Tag Archives: Future

Printer Perfect: The future is here

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This video from the Laboritori de Fabricacio in Barcelona’s Disseny HUB museum shows the present and future potential of on-demand 3D printing. In this future, everyone becomes a designer to suit their own specific needs, the means of production is at everyone’s fingertips, and every mug has the perfect handle…

http://vimeo.com/12768578

Think this is a fantasy? Then check this out…

From the Make magazine blog:

Customize Replacement Parts with 3D Printing

German maker Thorsten Wilms wanted to add a nice headlight to his new bike, but a couple of cables got in the way of a clean installation. He ordered a new clamp to compensate for the cables, but it ended up positioning the business end in the opposite direction. So he did what everyone with access to FreeCAD and shapeways.com should do: he redesigned the part to position it in the proper direction and printed a copy using a similar material. [via bikehacks]

Tinkering with Tomorrow: DIY in the Future Tense

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Well here you have it: the wonks at the New America Foundation have officially caught the do-it-yourself (DIY) bug. Thanks to publications and websites like MAKE magazine and Instructables.com the DIY ethic is increasingly attracting mainstream attention. Across the country, and around the world, groups of really smart people are forming to think about and make really cool stuff–like the Capitol Region’s own HacDC. And now the Beltway intelligentsia are starting to take note of the profound social and economic effect the DIY movement will have on the future. I also happen to believe that the DIY movement holds incredible potential for informing educational reform–but that is a discussion for another time.

On February 29th the New America Foundation, Slate and Arizona State University are  sponsoring Tinkering With Tomorrow: Will the DIY Movement Craft the Future?. 

From the website:

New technologies are making it easier than ever to turn an idea into a reality. 3D printers, open-source software, hackable products, and collaborative communities have turned traditional tinkering into a full-scale “maker movement” that allows – and encourages – everyone to tap into their inner entrepreneur. Can this movement usher in a new age of innovation? Will hackers have a profound impact on the economy? And if so, are we prepared for it?

The agenda is packed with more really smart people talking about really interesting things. I’ll be attending, and if you’re anywhere near Washington, DC on the 29th you should check it out, too.