The New Industrial Revolution: Are we actually ready for this?

goldengull3 said:We are already seeing 3D printers being utilized in experimental medicine; for instance, researchers in Italy are developing a system to regenerate knee cartilage, which is a remarkably common issue. The process is relatively straightforward: you have your knee scanned in 3D, a model is printed, a nutrient-rich scaffold is prepared, and a small sample of your own cartilage is seeded onto it. Once it grows on that replica of your joint, it’s surgically implanted into your actual knee. It's a simplified version of a complex procedure, but the result is your own lab-grown tissue—not quite a perfect biological duplicate, perhaps, but infinitely superior to any synthetic substitute.

Honestly, this is the absolute pinnacle of progress... For professional athletes, this will likely go down as the greatest invention in history. I find myself wondering about the price tag, though, and more importantly, if they could eventually manufacture an artificial disc to sit between my vertebrae... 🤷

ruggedgardener2 said:Personally, I'm still rocking my parents' old Ford Focus. I've got a bike, too...

That 2019 Ford Focus actually features the same technology we're seeing in this Mercedes-Benz now... if not even earlier... 😉

hollowtrucker77 said:Are you actually trying to lecture us on stuff you clearly don't understand, or do you just lack any clue whatsoever and therefore feel like talking about everything anyway?
"Overly complex geometry"?
Why don't you be a hero and explain to the rest of us how the hell 3D printers even work?

If we consider products or parts that currently require assembly from multiple pieces due to specific geometries or the limitations of traditional machining—which often compromises material integrity, product efficiency, and leads to wasted material and labor—then there is an issue here.

3D printers, by applying materials in layers based on computer-generated 3D cross-section models, bypass those constraints. They allow for a level of manipulation with materials like metal that offers clear advantages over casting. It doesn't necessarily require highly specialized labor or heavy machinery, since precision is somewhat built-in. Certain materials, particularly carbon-based compounds (whose derivatives, like carbon fiber and nanotubes, struggle today because manufacturing processes can't guarantee structural solidity), will likely be impossible to utilize without this technology in the near future.

neonhound18 said:And one can't help but wonder, will we eventually see nanotechnology integrated into the human body, or perhaps life extension technologies offering a sort of "eternal youth"? All joking aside, such advancements could trigger massive global upheavals; wouldn't that inevitably spark some kind of social revolution? 🤷

Counter-revolutions. 😁
Getting back to a simple life without all this consumerism.
Assuming these progressives are feeling generous enough to leave us any part of the planet for that purpose.

feralbadger2 said:People are going to lose their jobs, sure, but won't that drive prices way down? Think about it: cheaper labor costs could lead to higher quality goods, faster construction, and mass-scale manufacturing via 3D printing. If we don't need nearly as many employees to get things done, everything becomes more accessible. I don't know... maybe.

Exactly what this guy who wrote "Robots will steal your job but that’s okay" is driving at. Fewer jobs, but way more stuff. We'll basically be living in this era of total abundance, and then Universal Basic Income becomes a reality—just giving people money simply because they exist. Of course, someone still has to be a politician, a philosopher, an athlete, or an artist, or manage and oversee all those massive machines, right?

Nicholas Chavez70 said:Honestly, this is the absolute pinnacle of progress... For professional athletes, this will likely go down as the greatest invention in history. I find myself wondering about the price tag, though, and more importantly, if they could eventually manufacture an artificial disc to sit between my vertebrae... 🤷

That 2019 Ford Focus actually features the same technology we're seeing in this Mercedes-Benz now... if not even earlier... 😉

What I'm trying to say is that despite all this "progress," I can't—at least not right now—actually afford my own car. I'm unemployed and still living at home with my parents.🙂

You have likely encountered the headlines—the proliferation of 3D printers is accelerating at a pace that many claim will trigger a second industrial revolution.

Billions are being poured into this development. In America, the primary driver is the desire to decouple industrial manufacturing from its heavy reliance on China. Much of what is currently handled by a largely semi-skilled workforce can already be printed, or will be within a few short years:
- plastic and similar components (this is already a reality)
- metal parts (already occurring sporadically)
- houses and similar structures (on the horizon)

The implications are simple. If you need a glass, you print it. If you require an auto part, a mechanic simply orders it from a "print shop," and a component is ready for installation in a matter of hours—eliminating the need for shipping or massive inventories.

