« NO CONSUMER RECOVERY | Main | JOURNAL: More on Funding the Taliban »

Friday, 14 August 2009

JOURNAL: 3D Printing Update

More on the local fabrication revolution (an important driver of functional resilient communities) from Shapeways (an online 3D printer that allows people to share designs):

Interesting interview with Bram Cohen (Bittorrent creator) on 3D printing and the outsourcing model (scroll to bottom). Key quote: "Moving towards a person or company owning a printer and taking orders from other people to do on it has been a huge improvement in how 3d printing is done, so no, I don't see anyone owning their own 3d printer any time soon. If anything we'll see an extension to the outsource model, where companies own geographically distributed printers and are able to print something physically close to you to have it ship faster." 

More: Jamais Cascio chimes in on the "desktop manufacturing revolution."

Note:  most of the approaches and challenges faced by Shapeways are similar to the conventional 2D print industry (a massive industry).  So, as I anticipated, it's likely that the globally decentralized (just in time and place -- JITP) manufacturing system my team built a couple of years ago for the 2D print industry would work here too.

Posted at 02:26 PM in Journal |

Comments

My Photo

New!

Enter your email address:

Delivered by FeedBurner

On Brave New War

  • Purchase Brave New War
  • New York Times Op-Ed
    ...a fast, thought-sparking book.. -- David Brooks
  • Greenpeace
    I read it twice and bought six copies for my friends -- John Passacantando (Exec. Dir. Greenpeace)
  • G. Gordon Liddy Show (radio)
    ...this is a seminal book in the truest sense of the term.. way ahead of the curve... go out and buy it right now -- G. Gordon Liddy
  • City Journal
    Robb has written an important book that every policymaker should read -- Glenn Reynolds (Instapundit)
  • Small Wars Journal
    Without reservation Brave New War is for professional students of irregular warfare and for any citizen who wants to understand emerging trends and the dark potential of 4GW -- Frank Hoffman
  • Scripps Howard News Service
    A brilliant new book published by terrorism expert John Robb, titled "Brave New War," hit stores last month with virtually no fanfare. It deserves both significant attention and vigorous debate... - Thomas P.M. Barnett
  • Chet Richards DNI
    John has produced an important book that should help jar the United States and other legacy states out of their Cold War mindset. You can read it in a couple of hours – so you should read it twice...
  • Washington Times / UPI
    Robb correctly finds the antidote to 4GW not in Soviet-style state structures such as the Department of Homeland Security, but in decentralization -- William Lind (the father of 4th generation warfare).
  • Robert Paterson
    Having painted a crystal clear picture of how a war of networks is playing out, he comes to an astonishing conclusion that I hope he fills out in his next book.
  • The Daily Dish
    John Robb of Global Guerrillas has written the most important book of the year, Brave New War. - Daily Dish (The Atlantic)
  • Simulated Laughter
    Well-written. Brave New War reads more like an action novel than a ponderous policy book. - Adam Elkus
  • FutureJacked
    Go buy a copy of this book. Now. If you are low on cash, skip a few lunches and save up the cash. It is worth it. - Michael Flagg
  • ZenPundit
    The second audience is composed of everyone else. Brave New War is simply going to blow them away. - Mark Safranski
  • Haft of the Spear
    There aren’t a lot of books that make me recall a 12-year-old self aching for the next issue of The Invincible Iron Man to hit the shelves. Well done. - Michael Tanji
  • Ed Cone
    His book posits an Army of Davids -- with the traditional nation state in the role of Goliath. - Ed Cone (Ziff Davis)
  • The Newshoggers
    I highly recommend reading and re-reading this work. - Fester
  • Shloky.com
    This is the first real text on next generation warfare designed for the general population and it sets the bar high for following acts. It is smart, it is a short read, and it will change your thinking. - Shlok Vaidya
  • Politics in the Zeros
    I suggest this is something Lefties need to start thinking about now, as that decentralized world is coming. - Bob Morris
  • Hidden Unities
    A thoughtful book that should be read more widely than the latest Tom Friedman whopper, Chalmers Johnson scare tale or Bill Kristol hack fest. - EB

Books To Read

Archives

More...

Subscribe to this blog's feed

Stats2