Galt's Gulch

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  • Posted by $ jbrenner 10 years, 5 months ago
    In the same way that Steve Jobs generated a market for things that they didn't even realize that they ought to want, I am working towards making several products into 3D-printed realities. Welcome to the Gulch, Autox3d.
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    • Posted by $ MichaelAarethun 10 years, 5 months ago
      An addition is someone I'm trying to track it down has an electronic learning tool that is worn around the neck with interchangeable subjects. Supposed to be for children....
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    • Posted by johnpe1 10 years, 5 months ago
      Dr. Jim, I just wrote this in response to blarman, but I want
      to make sure that you see it:::
      there will be new physical shapes produced which cannot
      be machined, like encapsulated spheres and the like,
      which only 3d fabrication can produce. . the applications
      will be fascinating, I bet! -- j
      .
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  • Posted by CircuitGuy 10 years, 5 months ago
    It's happening now. Automation is changing everything.

    I've read about how 3D printing is lowering the barriers to entry in industries like biotech, that used to have huge investment costs to get started. Now they might be viable for a small business incubator in a remote location that flies partly under the radar, i.e. a Gulch.
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    • Posted by fosterj717 10 years, 5 months ago
      They have already been using the technology even in making critical titanium aircraft parts for the Airbus. Amazing! Only a matter of time before we can get printers that will truly be utilitarian and economically within the reach of the average person.
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      • Posted by $ jdg 10 years, 5 months ago
        Just wait until we get the nanotechnology version (the one that can stack individual atoms to make any substance you want). Once we have that it will be impossible to ban any drug or weapon and make it stick.
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    • Posted by BrettRocketSci 10 years, 5 months ago
      Exactly! The powers of production are now in the hands of the common man (and woman). Just as it is with communication and media thanks to the internet and the digital revolution. Welcome to the revolution, fellow Gulchers!
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  • Posted by $ jlc 10 years, 5 months ago
    Yes, I have thought about it. When you read analyses of the evolution of humankind, there was a breakthrough point (genetically as well as socially) when cities got big - hundreds of thousands of people. The concept of the autonomous individual who produced everything he consumed is a fairy tale ideal (akin to 'noble savage') - this person is doomed to live a primitive life because he lacks the leverage of specialization.

    This is the world we have lived in for the past 5K years.

    Enter 3D printers, and the Internet. Now, for the first time since the Neolithic, we are headed for a society where an individual can be functionally independent of gov or infrastructure and still have all the benefits of collaborative interaction and high technology. Add in self-driving vehicles and robots and we are creating a new social structure.

    Jan
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    • Posted by johnpe1 10 years, 5 months ago
      I want a rented self-driving aircraft to take me and my wife
      to the beach while we enjoy the view or read a good book! -- j
      .
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      • Posted by $ jlc 10 years, 5 months ago
        I want a self driving RV-van to take me and my dogs to a series of beautiful spots. It can drive there at night, while I sleep. Then we can stay wherever we want during the day...and be driven on the next night.

        We would have no expenses for hotels; I can fix meals in the RV. The only real expense would be gas, which would be the same as if I were driving the van instead of it driving itself.

        Jan
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  • Posted by $ HeroWorship 10 years, 5 months ago
    This is a passion of mine. I recommend Singularity University youtube channel. There are some great books to get you thinking about it, from Kurzweil to Diamandis, to James Canton, to Cecily Sommers.

    I highly recommend that everyone lean into this edge - there will be many billions of dollars to be earned - supporting the companies that are doing breakthrough work. It is the best time to be an Entrepreneur in the history of the world, and it is getting better as we go!a
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  • Posted by blackswan 10 years, 5 months ago
    Why did the Robber Barons become so powerful? Economies of Scale. The larger they became, the more they could produce, and at continually lower cost. Technology has reversed all that. Now, economies of scale are being dramatically reduced. That means that small companies can now produce high quality products at as low a cost as the old mass produced products, and customize them, to boot. In addition, the Internet has given even small companies a global reach, and modern transportation and communications enable the small firms to reach virtually anyone on the planet. This all means that competition is getting much fiercer, with many more players, all vying for market share. It's actually invigorating.
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    • Posted by $ blarman 10 years, 5 months ago
      I'll believe it when I see it. Economies of scale work precisely because you can manufacture a million widgets of A and a million widgets of B, put them together quickly and get final product C which can then be palletized and shipped to a mass market.

