MANufacturing

Rapid prototyping is a process of making models using synthetic materials fed into a 3D printer. The process brings the digital aspirations of 3D modeling out of the computer into everyday reality. Similar to the brush fire set off by the personal computer, 3D printing has set off a wave of "small manufacturing" by artists, designers, engineers, and craftspeople. Many see this as an opportunity to jumpstart the stalled world economy through innovation and micro production. In his book Makers, best-selling Sci-Fi author Cory Doctorow fast-forwards through the boom and bust of a post-modern industrial revolution to probe the heart of a designer.

UK book cover, MAKERS

US book cover, MAKERS

  
"Makers is a book for the lovers of technology, for the gleeful optimists more than the cynics. It's for the people who love the kooky engineering projects you see on Boing Boing, for the people who believe that, as the poster says, "The future belongs to the few of us still willing to get our hands dirty." It's for the people who can't wait to own a 3D printer, and who believe that while technology has its missteps, it's going to change our lives in wonderful and unexpected ways.

It's for the people who hate Disney's corporate tactics, but still get a thrill at the idea of visiting the Magic Kingdom; for the people who believe that, even if they can't change the world, they can at least improve their little corner of it. It's for the people who think that, while the future may not be all jetpacks and hover cars and all the world's people singing Kumbaya, we as individuals have the power to make it awesome in its own right."  -- Lauren Davis, IO9