The rise of online shopping has brought about a world in which
consumers no longer have to leave the comfort of their own sofas
to order any product their hearts could desire. But a series of
changes in personal manufacturing technology could leave even
online distributors in the dust. In the near future, any slob
will be able to print out a toothbrush like we would a school
report, while creators, innovators, and entrepreneurs will have
access to unprecedented opportunities. In their report "Factory
@ Home: The Emerging Economy of Personal Fabrication", Cornell
engineering professor Hod Lipson and consultant Melba Kurman
take a look at the possibilities implicit in these new
technologies and some things lawmakers and the public can do to
make small-scale home manufacturing a reality: A number of
converging factors are bringing industrial-scale design and
manufacturing tools to a tipping point where they will become
cheap, reliable, easy and versatile enough for personal use. The
rapid adoption of personal ma