The Independent On Sunday describes it as "Star Trek science made reality." It is science fiction becoming fact. It is 3D printing which has the potential for production-line replacement body parts, aeronautical spares, fashion, furniture and virtually any other object on demand. nstead of printing ink on paper, 3D printers use a fine powder that sets into a hard, plaster-like finish, building up an object one layer at a time. Building an object layer by layer wastes less material than traditional production methods and makes it possible to produce things that are very hard to make in other ways. A 3D printer only uses what is required to build the object, and no more. It’s incredibly efficient. It will use considerably less material, and energy, because of that. So it’s true that 3D printing could herald a “post-scarcity” economy, but there are two things they cannot make: raw material for printing and the energy to drive the system. So certainly not an “unlimited resources” economy. For people who don’t know what Post-Scarcity is, in a nutshell it entails everything being free (the abolition of money). Everything being free occurs due to abundance of goods and services. Money will cease to exist. Each person will have the power to create absolutely anything they want. Will 3D printing make global supply chains unnecessary? That’s a real possibility. Production may gradually move away from long-distance production as it gets more feasible to mass-produce at the neighbourhood level or similar system at home. 3D printing will democratize the means of production
3D printers used to work mostly with plastics but now it’s possible to print with metals, nylon, recycled paper and even print one object using mixed materials. The ability to reproduce physical objects in small workshops and at home is potentially just as revolutionary as the ability to summon information from any source onto a computer screen. The technology is already available for you to use at home. A RepRap - short for Replicating Rapid-prototyper - can be built for around £300 and it can print the parts for another 3D printer.
The hopelessness of poverty often causes deprived people to behave inhumanely. Capitalism promotes human suffering because people are commodities to be exploited. Multinational corporations cause enormous social and environmental damage via their striving to increase profits. Nations fight over scarce resources. Post-Scarcity takes us beyond poverty, beyond money, and into utopia. In the future everything will be free. Post-Scarcity civilisation occurs when science and technology create unlimited abundance for everyone. Money will become obsolete. Money will be abolished because management of scarcity via monetary limitations will be unnecessary. People will create food, clothes, electronic products, transport, or houses with greater ease than printing a document. But someday, we may be able to make things out of thin air, so to speak. Perhaps in the future we will be able to rearrange atoms and create any material we wish, assembled into whatever we desire. Star Trek replicators. Until then, we have decades or centuries of simply being more efficient.
3D printers used to work mostly with plastics but now it’s possible to print with metals, nylon, recycled paper and even print one object using mixed materials. The ability to reproduce physical objects in small workshops and at home is potentially just as revolutionary as the ability to summon information from any source onto a computer screen. The technology is already available for you to use at home. A RepRap - short for Replicating Rapid-prototyper - can be built for around £300 and it can print the parts for another 3D printer.
The hopelessness of poverty often causes deprived people to behave inhumanely. Capitalism promotes human suffering because people are commodities to be exploited. Multinational corporations cause enormous social and environmental damage via their striving to increase profits. Nations fight over scarce resources. Post-Scarcity takes us beyond poverty, beyond money, and into utopia. In the future everything will be free. Post-Scarcity civilisation occurs when science and technology create unlimited abundance for everyone. Money will become obsolete. Money will be abolished because management of scarcity via monetary limitations will be unnecessary. People will create food, clothes, electronic products, transport, or houses with greater ease than printing a document. But someday, we may be able to make things out of thin air, so to speak. Perhaps in the future we will be able to rearrange atoms and create any material we wish, assembled into whatever we desire. Star Trek replicators. Until then, we have decades or centuries of simply being more efficient.
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However, "the future of 3D printing was bright, until an obscure patent filed in 2007 passed just the other day. Essentially, the patent is anticipatory of future technology, assuming that a 3D printer will one day become a household item, and that materials for that printer will be equally as common. Enigmax of TorrentFreak.com reports that the law blocks reproductions of everything from food and shoes, to cars, weapons, even human skin. Enigmax goes into great detail about how affordable printers ruined the copying industry, and how affordable internet and peer sharing ruined the movie and music copy industry. He also mentions the 3D weapons race and the University of Texas Law student who recently got his 3D printer repossessed, so steps have already been taken to avoid consumer use of 3D printing technology":
http://tinyurl.com/93697b8
Indeed if there was proof needed that capitalism is a fetter on production, the existence of intellectual ownership laws to restrict fulfilling peoples needs is evidence. It is said that development and innovation has been held up for the last couple decades -- not because the technology wasn't available, but because of key patents that are apparently needed to build 3d printers.
Industries affected by potential disruption may not compete with or adapt to this technology, but rather, will seek legal protection through IP law to preemptively regulate 3D printing. How successful anti-piracy endeavours will be is open to debate.
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