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.

There will be VR too. It can be an interesting cell.

Jan, prefers at least some reality

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

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).

We can hope.....

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.

design and produce shops on each street. :-)

agreed. I am most excited about the innovation it will empower. The faster people can make and test things, the faster we get breakthrough or incremental new stuff.

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!

which means 10x innovation and market adaptation speed. surf this wave or get pummeled.

Add virtual reality and I will stay in my cell thank you very much. :-)

True - but the president has to know what to regulate, and build the political capital (horse-trading) and support to do so.

Notice what is happening with uber, airbnd, bitcoin. They are growing so fast that even though the bureaucrats WANT to shut them down, the public outcry is so strong they back off. More of that to come, x 1000. Methinks.

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
.

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
.

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
.

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!

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.

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.

I dunno.
A regulation popped out of the mouth of the president can be put in effect overnight, or over a weekend as is usually the case. But it is good to know the swiftness of innovation.

Amazing. You cannot stop man's mind. It is so encouraging.

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?

They will attempt to regulate it. However, regulation will not be able to keep up with the pace of innovation. Here is a graphic to summarize this:
http://rationalspirituality.com/bursi...

Printed and successfully test fired, fist in s ret then by hand.

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.

Did they really print the receivers and barrels? I didn't think anyone would try to print those.