There is a revolution happening in small scale manufacturing, and makers everywhere are profiting.
The materials that we have to work with have a huge bearing on who we are as people, both individuals and as a species. We have gone from making stuff out of stone, wood, metal and leather to making…more complex stuff out of those same things. But as the complexity increases, the access of the individual amateur craftsman, apprentice or noob to the most complex stuff has been restricted.
The individual craftsman could not make an automobile, or plastic casing for electronic device. (i don’t mean in kit form). But a huge revolution is happening in manufacturing. The proliferation of the types and varieties of microprocessors, additive manufacturing and 3D Printing, and the explosion of “desktop” sized manufacturing tools and mail services offered by manufacturers have made Individual Makers more powerful than ever. (Also of course the access offered by the Internet. everything starts with the internet)
Today, there is a vibrant community of Makers online who make one-off Cool Stuff, just to delight themselves or solve one off problems for their loved ones. These are some of my favourites
DigiKey’s Maker.io maker update
Stuff Made here
Simone Giertz
Outdoor Boyz
There is something damn appealing about being able to make your own stuff. Whether it’s about hitting that personal goldilocks zone, or not having to worry about economies of scale, or just being able to fix something when it breaks instead of having to throw it away, making your own stuff is awesome. The pride of making your own Something and having it fulfil your needs is simply amazing.
With AI entering the small scale manufacturing space, something that makes manufacturing super democratic and accessible to the consumer, or at least the prosumer, is coming soon, and I fully anticipate it to be amazing.
I also want in.