3D Printing: The last nail in the economy's coffin.

[NewOldPlayer]

Yes, 3D printing is amazing. Yes, it's the future. Yes, it marks a new beginning in the tech industrial revolution.

It also wipes out more jobs that you can imagine.

This technology will be more damaging than buying our products from China.

It just strengthens the evolution of removing humans from manual manufacturing labor. Nice if you are a CEO of Toys R Us, but what about the other 99% of the working class?

It's bad enough that our economy is still struggling, and now with 3D printing coming, all industries will be jumping at it to save money ie: get rid of those pesky costly humans that used to do manual labor for us.

Technology should aid mankind to advance. This advancement will further destroy our fragile economy and destroy more jobs in the long run.

I'm not against progress. I think it's an amazing invention. But I wish the egg heads and CEO's would concentrate on the advancement of human beings, and not just on ways to increase their profit margins.

If human beings don't advance and prosper, who will buy all the crap spewing out of these 3D printers? Only the rich.

[seeandsee]

I want food printers, like in star wars, oh that would be great

[edgeprod]

I want food printers, like in star wars, oh that would be great

This technology is being actively researched. Not replicators, like Star Trek (although that is also in its infancy), but "food printers" as you say. There have been several prototypes, but there's a long way to go.

[Dead]

Hold the lettuce and tomato......Minimum wage has met its match....$14.00 an hour to hit the right key,....good riddance, the robot will get it right every time!

[erehwon]

Yes, 3D printing is amazing. Yes, it's the future. Yes, it marks a new beginning in the tech industrial revolution.

It also wipes out more jobs that you can imagine.

This technology will be more damaging than buying our products from China.

...

If human beings don't advance and prosper, who will buy all the crap spewing out of these 3D printers? Only the rich.

I think quite the opposite, 3D printers will allow the smaller companies to flourish over the larger ones allowing them to experiment with products, or develop products that larger corporations may in the past thought to be unprofitable.

A real-life 'Iron Man': 3-year-old boy fitted with 3D-printed prosthetic hand

The economic engine of the United States is with small businesses, this 3D printed prosthetic hand is just one example of where 3D printing is going to improve how we live, and ideally spring up businesses that can compete with China and the rest of the world.

Worse case, Tuesday is Soylent Green day...

[NewOldPlayer]

Don't forget what replaced Mr. Whipple (Twilight Zone) after he modernized the factory...



I'm not against technology and the advancement of mankind, but I don't know how I'll feel when a machine takes my job and I become obsolete.

Is removing men from manufacturing really the way to go at this stage in time? I guess there never really is a good time to destroy jobs.

Just when the auto industry was slowly coming back, in 5 years, look for that pink slip in your locker because "you are no longer needed."

[JA$ON]

Its never that bad, LOL. Thats what they said about robots and automation.

Jobs are lost when robots take over building things humans used to build (cars etc)......then jobs are created in technology, manufacturing, sales , accounting etc etc etc at the companies who build the robots.

Jobs disappear, new ones are created in new and different industries. Things SHIFT and SHUFFLE, but there has been no net loss of jobs as a result of technology.

[Rochard]

Didn't they say this about microwaves too? "It will be the end of restaurants because you can instantly cook at home". See how that worked out.

I don't think 3d printing will change much. It will be used to make simple, one piece items, but at the same time it will spawn an entire new industry.... Countries making plastics with certain textures, companies selling designs online, 3d printer repair people.... If it fucks anyone it will be the people in China.

[_Richard_]

I think quite the opposite, 3D printers will allow the smaller companies to flourish over the larger ones allowing them to experiment with products, or develop products that larger corporations may in the past thought to be unprofitable.

A real-life 'Iron Man': 3-year-old boy fitted with 3D-printed prosthetic hand

The economic engine of the United States is with small businesses, this 3D printed prosthetic hand is just one example of where 3D printing is going to improve how we live, and ideally spring up businesses that can compete with China and the rest of the world.

Worse case, Tuesday is Soylent Green day...

[dyna mo]

i'm currently printing up a fracking rig with my 3d printer. that should really bring about the end of the usa. same thing happened to the romans.

[Quine]

The Luddites were 19th-century English textile artisans who protested against newly developed labour-replacing machinery from 1811 to 1817. The stocking frames, spinning frames and power looms introduced during the Industrial Revolution threatened to replace the artisans with less-skilled, low-wage labourers, leaving them without work.


