I wish I could afford a 3D printer, i have so many ideas for action figures that I could do if i had one!!!
On Mon, Dec 28, 2015 at 4:36 PM, Travis <[email protected]> wrote: > > > > > > > > > http://warontherocks.com/2015/12/3-d-printing-will-disrupt-the-world-in-ways-we-can-barely-imagine/?utm_source=WOTR+Newsletter&utm_campaign=799d6a3e76-WOTR_Newsletter_8_17_158_15_2015&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_8375be81e9-799d6a3e76-80272065 > > > > *3-D Printing Will Disrupt the World in Ways We Can Barely Imagine* > > T.X. Hammes <http://warontherocks.com/author/tx-hammes/> > > December 28, 2015 > > > > In the last few years, additive manufacturing, also known as 3-D printing, > has transformed from an interesting hobby to an industry producing a wide > range of products. It is on the path to causing major disruptions in global > trade — and changing the international security environment. The explosion > of additive manufacturing means it is virtually impossible to provide an > up-to-date list of materials that can be printed, but a recent top ten > list > <https://www.asme.org/engineering-topics/articles/manufacturing-processing/top-10-materials-3d-printing>includes: > metals, such as stainless, bronze, steel, gold, nickel steel, aluminum, and > titanium; carbon fiber and nano-tubes; stem cells; ceramics; and food. > Researchers are exploring the application of 3-D printing to fields from > agriculture and biology to design and manufacturing. MIT developed a > $7,000 multi-material printer > <http://www.gizmag.com/multifab-3d-printer-10-materials/39074/> than can > print ten materials in the same object during a single fabrication process. > As businesses learn to use these multi-material printers, the range of > products they will be able to print will expand exponentially. > > Through it all, the products produced by additive manufacturing will > increase in both quality and complexity. In February 2015, Australian > researchers printed a jet engine > <http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/3d-printer-creates-jet-engine-in-world-first-10072740.html,>. > But don’t think metal printing is only for major corporations — Michigan > Tech designed a 3-D metal printer for that can be built for $1200. > <http://3dprintingindustry.com/2013/12/09/michigan-tech-releases-open-source-3d-metal-printer-less-2000/> > Creative people worldwide will be able to develop and produce metal > products. > > Nor does size seem to be a limit for additive manufacturing. It can > produce products from nano-scale to tens of meters. IBM developed a 3-D > printer capable of printing microchips > <http://www.eetimes.com/document.asp?doc_id=1322091> with nanometer > resolution at a fraction of the cost of current manufacturing systems. At > the other end of the size spectrum, large printers > <http://3dprintingindustry.com/2015/12/14/63399/> are producing cars > <http://3dprintingindustry.com/2015/06/24/gorgeous-modular-supercar-made-possible-by-3d-printing/>, > houses, and even five-story buildings. Further, 3-D printing is efficient > because material wastage is near zero. It may be cheaper to make a part > from titanium using additive manufacturing than from steel using > traditional machining. > > Recent technological developments indicate industry will also be able to > increase > 3-D printing speeds up 100 times > <http://www.ted.com/talks/joe_desimone_what_if_3d_printing_was_25x_faster?language=en> > over the current limit, with a goal of eventually printing 1,000 times > faster. The rapid advances of the last few years mean additive > manufacturing is progressing from a niche capability that produces > prototypes and expensive precise components to a manufacturing industry > capable of producing products in large quantities. UPS created a factory > <http://3dprint.com/62642/cloudddm-ups/> with 100 printers that accepts > orders, prices them, prints them, and ships them in the same day from the > adjacent UPS shipping facility. UPS has plans to expand the plant to 1,000 > printers to support major production runs. This article can only mention a > very few of the literally thousands of advances in 3-D printing > <http://3dprintingindustry.com/news/>. > > *Military Implications* > > The implications of additive manufacturing for the battlefield are > immense. Researchers at the University of Virginia have 3-D-printed a drone > in a single day and by adding an Android phone made it autonomous > <http://www.wired.com/2014/09/military-grade-drone-can-printed-anywhere> > — all for $2,500. Using artificial intelligence available today, such a > drone could identify a distinct object such as an aircraft or fuel truck > using on board multi-spectral imaging > <http://www.agricultureuavs.com/photos_multispectral_camera.htm> before > engaging it with an explosively formed projectile > <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pbf7WEVzKcQ>. In short, autonomous, > cheap weapons systems will range for miles, hunting and engaging specific > targets. Think of them as IEDs that hunt you. If aspirations for greater > printing speed are met, a factory with only 100 printers and sufficient raw > materials could produce 10,000 such autonomous drones *a day*. The > implications for ground forces are obvious — thousands of drone strikes on > vehicles, ammunition dumps, fuel trucks, and other soft targets. This > threat will not be limited to short-range drones. Long-range air > <http://aerovelco.com/us-government-makes-aerovels-flexrotor-itar-free> > and undersea autonomous drones > <http://swampland.time.com/2013/12/22/navy-underwater-drone> are being > produced today, and manufacturers are competing hard to reduce the price. > Thus