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US Regaining Manufacturing Might With Robots and 3D Printing

Posted by Soulskill on from the finally-something-we-can-exploit-for-cheap-labor-again dept.

For years, the U.S. has been hemorrhaging manufacturing jobs to China because of the vastly cheaper labor pool. But now, several different technologies have ripened to the point where U.S. companies are bringing some operations back home. 3D printing, robotics, AI, and nanotechnology are all expected to dramatically change the manufacturing landscape over the next several years. From the article: "The factory assembly that the Chinese are performing is child’s play for the next generation of robots—which will soon become cheaper than human labor. Indeed, one of China’s largest manufacturers, Taiwan-based Foxconn Technology Group, announced last August that it plans to install one million robots within three years to do the work that its workers in China presently do. It found Chinese labor to be too expensive and demanding. The world’s most advanced car, the Tesla Roadster, is also being manufactured in Silicon Valley, which is one of the most expensive places in the country. Tesla can afford this because it is using robots to do the assembly. ... 3D printers can already create physical mechanical devices, medical implants, jewelry, and even clothing. The cheapest 3D printers, which print rudimentary objects, currently sell for between $500 and $1000. Soon, we will have printers for this price that can print toys and household goods. By the end of this decade, we will see 3D printers doing the small-scale production of previously labor-intensive crafts and goods. It is entirely conceivable that in the next decade we start 3D-printing buildings and electronics."

6 of 475 comments (clear)

  1. Goodbye jobs by RichMan · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Say goodbye to a whole lot more mid-level jobs. This is the path we are going down, labor is expensive.

    But what is the cost of a large unemployed population ?

    1. Re:Goodbye jobs by crazyjj · · Score: 5, Insightful

      But what is the cost of a large unemployed population ?

      Historically, this has led to political instability and social unrest.

      --
      What political party do you join when you don't like Bible-thumpers *or* hippies?
    2. Re:Goodbye jobs by crazyjj · · Score: 5, Insightful

      People will be freed up for creative jobs, jobs that involve human intelligence which can't be done by machines.

      And what are the non-creative idiots going to do for a living? Working in the environments that most of us /.ers work in, it's easy to forget that they're still the majority, you know.

      --
      What political party do you join when you don't like Bible-thumpers *or* hippies?
    3. Re:Goodbye jobs by DM9290 · · Score: 5, Insightful

      With any luck it will also lead to automatic education systems that will allow all those people learn new skills to better deal with the new world.

      Gosh.. I sure hope we get lucky! Because if we don't get lucky we're looking forward to the collapse of the economy and major violent civil unrest.

      No doubt it will be hard, and impossible for some, but such are any major shifts in economy and production.

      You are envisioning the economy is going to shift to something that robots can not do but people can? shift to what? Poetry? Erotic massage? Surrogate motherhood for the ultra wealthy? Sperm donation? Organ sales?

      All the signs point to the economy shifting towards ever more automation, and ever more accumulation of wealth into the hands of fewer and fewer owners, and there are no signs or reason to suspect this trend is ever going to stop until there is absolutely nothing that anyone can do that a robot can't do better, at which point on what side of the fence are you going to be on when surgical robots show up to harvest your organs at age 18 to pay back all the money you've been borrowing to survive through your childhood but can not possibly repay?

      --
      No one has a right to their *own* opinion. They have a right to the TRUTH.
  2. The irony of "creating jobs" by ACluk90 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    What an irony when politicians are talking about creating jobs. Economy is not about creating jobs, but about eliminating the need to work and rising the quality of life. This is the way to the future.

  3. 4 day work week? by Piata · · Score: 5, Insightful

    All this automation is great and everything but when does it actually translate into a benefit for humanity in general?

    I'm so glad some business can now churn out more crap to purchase at cheaper prices. When are we going to focus on shortening the work week or making housing more affordable? What about investing more time in expanding humanity's presence in the solar system? Or reducing our environmental foot print?