So it’s happened. The world of manufacturing has officially changed.

As many of us have been following avidly for quite some time, 3d printing is starting to completely change how we think about “products”. The fact that we can now print quite complex shapes and machinery in a variety of materials to set industry specs takes us just that much closer to a world in which we no longer need to BUY a product.

So, where will this take us?

Well, I just broke a part on my car. It’s a small piece of molded plastic that connects one thing to another and for its size, has turned out to be quite crucial. (Had I known it was so crucial, I might have thought twice about hitting it with that hammer!) Right now, I have to pay a dealership an extortionate amount of money for a part that is made in an off-shore plant for a pittance.

But what 3d printing means is that pretty son I’ll be able to order the MODEL, a small data file that I can then either open and print at home or, if the object needs to be in a material I don’t have available, I can bring it to a print-shop to output.

But this is where it gets interesting.
If I’m feeling creative and a little adventurous (which I normally am, sometimes with terrible consequences) I can design and model MY OWN replacement part.

I dare say corresponding innovations in 3d scanning will become widespread very soon and we will find ourselves capable of creating simple “scan-and-print” clones of the items we need. Of course this creates a whole new world of legal and copyright issues with which we’ll need to contend but for now, it’s just too exciting to allow ourselves to get bogged down in legalities!

Don’t believe we’re there yet? How about making your own audio speakers?

Ultimately, we will all become not just “product designers” but also “product manufacturers” and I, for one, can’t wait!

http://www.designboom.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/3d-printed-desktop-speaker031.jpg