naval and air forces will also be at risk from cheap, smart, > long-range weapons. > > *The Greatest Strategic Impact of 3-D Printing: Local Production Replaces > Globalization* > > Yet the greatest strategic impact of additive manufacturing may not occur > on the battlefield, but rather in the mundane manufacturing of clothing, > shoes, appliances, phones, medical devices, and much more. In short, localized > distributed manufacturing > <http://3dprintingindustry.com/2014/09/20/avi-reichentals-ted-talk-whats-next-3d-printing/> > will become the norm. Not only will products be cheaper, but they will also > be extremely customizable, rendering traditional manufacturing able to > compete in only a few areas. And since 3-D printing technology is so cheap, > it will also be incredibly widespread — Cambodia, for instance, already > has a 3-D print shop <http://3dprintingindustry.com/2015/12/14/63399/>. > > 3-D printing is also attractive because it drastically reduces the costs > of producing complex items. Using traditional “subtractive” manufacturing — > the norm in manufacturing today — complexity dramatically increases costs > as a result of the need for highly skilled labor to assemble complex forms > from a series of parts. By contrast, additive manufacturing produces even > highly complex parts as a single unit. For example, General Electric is > using 3-D-printed fuel nozzles > <http://3dprintingindustry.com/2015/04/21/3d-printed-jet-nozzle-cleared-fly-makes-aviation-history-135-bln-kickstarter/>in > its new LEAP series of jet engines. Normally consisting of up to 20 finely > machined and carefully assembled parts, the 3-D-printed nozzle is a single > part that boasts improved performance over the assembled nozzles. > > 3-D printing, married with artificial intelligence and robots, will > disrupt manufacturing globally. It will radically alter who makes what > where. Rather than subcontracting the production of components to Southeast > Asia, shipping those components to China for assembly, and finally shipping > them to consumers, many manufacturers will produce locally and switch to > just-in-time production schedules. This shift will eliminate shipping and > inventory costs as well deal with the increasingly costly problem of > intellectual property theft. Local production will result in major > reductions in the globalization of manufacturing and thus change the > economic element of the global strategic environment. As manufacturing > returns to rich countries, it will deprive the nations of Southeast Asia of > the opportunity to pursue export-based growth. Perhaps the greatest threat > is to Chinese growth. Even as its growth settles to a new, lower, normal, > China struggles to shift from an export-based economy to a > consumption-based one. If China cannot make the shift before the additive > manufacturing results in localized manufacturing, it will suffer major > negative impacts on growth. Given the Chinese Communist Party’s primary > claim to legitimacy is economic growth, it may face increasing internal > instability. > > This convergence of 3-D printing, artificial intelligence, and robotics > will accelerate the current shift of wealth from labor to capital. It will > allow much greater productivity per unit of both capital and labor, but > dramatically reduce the number of people required. Those who own capital > and can execute their business models with fewer skilled laborers will > profit greatly from this shift in manufacturing techniques. The United > States will not be immune to this trend. > > And, as happened in the West, even poor nations are seeing changes in > agriculture that are reducing the demand for unskilled labor. Robots guided > by artificial intelligence are displacing increasing numbers of > agricultural laborers. Unfortunately, the large number of now unneeded > laborers will have no income, radically affecting global wealth > distribution. This will increase instability in many struggling nations > while reducing the ability and propensity of the voters of developed > nations to assist them. > > [image: Description: > http://warontherocks.com/2015/12/3-d-printing-will-disrupt-the-world-in-ways-we-can-barely-imagine/?utm_source=WOTR+Newsletter&utm_campaign=799d6a3e76-WOTR_Newsletter_8_17_158_15_2015&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_8375be81e9-799d6a3e76-80272065] > > The impact of these global shifts in trade patterns, employment, and > wealth distribution will emerge over the next decade. It will likely lead > to a slowing and perhaps even a reversal of the decades-long trend of > increasing globalization. As economic interests and labor issues are more > locally driven, we can expect national politicians and businessmen to also > turn inwards — businessmen to maintain profitability and politicians as > they have to deal with the resultant major social changes and likely > instability. Policymakers and strategists need to track this trend and > incorporate its implications into their plans. > > > > *T. X. Hammes is a Distinguished Research Fellow at the U.S. National > Defense University. The views expressed here are solely his own and do not > reflect the views of the U.S. government, Department of Defense or the > National Defense University.* > > > > > __._,_.___ > ------------------------------ > Posted by: "Beowulf" <[email protected]> > ------------------------------ > > > Visit Your Group > <https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/grendelreport/info;_ylc=X3oDMTJmdjNncXQ2BF9TAzk3MzU5NzE0BGdycElkAzIwMTk0ODA2BGdycHNwSWQDMTcwNTMyMzY2NwRzZWMDdnRsBHNsawN2Z2hwBHN0aW1lAzE0NTEzMjM3NDI-> > > > [image: Yahoo! 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