RP will probably evolve into making a single piece instead of component part. The manufacturing machine will incorporate many different materials and techniques so that the structure, wiring, bearings and joints can all be constructed. (Including color!) The design side will accept the capability to make complete units and change the way design is accomplished to meet the Customers needs.
Consider the increasing pressure to recycle / reuse.
Consider for a transportation device the motor is in the wheel and the body of the vehicle is designed to be flexible enough for the suspension. The wiring can be built as a layer in the vehicle skin along with the solar cells. The wheel is just plugged in. (I worry about a fender bender resulting in a big blue flash!) Servicing may be a recycling of major parts.
If you make the units / parts as needed, shelf space may not be as much of an issue.
As the world standard of living increases the pool of low cost labor goes away. The history of the continuing industrial revolution was to reduce costs by mass production - large investment into very specific manufacturing methods, spread over a large number of units, plant spread over years and tooling over the specific product. The RP is starting to have an effect in the tooling and will spill over into the parts once they stop being prototypes. Then the RP equipment will be the be the production plant.
There are my observations about some of the future, if you disagree just delete.
Peter Blacklin
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Optimum Solutions Inc.
11391 Barrow Downs
Columbia MD 21044
(410) 730 3371 Tel
(410) 730 6359 Fax
blacklin@erols.com
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The faster you move, the slower time passes, the longer you live!
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
For more information about the rp-ml, see http://ltk.hut.fi/rp-ml/
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.1.2 : Tue Jun 05 2001 - 22:47:42 EEST