15 Comments
founding

In regards to the obvious inefficiencies and retardation of our manufacturing; "it's not a bug, it's a feature". Streamlined and efficient processes do not provide the necessary obfuscation for (((grifting))) on all levels. This is obviously not a revelation to the audience here.

I do enjoy seeing the proliferation of design & fab technologies. It will be interesting to watch their potential evolution as things get worse and .gov restrictions tighten on internal combustion engines, firearms components, etc. There is also significant financial opportunities in DIY manufacturing.

I dream of a future where there are guerrilla garage shops cranking out small format non-EPA compliant diesel engines and capable drones

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From your lips to God's ears.

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Say you've got a shed, spare time and startup cash. Where would one begin to enter this space?

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Oh, and an alternative to consider seriously is to find someone already doing what you want done and give them your money.

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If it's CNC particularly, I'd shortcut the process and email Hank directly for advice.

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Like any other technical skill: pick a small project, and see it through to completion. I'm talking really small. Choose the project the way you'd choose an elective in college (https://lauchlanmackinnon.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Ikigai_diagram.png). Chat GPT actually gives good advice here, or at least inspires ideas. Once you've picked a project, your bottleneck will be knowledge. Find an online community and make a post asking for knowledge. Use your judgment to sift the responses (fortunately we get a lot of practice these days). Any advice more specific than that, we'd need some idea of what your interests are, resources, all that contextual stuff.

It's absolutely essential to finish something, or you'll give up and quit.

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I have a hard time envisioning the point of getting into 3D printing. A couple guys at work are really into it, but all they make are useless knickknacks and decorations. Shelf clutter. Unicorns, dragons, skulls, etc. Why?

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It's past knick knacks, and I'm not even doing it.

Its even past guns.

I've been following it for some time - I want America and the Rust Belt to rebuild.

Aerospace, Medical, Transportation, Energy and yes well past just prototyping.

The Australian and American militaries are testing taking additive manufacturing [3D printers] into a field environment to make replacement or repair parts far closer to the Front lines.

https://www.stratasys.com/en/stratasysdirect/resources/articles/unstoppable-industries-using-additive-manufacturing/

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The point depends on your preferred collapse scenario. In my perfect future, when spare parts for gas vehicles have become illegal, I find it easy to imagine the Etsy crowd repurposed. I imagine sending a solidworks file to a local printer and, 3 weeks later, receiving my part from a nice young pan-gendered person on an electric bike.

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founding

If your end goal is casting metal, 3D printing can generate very precise/detailed models that will in turn give you very precise/detailed molds. But yeah it seems like much of it is trash tier novelties. CNC machining is way cooler, but also astronomically more expensive in comparison.

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author
Jan 3·edited Jan 3Author

Use 3D printing for jigs that let you simulate CNC (eg, cutting complex shapes, fixtures to clamp at weird angles, etc) on a manual mill.

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This is why the government needs to stay out of the business sector. Big pappy lawmakers are thugs who are only interested in forcing big businesses to toe the line.

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Good piece.

I speculate you could make artillery with 3D metal sintering and some robot handing of the printed pieces. You could get that to be more manageable. The manufacturing process seems antiquated, form the little I have seen online. Even the shells are made by an almost artisanal process. Lots of room for improvement for the ordnance and the ammunition. It just needs some focus.

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Agree. Anything that builds machines is OK by me.

Meanwhile the Drunk Karen’s...

.... something really must be done... yes

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