Distributed manufacturing can be next disruptive technology

Distributed manufacturing - local, small-scale, rapid design and production – can be as disruptive as any other disruptive technologies, according to Lux Research’s new report. Distributed manufacturing (DM) comes from the ability to engineer and make few parts as cheaply as many, rather than the current model of high-volume, centralised manufacturing. However, it is not the answer for every product, and its impact will depend on economics and the demand for flexibility, according to Lux Research.
 
“DM is the web browser of manufacturing, with the potential to do to manufacturing what web browsers did to news, music, video, software and other media. If the Internet’s attributes like modularity, distributedness, and open standards can port over to physical things, manufacturing of all kinds of products stands on the top of a revolution as profound as the one that recently razed news, music and software,” said Mark Bunger, Lux Research Director and the lead author of the report titled, ‘Distributed manufacturing: The next industrial revolution’.
 
CNC milling, 3D printing and scanning, and laser-cutting are already DM workhorses. According to Lux Research, 3D printing, in particular, is poised for more rapid and more powerful disruption in many industries ranging from simple consumer products to aviation. In addition, more advanced robots costing about $4,000 each have arrived, while printed electronics and synthetic biology are on the horizon.
 
Currently, thousands of products ranging from trinkets to real cars use distributed manufacturing. Examples include Pebble’s crowdsourced smart watch, Local Motors’ open-source car Rally Fighter, AtFAB’s furniture, and UK-based Facit’s custom homes.
 
With traditional venture capital funding declining, besides narrowing to fewer sectors, DM companies will need to tap alternate funding sources, including corporate VCs; conscious capital, or ‘impact investment’; innovation competitions; and crowdfunding.