case and then ‘print’ one for you to take home within half an hour.
Taken even further than this, and where I believe it will ultimately end up, is the domestic 3D printer. Households will shop online for everything they require and print them at home on demand.
No doubt it will be lucrative to be a well skilled and honest 3D printer mechanic.
It is unknown how long this revolution in manufacturing will take, but it will mean the cost to manufacture – at least on a domestic scale -will be at the same cost in London as it is in Shenzhen.
This is extremely bad news for economies such as China and India whom derive most of their business from being able to create stuff cheaply, and it will surely cause major conflict between the east and west should they lose their key competitive advantage.
But it could also be a challenging situation for the rest of the world’s largest manufacturers such as the United States, Japan, Germany and Italy.
Table 1 – Top 15 Largest Countries in the World for Manufacturing Value-Added
(Valued in U.S. dollars)
http://www.mapi.net/sites/default/files/pictures/E-644_Table_1.png
Source(s): United Nations and MAPI
The winners in this second industrial revolution will be the patent holders and the intellectual property holders, and there is a real danger that ownership of designs will become concentrated in the hands of a few.
The problem Manufacturers have with 3D printers is that they can now theoretically create almost anything we need.
The only saving grace could be the industry that will pop up to service the machines and to mine the raw materials.
http://theglobalindependent.com/?p=315
Last week, Oxford University (http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2013/04/05/3729985.htm) announced the development of synthetic material capable of performing some of the functions of living cells, built using a specially modified 3D prototype printer.
It is the latest in a series of exciting developments relating to 3D printing, especially in the biotechnology and medical applications.
Professor Hagan Bayley who led the research said that this development will probably result in damaged human tissue or even organs in the human body being able to be replaced.
But behind 3D Printing’s exciting facade lies a darker side – the potential of total destruction of worldwide manufacturing, and the crippling job losses that will go with it.
Unless you have been living under a rock over the past 10 years – and many people do – you would be aware of the 3D Printing innovation that will change the world as you know it.
Though the 3D Printer was developed before the turn of the Millenium, it is only now that it’s practical applications are coming to fruition.
In short, it is the process of creating a blueprint with computer aided design software, which is able to be translated by a 3D printer. To actually ‘print’ an object, the machine reads the design and lays down successive layers of liquid, powder or sometimes sheet material to build the object in a layer by layer ‘cross section’ system.
Materials used are varied and include plaster, paper, metals and thermoplastics and there are a number of different printing methods that are used to create an object.
Some say that because of this method of creating objects, 3D Printing will also lead to a revolution in industrial design.
Currently, because many goods are produced with the cost of manufacture as a key consideration, elaborate design for anything but the upper end of the market is cost prohibitive and as a result design for the mass market of common everyday items is very basic. Design in the future could be limited only by the 3D printers’ ability to make it and the Designers imagination.
http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5090/5299857042_9f31d3b5bf_n.jpgElectric Saw created by a 3D Printer
The expansion of 3D printing when you take it to its logical conclusion, will even the playing field of the global economy in ways not previously imagined.
For example; currently when an Electronics company decides to manufacture 100,000 television sets, it look to the likes of China to do it for them efficiently, but most importantly – cheaply.
In the future, with 3D printing machines being commonplace everywhere and the raw materials they use being inexpensive to purchase, an Electronics company will simply manufacture their sets as closely as they can geographically to the wholesaler.
Taken further – a retailer in the future may simply purchase the schematic or software program direct from the manufacturer for a set fee. The retailer could simply let you point out which television you would like to purchase from the display case and then ‘print’ one for you to take home within half an hour.
Taken even further than this, and where I believe it will ultimately end up, is the domestic 3D printer. Households will shop online for everything they require and print them at home on demand.
No doubt it will be lucrative to be a well skilled and honest 3D printer mechanic.
It is unknown how long this revolution in manufacturing will take, but it will mean the cost to manufacture – at least on a domestic scale -will be at the same cost in London as it is in Shenzhen.
This is extremely bad news for economies such as China and India whom derive most of their business from being able to create stuff cheaply, and it will surely cause major conflict between the east and west should they lose their key competitive advantage.
But it could also be a challenging situation for the rest of the world’s largest manufacturers such as the United States, Japan, Germany and Italy.
Table 1 – Top 15 Largest Countries in the World for Manufacturing Value-Added
(Valued in U.S. dollars)
http://www.mapi.net/sites/default/files/pictures/E-644_Table_1.png
Source(s): United Nations and MAPI
The winners in this second industrial revolution will be the patent holders and the intellectual property holders, and there is a real danger that ownership of designs will become concentrated in the hands of a few.
The problem Manufacturers have with 3D printers is that they can now theoretically create almost anything we need.
The only saving grace could be the industry that will pop up to service the machines and to mine the raw materials.
http://theglobalindependent.com/?p=315