Could the democratization of 3-D printing technology be for prosumerism what the Gutenberg press was for literacy?

asks Brittaney Creamer on the wikinomics blog.

I think ‘YES BUT’ would be a good answer.

3-D printing technology is one niche of ‘User Manufacturing’. There is other computer controlled producing technology around having disruptive impact on traditional production methods (Gutenberg’s press was also only one possibility in the 15th century).

Production technology alone makes nobody happy. I don’t have a clue how to control such machines. Do you?  What makes me really happy and seems to be the real revolution is the merger of technology and services.

Having control over complex machines and production processes by easy-to-use software is cool. Getting not only control over production but as well distribution and marketing is wicked. The Long Tail (initially only applicable for digital goods like music) gets its real, three-dimensional shape now. Soon everybody will be able to produce and market individual, real objects.

Like Gutenberg (and others) sow the seeds for the democratization of knowledge industrial production is on its way too.

How long will it take us? I am not sure, but Gartner, a leading IT research firm gives an assumption.

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We’ve been featured in the September issue of renowned Wired Magazine!  I found the current issue online two days ago. Ambitiously preparing the launch of our new website and getting new products ready to roll right before the current issue goes public, we were ‘a bit’ surprised finding it online already in August.

We expected it to be published at the beginning of September. Damn! You guys of Wired are pretty fast!.

We would like to invite you all to subscribe to our newsletter and be among the first to know about our new products and our new website!

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As I am writting my academic thesis about Crossmedia Communication Management at Fluid Forms I have to read tons of books (surprisingly ) to conduct enough different sources of valuable information. Some of the books could be tagged ‘more of the same’ or ‘I knew this already 2 years ago’. But there are also some gleams of hope in the unmanageable amount of publications:

‘Enterprise 2.0. Die Kunst loszulassen‘ (sorry guys, only available in German) is gleaming because of its content as well as its easy-to-read style. Its an interesting foray through concepts about modern, open on the inside and open on the outside, companies.
Web2.0 Technology in usage is the main issue throughout the whole book. But also the interactive creation of value gets featured by Open Innovation specialist Frank Piller.

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Recently 3D Systems, a specialist for 3d printer, stereolithography and sintering created a very accurate 3d printed model of Harrison Ford a.k.a Indiana Jones for a toy manufacturer. 3D Systems’ prototypes resembled Indy so closely that the toy company immediately approved the design. With this decision the first time a 3d printed model becomes the master mold for the production of action figures.

Being already able to print Indiana’s scarred face, 3d printing moves on to new challenging adventures…

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As I am trying to rent a new flat in Graz at the moment I also rifle through loads of catalogues and stuff to find home decor, furniture and accessories to furnish the new home.  It’s very possible that I will come home the next few weeks with some hot Fluid Forms stuff but I think I would also like to have this (cool red) one from Smeg:

Buying this sweet fridge I won’t be able to afford a spacious flat but hey, what’s a big flat in comparison to having the coolest refrigerator in town?

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On Kevin Kelly’s (writer of “NetEconomy” and journalist of “Wired“) blog I found an interesting article about how to make new things. Paul Graham, a diligent engineer sums up the process of creating new things in one sentence:

Find (a) simple solutions (b) to overlooked problems (c) that actually need to be solved, and (d) deliver them as informally as possible, (e) starting with a very crude version 1, then (f) iterating rapidly.

A task easy to cope with, isn’t it?

The core idea behind this concept seems to be to get as fast as you can to your first prototype without loading it with twinkling and shimmering stuff which distracts you from focusing on your initial plan – creating a new thing.

That the process is not as easy as it seems at the beginning describes Graham here

I think we will print Graham’s statement and pin it on our office’s wall.

Find Kevin Kelly’s entry here

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My years as a typical skate-and-destroy (some of you certainly remember the Bones Brigade of the 90′s) skateboarder are gone, but sometimes I am still straying around on the web to have a look on the skate biz I was part of for so many years. Due to the fact that we at Fluid Forms also contribute projects to the fingerprint issue I was amused to trip over fingerprint skateboards some time ago. The skate industry seems to have entered the age of Mass Customization as well.  Pioneer skate-sneakers brand Vans gives a nice example of customized products with high customer involvement. And yesterday I came across pretty customized skateboards. I do not really take a fancy to these ones but that’s my personal opinion…

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