      Here's where I see this type of manufacturing really taking hold:

      - Things requiring customization like high-performance bicycles, athletic gear, etc.
      - Things where the waste disposal and product costs of warehousing, discounted sale, etc. undermine the overall profitability of the entire product line
      - Things where the cost of initial materials is very high (initial manufacturing waste is costly)
      - In areas where shipping costs or risks of theft are very high

      The real area I am waiting to see custom manufacturing in is pharmaceuticals. Can you imagine on-the-spot manufacture and packaging of prescription drugs?
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      • Posted by $ HeroWorship 10 years, 5 months ago
        the more specialized the product, the more personal 3d makes sense. I would not use a printer to create a salt shaker, or a plate. I would go to the dollar store. But custom shoes with a unicorn horn and gills? I'm printing that sucker!
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      • Posted by johnpe1 10 years, 5 months ago
        there will be new physical shapes produced which cannot
        be machined, like encapsulated spheres and the like,
        which only 3d fabrication can produce. . the applications
        will be fascinating, I bet! -- j
        .
        Reply | Mark as read | Parent | Best of... | Permalink  
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  • Posted by wmiranda 10 years, 5 months ago
    I have two different kinds of 3D printers and have created props for my photo booth rental and parts for things that didn't exist before. Unfortunately, I rely on my son to design the pieces I want so I can load them on the 3D printer and sometimes he is busy or not available when I need something designed. I'm not good at designing but once you have the design made the rest is easy. I think that eventually, the printers will become more affordable and currently there are some shops with printers available to the public. That business will become similar to a print/copy shop in many neighborhoods.
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  • Posted by term2 10 years, 5 months ago
    These new manufacturing techniques will allow people to avoid governmental influences for awhile, but unless the generally accepted philosophy changes here, government will slow down and stop this new engine as they have done up to now.

    An example is here in Las Vegas, one cannot start a new business without getting PRIOR approval from the city/county. The business must fall into one of the pre-approved categories set by the government in order to be accepted for a business license. Pretty stupid if you want new innovations.....
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    • Posted by $ HeroWorship 10 years, 5 months ago
      That's one reason I started my business in Reno, and I just serve Las Vegas customers. :-)

      They will certainly try. Outside of fascism, they won't be able to.
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      • Posted by term2 10 years, 5 months ago
        I think the lesson from atlas shrugged is that when the government wants to shut something down, it finds a way through use of force to do it.

        However, it takes them time to accomplish that, and before they do, smart people can make some money and have a good time doing it

        I used to make medical devices, but sold that company, make a lot of money, and left the field altogether. Now I make LED lighting equipment for off road (currently unregulated).
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  • Posted by $ Olduglycarl 10 years, 5 months ago
    We might just someday be able to produce everything we need Ourselves...including food.

    Sure hope it's done correctly using Wide Scope Accountability with Profound Honesty and no preconceived conceptions.
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  • Posted by bsmith51 10 years, 5 months ago
    Need a part or a special tool? Go to the internet, find what you need, pay a small fee and download the design instruction for your 3D printer, and you're in business.
    I would expect all 3D printers to be heavily taxed before long.
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  • Posted by Temlakos 10 years, 5 months ago
    Additive manufacturing ("3-D printing") still has a long way to go. As I understand it, the most common substrate is extrudable plastic. I'd like to see a device that can turn out a metal part. For that matter, I'd like to see a chemical synthesizer--and a self-contained chemical analyzer that could become part of an emergency first-aid kit.

    All the same, what we see now, makes the things I named not only conceivable but possible. Which they wouldn't have been ten years ago.
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    • Posted by ohiocrossroads 10 years, 5 months ago
      Selective Laser Sintering is the name of the process that takes in 3D part data and produces a finished metal part. The last I heard, the parts were not fully dense, and did not have the same fatigue strength as the conventional forged or cast part. But a run through a Hot Isostatic Pressing cycle would fix that.

      The problem with 3D printing is that it takes a long time to produce a single part. It's great for prototyping and very low volume production, but if you need to make more than a few thousand of a given part in a year, forging or casting is more economical.
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    • Posted by fosterj717 10 years, 5 months ago
      They have been doing that for over 4 years now. Any metal that can exist in powder form can be used in the appropriate 3D printer, of course the cost for such a device is in the hundreds of thousands of dollars but it does exist. Again, Airbus A300 (I believe is the model) has aircraft landing gear components "printed" in metal and, meeting the stringent "airworthiness" criteria.....
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      • Posted by Temlakos 10 years, 5 months ago
        Can these parts made from metal dust take the same loads as a cast-metal part? Of course, one can always break things down into several steps, that involve making ceramic molds.
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        • Posted by fosterj717 10 years, 5 months ago
          At the time that I read about this use of 3D printing and exotic alloys (the part was made out of titanium), the engineers that I was working in the aerospace industry with had similar printers (but not quite as good as the one used to print those parts) however they were similar. The part printed for the landing gear, met all tests and ended up being used in that landing gear assembly. This was about 4 years ago.
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