Economists apply the term Luddite fallacy to the notion that technological unemployment leads to structural unemployment (and is consequently macroeconomically injurious). If a technological innovation results in a reduction of necessary labour inputs in a given sector, then the industry-wide cost of production falls, which lowers the competitive price and increases the equilibrium supply point which, theoretically, will require an increase in aggregate labour inputs.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luddite

[brassmonkey]

be right back my fleshlight is done

[AllAboutCams]

Good i can not wait to try a food one

[XXXBizXXX]

[DAMNMAN]

Yes, 3D printing is amazing. Yes, it's the future. Yes, it marks a new beginning in the tech industrial revolution.

It also wipes out more jobs that you can imagine.

This technology will be more damaging than buying our products from China.

It just strengthens the evolution of removing humans from manual manufacturing labor. Nice if you are a CEO of Toys R Us, but what about the other 99% of the working class?

It's bad enough that our economy is still struggling, and now with 3D printing coming, all industries will be jumping at it to save money ie: get rid of those pesky costly humans that used to do manual labor for us.

Technology should aid mankind to advance. This advancement will further destroy our fragile economy and destroy more jobs in the long run.

I'm not against progress. I think it's an amazing invention. But I wish the egg heads and CEO's would concentrate on the advancement of human beings, and not just on ways to increase their profit margins.

If human beings don't advance and prosper, who will buy all the crap spewing out of these 3D printers? Only the rich.

I think you are correct.

[Relentless]

Its never that bad, LOL. Thats what they said about robots and automation. Jobs are lost when robots take over building things humans used to build (cars etc)......then jobs are created in technology, manufacturing, sales , accounting etc etc etc at the companies who build the robots. Jobs disappear, new ones are created in new and different industries. Things SHIFT and SHUFFLE, but there has been no net loss of jobs as a result of technology.

Unfortunately that simply isn't true.

Globalization does cause job loss in one place and job gain in other places. Automation is a very different event. It causes tremendous job loss overall with a very small corrolary gain elsewhere. In fact, the real problem is that automation accelerates itself. The metaphorical example is a robot built to fix other robots.

3D printing won't cost as many jobs as some expect, because many of those jobs have already been automated at the industrial level. What wll cost an obscene amount of jobs is the driverless car, and it's coming very soon.

When all truckers, bus drivers, cab drivers and commercial drivers are replaced by automated vehicles the job loss will be astronomical. Especially when you factor in the efficiency of cars that take themselves for service, almost never have accidents on the road, optimize fuel usage and reduce the need for gas stations, car dealerships and so on.

In the next 25 years another 10-15 percent of the population will no longer be needed. That's on top of the roughly 25% that is already surplus. Compared against 6-8% idle population 25 years ago... And that number will accelerate over time.

We are incredibly good at doing more with less, and efficiency breeds greater efficiency. Unless you are capable of creating something from nothing, actually inventing something... You can and will soon be replaced.

[edgeprod]

Yeah, I was demo'ing that for people in San Francisco the other day, they were blown away .. LOL. It's kind of a neat little thing.

[Mr. Garibaldi]

[pimpmaster9000]

3d printers have nowhere near the capacity of production as real factories...its for making 1 model of something but very badly...

just looking at the shit I have on my desk there is nothing that can actually be 3d printed with a definite advantage over just buying it in the shop...the least complex thing on my desk is a white board marker and it has say 3 plastic components and an inner container with ink...I would need hours to print this 1$ pen it is simply not worth my time...

food printer? man there's a 5$/meal bistro down the road the food is up to par with the best restaurants...


3d printer is not the same as star trek replicator...

[2MuchMark]

I'm pretty sure the economy won't be affected by 3D printers anytime soon. While it may have an impact on the future, it may not necessary be bad.

[NewOldPlayer]

Well, I hope you all are right...

I know when an invention is made that streamlines the task, people lose their jobs.

But my problem is this:

When a new invention is created, it usually effects that one specific task or job that the new invention was designed for. But with this 3D printer, once perfected, it crosses all lines of production and doesn't have any boundaries. This invention is so powerful, that when they make larger ones (already in progress), it will make cars, parts, toys, furniture, electronics, organs, food, and one day, prefab homes. No limits. That is the danger. In 20 years we will start to feel the effects. This is a new and profound invention that will change everything.

