Today your iphone case has traveled the world before it is ever was in your hand. Currently, oil from the Middle East is shipped to China where it is turned into plastic with cheap labor. That plastic is molded into a iphone case and shipped on to the US. Then from a port on the west coast of the US, it is shipped to a distribution center, then to a store and finally to your home.
Imagine, that instead of oil to make the plastic we use corn grown in the USA. A renewable plastic that is recyclable called PLA can be made from corn and other crops grown in the USA, made into 3D printer filament, manufacture the product and ship it to your home. In your possession, you can use it with downloaded plans from the internet to make your own iphone case. And you can alter it and customize it in any way you can dream. Apple has not put its specs on line but they can be found at 3rd party websites. Nokia, one of the worlds largest manufacture of cell phones is now putting its phone specs and plans on line for free download.
In many places in the developing world, locals leaped frog land lines telephones and jumped directly to cell phone. There are places in the world without reliable clean water that has better cell phone service than some parts of the US. They simply skipped land lines and the need to be backwards compatible and moved to the future.
3D printing may follow the same path, with creating inventive new distribution and retail models. Exciting new models that are not locked into existing firms, contracts, patents, labor agreements, and government regulation. The PLA plastic can also be made of a wide range of plants, giving local the possibility of creating entire ecosystems of raw materials, production, distribution and sale of product. Add solar power and recycling waste and you create a world that is not beholden to major international corporation and completely disrupts the current order.
Oil will be part of our life for some time, but eliminating long distance supply chains for raw materials and parts and the shorted distribution paths will effect world players and major companies. When parts and products can be made at home simply, easily and cheaply, the need for repressive cheap labor in some places will disappear. Tech centers will spring up in the most unexpected places, innovation and production will spread. Waste pickers scouring the worlds trash dumps living in poverty may become micro industrialists.
3D printers are becoming affordable with makerbot, 3d Systems, Afinia making machines that cost between $500 and $1500. Local stores are now offering 3D printing services much like early fax and copy services.
3D printing can end-run national customs and trade duties and reduce cost by lowering shipping cost. 3D printing will expand the transfer of products by avoiding patients and copyright restrictions. The music industry will tell you that it is impossible to stop file sharing. Soon there will be over 1 million product plans on line for download anywhere in the world. Load the product plans into your 3D printer and print your own.
3D printing will take the means of production from the corporations and governments and put it in the hands of the people. The internet freed communication and information, 3D printing will free production and innovation.
