While cheap 3D printers will bring huge changes in many areas, not least manufacturing, I’m focusing here on the relatively under discussed topic of the societal impact of mass 3D printer ownership.
3D printing hit the headlines last year with the printing of a working gun and will continue to make it increasingly difficult to stop the distribution of illegal objects. It’s far easier to find and confiscate a physical object than a computer file. When that file is finally turned into a physical object it only needs to happen immediately before it is used. The game of cat-and-mouse between law enforcement and criminals will move further online.