It will remove more jobs than it creates. I believe it will have a very serious negative effect on the working man and the economy because it crosses all lines. This is so much more than a "cotton gin" or a "microwave oven" that effects only small subset niche of a small application. This is brand new technology the world has never used before.

Machines making toys for people with no money to buy them.

[ZeroHero]

[Klen]

I'm pretty sure the economy won't be affected by 3D printers anytime soon. While it may have an impact on the future, it may not necessary be bad.

Yes i'v seen them in action,and all i can say ,man those things are slow as fuck.It takes several days to make it.So basically unless they make 3d printers which will literally make things instantly like star trek replicator,there wont be any effect on economy,and this will stay in DIY sphere. After all,at the moment,you could make your own version of iphone,but time taken to make it's simply not worth it,better to go to store and buy finished product.

[Barry-xlovecam]

Gutenberg's movable type printing press made the occupation of scribe obsolete and it also lowered the cost of books so that many could afford them. The printing press made newspaper and magazine publishing a new industry employing many. The Internet has come along and digital publishing has now made print publishing a much smaller industry but the Internet has created many new jobs.

The first printing press was slow and of limited value too. The vision is to be able to ''print'' new homes for the masses and create consumer items -- even body replacement parts -- cheaply with little human labor. Cheap developing world labor will be replaced by cheaper mechanized or robotic labor that is also more politically stable labor.

Learn new skills or be made redundant -- this is your best option.

[pinkz]

Yes, 3D printing is amazing. Yes, it's the future. Yes, it marks a new beginning in the tech industrial revolution.

It also wipes out more jobs that you can imagine.

This technology will be more damaging than buying our products from China.

It just strengthens the evolution of removing humans from manual manufacturing labor. Nice if you are a CEO of Toys R Us, but what about the other 99% of the working class?

It's bad enough that our economy is still struggling, and now with 3D printing coming, all industries will be jumping at it to save money ie: get rid of those pesky costly humans that used to do manual labor for us.

Technology should aid mankind to advance. This advancement will further destroy our fragile economy and destroy more jobs in the long run.

I'm not against progress. I think it's an amazing invention. But I wish the egg heads and CEO's would concentrate on the advancement of human beings, and not just on ways to increase their profit margins.

If human beings don't advance and prosper, who will buy all the crap spewing out of these 3D printers? Only the rich.

No jobs for the work force = no cash in their pockets = un able to buy 3d printed products = counter productive to commerce = IT WONT HAPPEN!

[dyna mo]

Yes i'v seen them in action,and all i can say ,man those things are slow as fuck.It takes several days to make it.So basically unless they make 3d printers which will literally make things instantly like star trek replicator,there wont be any effect on economy,and this will stay in DIY sphere. After all,at the moment,you could make your own version of iphone,but time taken to make it's simply not worth it,better to go to store and buy finished product.

3d printing is already a multi-billion dollar industry with several manufacturers printing final products on mass production 3d printer assembly lines.

the waste savings alone 3d printing allows can be up to 90%. the other efficiences it creates in manufacturing are also significant

It's already way beyond diy and adding to the economy.

[dyna mo]

Gutenberg's movable type printing press made the occupation of scribe obsolete and it also lowered the cost of books so that many could afford them. The printing press made newspaper and magazine publishing a new industry employing many. The Internet has come along and digital publishing has now made print publishing a much smaller industry but the Internet has created many new jobs.

The first printing press was slow and of limited value too. The vision is to be able to ''print'' new homes for the masses and create consumer items -- even body replacement parts -- cheaply with little human labor. Cheap developing world labor will be replaced by cheaper mechanized or robotic labor that is also more politically stable labor.

Learn new skills or be made redundant -- this is your best option.

I've read several articles discussing all the new industry and jobs 3d printing will create and is creating.

[PR_Glen]

this is a pretty strange place to be complaining about new technology and it taking away jobs and hurting the economy... did any of you know you would be working online when you were in grade school? Didn't exist when I was there. Where would we be without it? Travelling salesmen? Real estate agents? Those job markets were flooded in the 80's.

Technology removes the redundancy from other jobs which opens the doors for us to move on to new and better jobs down the line.

[czarina]

GOOD! All those people that will lose their jobs due to the 3D printers, should start working the ground and planting food. This planet needs more food and less items!

