Distributed manufacturing

Distributed manufacturing (or Distributed production or local manufacturing) is about being able to produce what you need close to where you are

Enabled by:

  • Peer-to-peer (P2P) features that are developing in today's society
  • Technology enabling automation of production from designs encoded on computer and production at home with an open-source 3-D printer such as the RepRap.

This form of production is ocuring now with 3-D printers and with Fablab, which are already prototyped and in use throughout the world. Initial life cycle analysis indicates that distributed production can have a smaller impact on the environment than conventional manufacturing and shipping because of reductions in transportation embodied energy.[1]

Examples:

See also

References

  1. M. Kreiger, G. C. Anzalone, M. L. Mulder, A. Glover and J. M Pearce (2013). Distributed Recycling of Post-Consumer Plastic Waste in Rural Areas. MRS Online Proceedings Library, 1492, mrsf12-1492-g04-06 doi:10.1557/opl.2013.258. open access
This article is issued from Appropedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.