Factory@Home – The Emerging Economy of Personal Manufacturing
This report outlines the emergence of personal manufacturing technologies, describes their potential economic and social benefits. Personal manufacturing machines, sometimes called “fabbers,” are the pint-sized, low-cost descendants of factory-scale, mass manufacturing machines. Personal-scale manufacturing machines use the same fabrication methods as their larger, industrial ancestors, but are smaller, cheaper, and easier to use.
Personal manufacturing technologies will profoundly impact how we design, make, transport, and consume physical products. As manufacturing technologies follow the path from factory to home use, like personal computers, “personalized” manufacturing tools will enable consumers, schools and businesses to work and play in new ways.
i agree … and then when what you manufacture from home is digital as opposed to physical … then the knowledge economy begins to flow …
Paul Ransfield
17/02/2012 at 15:20
It will be interesting to see what the entrenched powers do to fight this. It could spell the end of unions in the private manufacturing sector, and the lefties won’t like that one bit.
wka3
19/04/2012 at 10:59
[...] methods as their larger, industrial ancestors, but are smaller, cheaper, and easier to use. Link Share this:TwitterFacebookLike this:LikeBe the first to like this post. Uncategorized ← [...]
The Emerging Economy of Personal Manufacturing « FORWARD BASE B
29/04/2012 at 15:50
And as empowering tools, 3D printing could even bring new political possibilities: http://yannickrumpala.wordpress.com/2012/03/01/additive-manufacturing-as-global-redesigning-of-politics/
CA
17/07/2012 at 10:34