Looking for specialized pasta? Even Kraft Heinz is exploring 3D printing:

In an era where a 3D printer can produce product prototypes, floor tiles, miniature replicas, aircraft components, or even custom sweets, it stands to reason that one could print bespoke pasta. This is precisely the objective of Kraft Heinz, which, in collaboration with the RAND Corporation in Silicon Valley, has begun developing a prototype device designed for 3D pasta printing.

The goal is to engineer a printer specifically for restaurants aiming to offer a unique service: serving pasta in customized shapes and flavors, prepared almost instantly upon ordering.

Perhaps you need an entire house? That is also possible; walls can be erected in 24 hours:

On a cleared and leveled site, workers would lay down two rails a few feet further apart than the eventual building’s width and a computer-controlled contour crafter would take over from there. A gantry-type crane with a hanging nozzle and a components-placing arm would travel along the rails. The nozzle would spit out concrete in layers to create hollow walls, and then fill in the walls with additional concrete… humans would hang doors and insert windows.

http://www.psfk.com/2014/01/concrete...er.html#!sfIHV

Millions of jobs will vanish in the coming years. Of course, new ones will emerge—someone must design, assemble, and maintain these printers, just as someone must handle design, sales, and intellectual property protection.

What will undeniably disappear are the low-skill positions in manufacturing, logistics, assembly, and certain sectors of construction. This shift will carry profound political consequences; as the industrial structure shifts, so does the demand in the labor market. Developed nations will no longer be seeking factory workers, but specialists.

Ultimately, this is a subject of intense contemplation in developed nations, but I wonder if anyone here is truly paying attention.

northernsailor8 said:It seems you haven't heard of the law of accelerating returns. It's statistically proven, I guess, and correlates quite closely with Moore's law.

Once our industrial civilization actually develops the capacity to feed, house, transport, heal, warm, clothe, and educate people at an exponential rate, then maybe those "laws" will carry any weight.

For now, our entire civilization is tethered to fossil fuel extraction. Despite all the chatter about exponential leaps in tech and knowledge, nothing has fundamentally changed there. Without fossil fuels, none of this exists, and technology hasn't managed to replace them yet. Fossil fuels aren't exactly a winning bet for the long term. So, either this exponentially growing tech solves the energy crisis, or we keep going exactly as we are. That leaves us with two outcomes: our industrial civilization survives just long enough to wreck the planet and make it uninhabitable, or it collapses before it can finish the job, giving us a chance at a fresh start.

This is clearly the future, and we are absolutely not ready for it.

That said, I don't think it’ll happen overnight. The tech is still in its infancy and hasn't been properly vetted yet.
In the end, it’ll just be another scheme to line the pockets of a select few. They'll "produce" goods even cheaper than Chinese people can, raking in massive profits while leaving X times fewer workers with jobs.
Are they going to ship 3D printers to African Americans to solve world hunger? I highly doubt it.

Maybe in 100 or 200 years, it’ll become cheap enough for every household to own one. Until then, nothing changes—except a handful of people getting richer while the workforce shrinks even further.

nimblelynx7 said:This is clearly the future, and we are absolutely not ready for it.

That said, I don't think it’ll happen overnight. The tech is still in its infancy and hasn't been properly vetted yet.
In the end, it’ll just be another scheme to line the pockets of a select few. They'll "produce" goods even cheaper than Chinese people can, raking in massive profits while leaving X times fewer workers with jobs.
Are they going to ship 3D printers to African Americans to solve world hunger? I highly doubt it.

Maybe in 100 or 200 years, it’ll become cheap enough for every household to own one. Until then, nothing changes—except a handful of people getting richer while the workforce shrinks even further.

Ownership isn't even a requirement. We already see "print shops" popping up in cities where you can simply bring in your digital designs and have them produced. This isn't a slow evolution spanning centuries; it's moving rapidly, likely within just a few years.

