I was chatting with a friend yesterday and he told me of an article he read (linked here) about the implications of the rise of 3D printing and how society over the next 50 years could be revolutionised by the "maker movement" whereby mass production of goods in factories (aka "Fordism") could be supplanted by a flexible, atomised system of cottage industries where people will produce customised goods at home for their own consumption or sell them on to other customers globally via the internet.

It's certainly food for thought. Instead of buying a mass produced and mass marketed product in a shop, you will be able to create it on your 3D printer at home or order it locally from a small-scale specialist "maker." This could obviously revolutionise manufacturing, logistics, marketing and other facets of modern society.

Article here:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-23990211

Welcome to last year

3D printing has unlimited potential. It could change the face of manufacturing as we know it.

Why go to a shop when you can simply download the plan an print it yourself.

Weren't people saying the exact same thing about internet shopping some years back?

Oh and that has had no effect on retailers?

Excellent point

Of course it had an effect but it wasn't the end of high street shopping as we know it as was suggested by many a newspaper.

It looks like the revolution in manufacturing is already beginning.

Holland-based company Shapeways will 3D print objects to your spec that you upload to them. Some great designs featured on their site.

http://www.shapeways.com/

I think if you look at what has happened to HMV, Blockbuster an other electronic chains that have gone under it, makes a compelling argument.

I like the Phamora vase. It's almost Escher-like in design.

I've seen some small 3D printers in action. They were cute hobbyist machines. I think bigger, more sophisticated machines could be run by SMEs if the technology has advanced enough, but whether local engineering can also conform to all the ISOs etc to make local plastic production affordable, reliable and safe (and exportable) I'm not sure. I'm all for it if it can work well, though.

I'll be deleting some posts from this thread if the fighting persists. Calling someone deluded is indeed rude. Personalising criticism generally is poor form. As Penny says, the infighting is really tedious. Please move on, people.

Wheelie I bought one of the first "home versions" of the 3D printer, a prototype funded operation. Its complicated and most certainly is not as ready for the home market as they would like to market.

But watch the space... it will all be digital download in a shorter period of time than we imagine.

Were you able to make things with it, and what sort of things? What I saw being made were simple plastics for jewelry and such like, but I didn't see much beyond that. Mind you, some of the printing involved complex lattice-frames of thin plastic threads and suchlike - a little uneven and rough, but still, interesting enough to have some decent hobbyists enthused.

Also - a little off the point - I think the CoderDojo movement and similar community innovation projects will yield great things in the future. It's software rather than hardware, and it's directed towards kids more into Minecraft modding and android app development (no bad thing!) but it's really great that local programming knowledge is being passed down through generations. That too should help the long term push-back against corporate behemoths and develop a greater confidence in local engineering and innovation.

The ISS is soon to get a 3D Printer.

NASA sending a 3-D printer into space

http://www.cnn.com/2013/08/13/tech/innovation/nasa-3d-printer/