Hi There
I am a maker with 3d printer. I live in the heartland - outside Indianapolis.
Come to realize, the 3d printer is just a device. Whether it prints in plastic or with lasers/EBM and metal - just a machine.
I've got a great one, following Quentin Harley's Morgan v1 design. Moving arms cooler than cartesian or deltas.
Certainly cool and fun with all it's intracacies and beautiful creations.
BUT, it's all about the designs.
I keep thinking how to influence employment. Seems having humans connect pieces is good. Robots typically do assembly, but are expensive to buy, and reprogram -humans are easy to reprogram.
Printers are great in that a tray of pieces can be assembled. Clocks are a great example of parts, but there are probably better examples. We can't just be selling clocks. There's some great progress in electronics that can be embedded in a build. We can't reprap the motors yet, but we're getting closer.
Sure, regional manufacturing is a good target. But I think there's more. Indianapolis, Chicago, Cincinnati, St Louis - a good starting area.
What can you think of? How can we use this new technology to create more jobs?
Yes, we can use the printers to create new artifacts, but how can we INFLUENCE GROWTH !!!
Is this a good discussion? Never posted before, see if anyone is out there.
Steve