I'm not getting what would be so great about 3D printing solar panels at all - are you saying that 3D printing electronics will become as cheap as producing in bulk? That kind of seems unlikely to me.
Or are you using the words 3D printing to mean that producing things in general will become much much cheaper? If so what about the resources required or are they not as big a part of the cost as I think?
Oh, that was just one example. I didn't mean anything very deep by saying solar panels. But yes, 3D printing will just get better and better. I mean, it is more cost effective, right now, to get a 3D printer and just print off some common household items than buying them. Like those little things you use to hold up toilet rolls. And as 3D printing gets better and better, and cheaper and cheaper, we will be able to make more things at home without needing to but them.
Sure, the feedstock will cost something for the near future, and so will the energy, but both those things will get cheaper and cheaper. Energy in the form of the energy internet, where we all effectively pool together the various forms of renewable energy we use to provide free energy, at much higher efficiencies than right now. The feedstock will eventually be free because automatons will be able to gather them. And they'll be running of free electricity, and be constructed by... 3D printers and automatons. It'll take a while to get there, but once we do, there won't be any need for companies producing utilities or services. It'll be self-sustaining.
And the resources required, right now, aren't that much of an issue. Someone designed a 3D printed to run off thrown away plastic. Eventually, we'll have enough stuff floating around that we can just make new things out of the old unwanted ones. Of course, that's assuming we make things from all recyclable things.
Now, some people here have mentioned that we couldn't just go wild with 3D printing and print a skyscraper for everyone (can't think of another example right now), as it wouldn't be sustainable. However, I am not advocating a situation where there is suddenly no form of governance about how much you should make. Rather, I am saying that capitalism is not necessarily it.
The alternate? The Commons. I've heard that the paper 'the comedy of the commons' is very good, so you might want to give that a read.
Also, I expect this to be a slow proce
I'm not getting what would be so great about 3D printing solar panels at all - are you saying that 3D printing electronics will become as cheap as producing in bulk? That kind of seems unlikely to me.
Or are you using the words 3D printing to mean that producing things in general will become much much cheaper? If so what about the resources required or are they not as big a part of the cost as I think?