If you haven’t heard of these yet, they’re called 3-D printers. This particular model is the MakerBot Replicator. You hand the Replicator a design, feed it some plastic, and let the machine work its dark magic. Come back later, open the chamber, and oila! You’ve got a brand new chess piece, cat toy, or death ray gun (whichever suits your fancy). MakerBot has a website called Thingverse where people can trade designs.
Right now domestic 3-D printing seems to be the realm of hobbyists, which was true of computers in the decade or two before the computer revolution, when virtually overnight computers became not just integral to business but interwoven into all aspects of our lives. Perhaps a 3-D printing revolution is on the horizon.
If you don’t have money for a 3-D printer but want to get busy manifesting your own product ideas, there’s an even easier way. Have you heard of Sugru yet? A friend just told me about it.It’s air-curing rubber. It looks like Play-doh. You form it by hand into whatever shape you like and let it cure overnight.
It is conceivable that within a generation or so, the average U.S. household will generate all its own energy (via solar panels, wind turbines, etc.) and produce most of its own goods. If your solar panel breaks, you can just download the necessary replacement part and manufacture it using your replicator. Complete self-sufficiency… as long as the plastic man continues dropping off your weekly bundle of plastic.