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Workers-Control-Over-Prod
20th August 2012, 21:44
The 3D printer is certainly an amazing invention that will make any kind of future socialism/communism a lot easier. If we would take power and nationalise this, there should be a foundations laid for the mass socialised utilization of this invention:
1) to nationalise all 3D printer producing companies; all means of production for social use, not private property
2) create a public website database on which all models that private persons who aspire to design their own 'perfect consumer item' can be uploaded and used for other costumers to choose from list to print at 3D print stores
3) An efficient recycle system will need to be introduced to renew the use of plastics for material used to build new 3D printer items
4) to create national print stores which specify on the automated production of certain sectors, a division of labor among printer stores over
[Publicly accessible stores] a: consumer and household products b: industrial means-of-production parts c: education/medical products;
[state regulated printer enterprises] d: architectural/ infrastructure parts e: defense/weapons parts

For obvious reasons certain printing materials and the production of various goods such as weapons, architectural, and medical products, need to be regulated by the state.

Of course 3D printers will be used in normal enterprises that will mass produce items which are the most popular ones according to the website item design database. But print stores will take an economic role for producing specific parts which are unavailable, a rather large problem in the 20th century Socialism where persons had masses of hairdryers planned into production but no electrical cords.

This new drastic increase of the productive forces of human labor and this particular invention is of course a drastic improvement for overcoming the 'consumer item' problem of Socialism so far. A miniscual amount of workers will be needed to produce consumer items according to the workers' needs and wants. Workers will be able to fulfill their consumer needs and wants in Socialism (without us having to invest tons of surplus to employ large amounts of workers into the consumer sector) by getting to contribute to designs for the global design database in their free time, or choose from a range of little items to be produced by the printer stores within hours. Of course the 3D printer as well can produce all kinds of parts that also come in handy in the means of production sector for the advance of the productive forces.

It is truly a 'revolution', at least, it might make our revolution a lot easier and speedier to reach communism. It certainly is replacing all live labor of the production process lowering its rate of profit even more. This will be a large obstacle for Capitalism, as the factory is being replaced with this invention, plastics used for one 3D printed item can be recycled and renewed for a new item cutting out the new production of plastics, deliveries etc. Once commodity producing industries use this machine, due to low profitability, investment will fall and the businesses will go bankrupt. I do not believe that every private person will be able to produce their needs owning a 3D printer. First, there is a huge section of the human population that will not be able to afford this technology. Second, even if by magic all workers who were fired from their jobs due to the advance of machinery could afford it, there is still the incapability of the capitalist system to produce commodities when Capitalists use this machine. Capital is doomed.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nxEMb5CbzUE&feature=plcp

http://objet.com/industries

x-punk
23rd August 2012, 17:23
3D printers are certainly quite amazing to see and it is certainly another great technology in automated manufacture. However, I dont see them as being some sort of manufacturing panacea as they have fairly limited scope due to the materials they can use. I cant really see how this technology could be used for wood, glass or with certain metals and i would imagine such work staying in the realms of subractive manufacturing processes such cnc routing or moulding processes. This could of course change with future developments. They are also just being used to produce fairly primitive objects without complex interlocking and moving parts but im sure this will change as the technology progresses.

I really see them becoming an arm of a larger more comprehensive manufacturing machine which incorporates multiple different manufacturing processes to produce a wide range of products incorporating multiple materials.

Workers-Control-Over-Prod
23rd August 2012, 17:44
Here (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-vSOroLQUx0)