23 incredible new technologies you’ll see by 2021

reply to post by big_BHOY

3D printing will never totally change everybody's life in such a manner than people have predicted. The main reason being materials! If you wanted to print out a new pair of trainers, it can't be done from a single material. So you need to have all the required materials on hand. Then if you wanted to print out a jacket, you would need a good few other materials. What about an exercise bike & all it's many materials + the heavy flywheel etc, etc.

Obviously, certain things would never be economical to fabricate at home. Just like the home printer didn't run the local book store out of business and the digital camera didn't put 24-hour photo development centers out of business, either.

However, there have been some interesting developments with polymers and how manipulating their structure/orientation can influence their overall function. For example - heating plastic and stretching it a certain way can make it become a thermal conductor along a single axis (almost like a "fiber optic cable for heat"). Metals have been manipulated to behave as electrical insulators.

I think this area of materials science will get increased attention as 3d printing begins to take hold. Since factories will be operating the big sister of what sits on your desk - it would be well worth everyone's while to research ways that a single material can be coaxed into behaving in completely different ways.

It definitely will have it's benefits but there are just too many different materials than would be needed to use a 3d printer as an all in one solution. It will never give way to a 'replicator' that you would find on Star-Trek because that it based on a completely different technology. Molecular Manufacturing using nanobots/nanites will be our real-life equivalent of the ST replicator.

This is relatively accurate. I think 3d printing will be taken a lot farther than I can currently see plausible - but for "replicator" type functionality, it would have to include nanite construction or some other means of coaxing atom-by-atom construction of molecules (which will be very complicated in organic molecules - I don't ever see it being reasonable to use a "replicator" to produce a cup of coffee).

But, there again, I've a tendency to under-estimate the human tendency to push a technology well beyond the point where it's no longer an efficient use of resources compared to other available and mature technologies. It's a sort of tunnel vision.

Originally posted by tothetenthpower
reply to post by TechUnique

 

I built it myself

Open source tech available online in various forms.

reprap.org...

Oo You need to do a thread on that. I hope you already did but if not you must do it now. NOW! I will ban you SO fast if I don' see a thread on the printer soon! OK no ban, but I will deduct points! How very cool that you built one.

I'm tempted now but am sort of bad at putting things together with the exception of automotive/guns. Took me almost an hour to assemble my stupid new steam cleaner and I still can't figure out how much soap to put in the stupid reservoir.

Cool thread OP. I always love hearing about the things that may be popping up in the future. I am starting to get a little antsy for my flying car...

Originally posted by Domo1

Originally posted by tothetenthpower
reply to post by TechUnique

 

I built it myself

Open source tech available online in various forms.

reprap.org...

Oo You need to do a thread on that. I hope you already did but if not you must do it now. NOW! I will ban you SO fast if I don' see a thread on the printer soon! OK no ban, but I will deduct points! How very cool that you built one.

I'm tempted now but am sort of bad at putting things together with the exception of automotive/guns. Took me almost an hour to assemble my stupid new steam cleaner and I still can't figure out how much soap to put in the stupid reservoir.

Cool thread OP. I always love hearing about the things that may be popping up in the future. I am starting to get a little antsy for my flying car...

Nahaa...
Not until i get an answer to what the RAWMATRL cost...
Lets say i wanna make 50 plastic ducks...

And HEEEERE we go...

Lies all lies...

Brag and empty breeze...

LOTS of echoes in a tiny box...