And the Chinese people are preparing aggressively:

Silicon Valley startups and private companies are starting to invest in new technology and coming up with innovations.
3D printing companies have flocked to this year’s World's Fair, bringing their newly designed products and technologies, looking to expand their market in the US.
"The price of a 3D printer is still high, but many local companies have already considered buying the product. Especially jewellery companies. It’s easier for them to design their product effectively and efficiently," said John Doe, who is a Sales manager at a US company.
The market for 3D printing and services was reportedly worth 2.2 billion dollars worldwide last year, 29 percent up from the previous years. The industry has been growing by more than 20 percent annually and growth is expected to accelerate.
This is one of the biggest 3D printing centers in the US, located in the southwest region near Chengdu. Experts say 3D printing is increasingly being used in the automotive, aerospace, and medical industries. They also say it could become more important in the final stages of production.

http://english.cntv.cn/program/newsu...5/100712.shtml

You basically just need a man and you print him out, but then what? What are people actually supposed to do with them, or is there some kind of organized disposal strategy in place similar to how things were handled during World War II...

George W. Bush mentioned he was getting into 3D printing. Honestly, who knows if he ever actually pulled the trigger on that!

Quote : Nicholas Chavez70

JohnDoe-25 As specified by: In maybe 100 or 200 years, technology might drive costs down enough that every single household can afford it. Until then, things will likely stay exactly as they are now—except for the fact that a few individuals will amass even more wealth while the workforce shrinks significantly.

What’s the current price? I stopped by Walmart earlier today. It was quite an experience.
I just placed an order on Amazon. It’s always such a relief to have everything delivered right to my doorstep.

goldengull3 said:You have likely encountered the headlines—the proliferation of 3D printers is accelerating at a pace that many claim will trigger a second industrial revolution.

Billions are being poured into this development. In America, the primary driver is the desire to decouple industrial manufacturing from its heavy reliance on China. Much of what is currently handled by a largely semi-skilled workforce can already be printed, or will be within a few short years:
- plastic and similar components (this is already a reality)
- metal parts (already occurring sporadically)
- houses and similar structures (on the horizon)

The implications are simple. If you need a glass, you print it. If you require an auto part, a mechanic simply orders it from a "print shop," and a component is ready for installation in a matter of hours—eliminating the need for shipping or massive inventories.

Looking for specialized pasta? Even Kraft Heinz is exploring 3D printing:

In an era where a 3D printer can produce product prototypes, floor tiles, miniature replicas, aircraft components, or even custom sweets, it stands to reason that one could print bespoke pasta. This is precisely the objective of Kraft Heinz, which, in collaboration with the RAND Corporation in Silicon Valley, has begun developing a prototype device designed for 3D pasta printing.

The goal is to engineer a printer specifically for restaurants aiming to offer a unique service: serving pasta in customized shapes and flavors, prepared almost instantly upon ordering.

Perhaps you need an entire house? That is also possible; walls can be erected in 24 hours:

On a cleared and leveled site, workers would lay down two rails a few feet further apart than the eventual building’s width and a computer-controlled contour crafter would take over from there. A gantry-type crane with a hanging nozzle and a components-placing arm would travel along the rails. The nozzle would spit out concrete in layers to create hollow walls, and then fill in the walls with additional concrete… humans would hang doors and insert windows.

http://www.psfk.com/2014/01/concrete...er.html#!sfIHV

Millions of jobs will vanish in the coming years. Of course, new ones will emerge—someone must design, assemble, and maintain these printers, just as someone must handle design, sales, and intellectual property protection.

What will undeniably disappear are the low-skill positions in manufacturing, logistics, assembly, and certain sectors of construction. This shift will carry profound political consequences; as the industrial structure shifts, so does the demand in the labor market. Developed nations will no longer be seeking factory workers, but specialists.

Ultimately, this is a subject of intense contemplation in developed nations, but I wonder if anyone here is truly paying attention.

Yeah, good luck with that. Even if someone recognizes a good idea, the IRS is way too aggressive. Real entrepreneurship and that true spirit have basically been crushed by recent policies. It won't last forever, obviously, but it'll certainly shake anyone trying to launch an idea here in the States. Unless, of course, they move overseas.🤷

And we have the opportunity right here.

Look, goldengull3, this is the golden ticket right here. 😍😍
You grab some shares in companies you actually believe in, and boom—you’re living like royalty in a few years. 😍
And hey, if a total revolution actually happens, I just hope it doesn't pull a 3D TV stunt on us, where there’s a massive "boom" every couple of years just to keep things trendy.
Or worse, like those curved screens—after we spent decades fighting for flat displays, they'd try to trick us again. 😁
I mean, Americans could probably just 3D-print some high-end steaks and ship them over to Germany. It’s a win-win, right? But honestly, I’m terrified we’d all end up brawling in the streets over the civil rights of cloned people or something equally ridiculous. 😍

Jack Johnson6 said:Once our industrial civilization actually develops the capacity to feed, house, transport, heal, warm, clothe, and educate people at an exponential rate, then maybe those "laws" will carry any weight.

