Prediction: Americans will, within the next 10 years, begin designing and manufacturing their very own vehicles using in-home three-dimensional printing systems, services and consumables.
Why do I believe such an outlandish prediction?
For starters, it’s because others believe it, too!
Almost a month ago, someone predicted that, by 2013, the global market for 3D Printing systems, services and consumables will reach $782.6 million. In other words, they believe a lot of people and companies will be using rapid prototyping — a.ka., “3D printing” or “desktop manufacturing” — technology to design and “print” their own things up to and including objects the size of homes and buildings.
In addition, I believe home-based do-it-yourself manufacturing will happen because others, including President Barack Obama, are creating an environment within which it will be both feasible and necessary.
Yesterday, the president announced he plans to raise auto gas mileage standards to 39 miles per gallon for cars and cut the emission of greenhouse gases in what he called the start of the “clean energy economy.”
Because cars manufactured to the new higher-mpg, lower-emission standards will have to be smaller, it takes no stretch of the imagination to conclude that at-home DIY manufacturing of automobiles is definitely in our future — if, knock on wood, our economy survives.
Assuming our economy survives the Obama years, our next challenge will involve figuring out how to fit into the micro-cars cars we build.
8 responses so far ↓
1 Clay // May 20, 2009 at 5:17 pm
Bob, I hate to disagree with you, but I think the government already has a plan to get us to fit into these cars. It’s already started.
They seem content on raising taxes on a variety of comfort foods. They will become the fat police to ensure Americans will fit into these things. I expect they tax the junk food industry out of business, and why not? It’s not like Obama really cares about American industries and jobs? Take GM for an answer. They are planning to move plants overseas and import more cars from the Chinese, and that’s with CEObama at the helm.
2 hotoffthepress2 // May 20, 2009 at 5:19 pm
Let me dream, will ya, Clay?
3 Clay // May 20, 2009 at 5:19 pm
By the way Bob, I want to get a bigger picture of the smart car. It looks as if there are only three lug nuts connected the wheels to the axels, which obviously is a sign of how light this car is.
4 Clay // May 20, 2009 at 5:20 pm
Sorry Bob. I don’t want to walk on anyone’s dream but the fact is it’s the government walking on it, not me.
5 hotoffthepress2 // May 20, 2009 at 5:20 pm
It’s three, alright.
6 locomotivebreath1901 // May 21, 2009 at 7:36 am
Two words: ‘kit car’.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kit_car
Until our Dear Leader regulates that into illegality.
“Nanny-state, nanny-state;
Oh, nanny, nanny, state….”
7 Clay // May 21, 2009 at 11:42 am
Kit car, that’s good. Ssshhhhhhh! Obama will be making treaties to ban kit cars if we let this leak. Remember he is working to ban reloaded ammo with Mexico.
By the way, I hope we have engines that are powerful enough to move a kit car.
8 DIY design… the pinnacle of produsage and collaboration « Rhysvenning’s Blog // Jun 3, 2009 at 4:15 am
[...] shift towards a more participative role for the consumer with respect to car design. Accorrding to Bob McCarty (2009), his predictions is that full scale DIY car design will be a reality in the USA with in the [...]
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