Printing The Future

I’ve been having lots of conversations with people lately about the Maker movement and what is so important about it. Arduino, Netduino, 3D printing etc. Through the course of these conversations I’ve honed in on what I think is the core of why the current do-it-yourself movement that has flowered in the last three years matters.

Rapid prototyping. A single individual is now able to come up with an idea for a thing and make it. Whatever it is. Electronics, mechanics, whatever. This is what drove the software development boom that appeared to be an internet boom that lasted from 95 to 05. Now, instead of making software, people who are willing to put in a bit of work to learn something are able to make stuff.

Any way, my main point was linking you to an awesome series of articles over at MAKE that follow a couple of dudes with a car full of 3D printers and their attempt to create a new kind of business. Their second installment gets at my feelings about this stuff much more clearly than I had been able to previously.