[bronco67]

I don't think your theory holds water.

[shoot twice]

Yes, 3D printing is amazing. Yes, it's the future. Yes, it marks a new beginning in the tech industrial revolution.

It also wipes out more jobs that you can imagine.

This technology will be more damaging than buying our products from China.

It just strengthens the evolution of removing humans from manual manufacturing labor. Nice if you are a CEO of Toys R Us, but what about the other 99% of the working class?

It's bad enough that our economy is still struggling, and now with 3D printing coming, all industries will be jumping at it to save money ie: get rid of those pesky costly humans that used to do manual labor for us.

Technology should aid mankind to advance. This advancement will further destroy our fragile economy and destroy more jobs in the long run.

I'm not against progress. I think it's an amazing invention. But I wish the egg heads and CEO's would concentrate on the advancement of human beings, and not just on ways to increase their profit margins.

If human beings don't advance and prosper, who will buy all the crap spewing out of these 3D printers? Only the rich.

You're going to hear /read all kinds of opinions on this and to be honest no one knows how any of this will finish. However nations rise and fall; species eventually go extinct and in the end everything eventually comes to an end. So the United States will eventually collapse and one day humanity will go the way of the dinosaur.

But in the mean time if you're wrestling with this concept of progress you should start by asking yourself

1) What is progress?
Is it putting an end to illiteracy, world hunger, racism, war, etc? OR is it a stupid Iphone, 3D printing or a driverless car?

2) Who's in charge of deciding what is or isn't progress and why them?
No one ever asked you what you think and in fact it's the opposite they tell you what to think.

3) Where is all this "progress" going?
After all what's the end goal to this? Is it to create a happier, more stable and more peaceful world or is it just for financial profit?

[PR_Glen]

You're going to hear /read all kinds of opinions on this and to be honest no one knows how any of this will finish. However nations rise and fall; species eventually go extinct and in the end everything eventually comes to an end. So the United States will eventually collapse and one day humanity will go the way of the dinosaur.

But in the mean time if you're wrestling with this concept of progress you should start by asking yourself

1) What is progress?
Is it putting an end to illiteracy, world hunger, racism, war, etc? OR is it a stupid Iphone, 3D printing or a driverless car?

2) Who's in charge of deciding what is or isn't progress and why them?
No one ever asked you what you think and in fact it's the opposite they tell you what to think.

3) Where is all this "progress" going?
After all what's the end goal to this? Is it to create a happier, more stable and more peaceful world or is it just for financial profit?

What does any of this have to do with 3d printers or the economy? the dinosaurs walked the earth for around 165 million years... could you find a more ludicrous comparison for humans or the economy?

[chaze]

I want food printers, like in star wars, oh that would be great

Me too please.

There is always something that will take down an industry. It's just evolution. Try trying to buy adwords for hosting. $10-$40 a click. You might think that would take down the hosting industry yet with the right product and some creativity it still survives.

Hope no one you know loses a job, that's a horrible feeling.

Another example is tubes, you would think it would stop the adult online industry but I know people still killing and new customers making a good income in months. You just have to evolve with the changes and creative.

[edgeprod]

this is a pretty strange place to be complaining about new technology and it taking away jobs and hurting the economy... did any of you know you would be working online when you were in grade school? Didn't exist when I was there. Where would we be without it? Travelling salesmen? Real estate agents? Those job markets were flooded in the 80's.

Technology removes the redundancy from other jobs which opens the doors for us to move on to new and better jobs down the line.

Honestly, I'm shocked you even bothered to refute what was originally said. It was so banal and ridiculous that I assumed it was a troll. That guy is VenusBlogger, right?

[PaperstreetWinston]

Cant wait until we can print meds

[shoot twice]

could you find a more ludicrous comparison for humans or the economy?

I suppose I could and I'll be happy to try if you wish.

It was just a comment on the general nature of everything and anything. That being everything has its time and then comes to an end. So it's not a question of "IF" the economy but when.

There's already reports circulating that the United States will lose it's position as the worlds biggest economy by the end of the year. It does appear that technology is playing a huge role in the destruction of the US economy and alienating itself to the rest of the world. But are we seeing the actual and final collapse of the 60 to 70 years of United States financial dominance or just another bump along the way?

Who knows? And in the big picture does it really matter?