For now, our entire civilization is tethered to fossil fuel extraction. Despite all the chatter about exponential leaps in tech and knowledge, nothing has fundamentally changed there. Without fossil fuels, none of this exists, and technology hasn't managed to replace them yet. Fossil fuels aren't exactly a winning bet for the long term. So, either this exponentially growing tech solves the energy crisis, or we keep going exactly as we are. That leaves us with two outcomes: our industrial civilization survives just long enough to wreck the planet and make it uninhabitable, or it collapses before it can finish the job, giving us a chance at a fresh start.

It seems to me you are discussing things you don't really understand. In just 25 years, industrial civilization turned China from a nation of starving peasants into a highly industrialized economic powerhouse where unemployment is around 5% and average wages exceed $400. It became the world's largest exporter and a major importer of oil and cars, all while domestic consumption and standards of living are surging. Today, there is a smaller percentage of hungry, sick, and extremely poor people in the world than ever before in history.

Sure, we are still quite dependent on fossil fuels, but that is just one factor among thousands regarding technological development. Being reliant on oil doesn't mean that computing, healthcare, telecommunications, and other fields haven't advanced, fundamentally changing our way of life in a single generation.

Speaking of oil, let's just say Germany now gets over 25% of its energy from alternative sources, with more coming from nuclear power. Consider that China invests tens of billions of dollars annually into solar energy research, or that there are plans to build more nuclear plants globally now than ever before in history, or that the two largest dams ever were built in the last decade.

Ultimately, there are technologies—some already developed and others in the works (especially promising are genetic experiments with bacteria and algae producing electricity and biofuel)—that could completely eliminate our reliance on oil, though they aren't profitable for anyone just yet. If the demand arises, significant development would happen relatively quickly, much like what we see with the advancement of solar cells and the trade friction between the US and China over them.

The world is moving forward, faster than before. Those who fail to see that perhaps just don't understand it and are simply afraid of progress.

goldengull3, I'm dying to hear what you think about this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kYIfeZcXA9U

Richard Wilson4 said:But honestly, it’s mostly happening in Japan, where people aren't nearly as worked up about it.

And who’s actually putting together the European Autos anyway? Who knows?

Most of what you see out there are just first or second-gen robots. They aren't even close to the actual AI people usually have in mind when they talk about robotics.

But hey, let's be real—replacing certain jobs with automated systems? That’s been happening for ages already.

Chinese people are likely leading the pack globally when it comes to 3D printing. They are already printing massive sections for next-gen fighter jets.

http://www.3dprinterclassifieds.com/...viation-parts/

http://www.3ders.org/articles/201305...component.html

http://igcc.ucsd.edu/assets/001/504640.pdf

And us? We’re just sitting here engaging in pure wishful thinking.
We continue to mock Chinese people and their "cheap plastic junk" imported for our flea markets, acting like that's all they do. In reality, the Chinese are the number two power in high-tech manufacturing. They sit right behind the USA, but ahead of high-tech Japan, Germany, the UK, France, and the rest...
We are just a nation of four million football coaches, four million economists, four million politicians... you get the idea.

gentlesailor17 said:Most of what you see out there are just first or second-gen robots. They aren't even close to the actual AI people usually have in mind when they talk about robotics.

But hey, let's be real—replacing certain jobs with automated systems? That’s been happening for ages already.

Once they perfect the Meta Quest in a few years, the streets will be empty. Only funeral homes will stay busy, picking up folks who forgot their stomachs exist in the real world while their heads are stuck in VR. 😁

Are we even preparing for the future? And honestly, what can a country with an economy the size of America's mid-sized states actually do about it? Invent a 3D printer? No chance—it’s already done. Throw a few billion dollars at improving existing tech? Forget it, because some global superpower will just dump tens of billions into the exact same thing tomorrow.

So, how exactly is this "preparation" supposed to work? I'd love to know, just so I can actually get ready...