3-D Printed Gun

Think it will help the major players at the expense of the little guy? I see it exactly opposite, missing a part to keep you 1990 GMC running that they have obsoleted to get you to buy a new car? Just print a replacement.
Single source supplier no-bids your quote? Make the part yourself.

Those who adapt will prosper,those who don't will suffer, just as the advent of new technology has proven whether it be the use of mechanized agricultural equipment, sales over the Internet vs. brick and mortar, etc. The technology, at the lower price point, is slow and not necessarily elegant. However, the base technology is there, and as it is refined, with improved robotics and nozzle designs and material choices, it will become faster and more precise at an affordable price point. I mean just a few years ago it would have been inconceivable to think that laser printers would be just a couple hundred dollars. In 1992, I paid $3500 for a Dell PC with a 90 megaherz processor. Now, a 3.2 gigzherz processor PC with vastly superior capabilities is a few hundred dollars.

I believe that this technology will open up new avenues of trade, such as the software that I am involved with to easily convert photos to CAD files. Likewise, I could see new streams of commerce in developing CAD files to create the products, not just the products themselves. Say, shoe designs that can be customized by the user for their particular color and style schemes as an example.

One area that will be confusing is intellectual property. A patent or copyright owner may find it impossible to prevent users from making their own versions of a patented product or copyrighted design. while that would be illegal, it is impossible to police and enforce.

It will force manufacturers to keep their pricing at a point where the economics of printing it yourself vs. the economies of scale of producing large quantities is a factor. It will probably come down to the balance of the convenience of printing it yourself vs the pricing and availability of the product.

Couple articles:

http://www.newstatesman.com/business/20 ... s-just-yet

http://www.forbes.com/sites/andygreenbe ... gun-video/

You guys are missing the point. We are all sitting on top of this enormous mountain of people looking down not really ever seeing all the people we are sitting on.

There is no money to buy the printer that prints the jeep part when there is no factory that makes jeeps to work at or really even a reason to have a jeep when you cannot afford to go anywhere. Then, when you go to sell your jeep, it will even be worth less as anyone who could afford it could just print themselves a new one anyway.

We trade the opportunity of future generations (see current economy and govt budget issues as our repayment for the last generation's party, yet we do it too) and the opportunity people we cannot see far away (now and forever) for our own today. On average, advances in technology decrease opportunity and concentrate wealth. This is not complex.

It is no coincidinky that the computer came around and now all the sudden the next generation is now thought to have less opportunity than the last for the first time ever in US history. The internet has not helped, on average, either. Next will be your printer and more. I hope some of you own some land, children or something of real value, something that cannot be printed that you are willing to use to keep yourself fed.

People have to adapt and adapt faster than ever before. I was talking to our IT guy who is constantly taking classes to stay up to date only to find the information he is learning will be out of date in three years.
Sure, there will be a lot of people who wind up out of work, but the smarter ones will build on their knowledge to do something else, or learn a new trade entirely.

I agree with you. That is not my point. Such things are bad public policy, if the policy is to have a system where everyone can provide a basic existence for themselves. Eventually we will need to breed slaves or something, it all has to come from some one or some thing.

The cat is already out of the bag, so watch, just remember, with each invention, the pool of remaining elite gets smaller and smaller, there is a limit to this process. It cannot persist without even more poverty than we have today. We have the ability to have good policy, private or public, in regards to job crushing technologies like this, the computer and walmart's logistics. There are not an unlimited amount of trades.

Whose place is it to decide what products are "good" public policy or "bad" public policy? I have to laugh at the cries that the sky is falling because of new technology. This technology has been around for decades, it is just becoming more affordable. This technology is neither good or bad. The application of the technology might be considered "good" or "bad", but to blame it on the fall of civilization is just absolutely ridiculous.

Adapt to the technology, become a 3D printer person or a supplier of printer raw material, my company buys a lot of the material in different colors. Know the way technology seems to make leaps and bounds these days, I will be very excited to see what develops with this technology.

Something the Dog Said wrote: Whose place is it to decide what products are "good" public policy or "bad" public policy? I have to laugh at the cries that the sky is falling because of new technology. This technology has been around for decades, it is just becoming more affordable. This technology is neither good or bad. The application of the technology might be considered "good" or "bad", but to blame it on the fall of civilization is just absolutely ridiculous.

I work with a company that uses this technology to create custom fitted prosthetics on the spot for their customers. It has gone from a process where it would take an amputee months to be fitted for a prosthetic to where they can walk out with a custom fitted prosthetic on the same day.