The Great Disruption
Competing and Surviving in the Second Wave of the Industrial Revolution
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- $16.99
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- $16.99
Publisher Description
The Great Disruption reveals how 3D printing manufacturing will transform the world in the same way that Henry Ford’s Model T upended transportation or Gutenberg’s printing press started an information revolution. It traces both the impact of this disruption as it rapidly spreads around the world and affects every kind of industry imaginable, while detailing specific steps that can and should be taken right now to prepare.
The 3D manufacturing revolution is pervasive and growing rapidly, and includes such major breakthroughs as:
- A machine in Amsterdam that can 3D print a bridge over a canal underneath it using no support or scaffolding
- A global auto manufacturer designing a car that automatically changes its physical shape and structure in response to current driving conditions
- A scientist in London experimenting with 3D printing material that is two hundred times stronger than steel
- A Harvard researcher who is 3D printing batteries the size of a single grain of sand
- An astronaut who is printing replacement parts in space—and a shipping executive who is doing the same thing on cargo ships
In exploring this radical future, The Great Disruption shows how we can position ourselves to successfully navigate this historic shift to our greatest benefit.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Maker faire aficionados and other fans of manufacturing innovation are a natural audience for this ode to the glories of 3-D printing; unfortunately, any readers outside this choir of the converted are likely to feel that they've stumbled into a book-length advertisement. Coauthors Smith (The Leap) and Free together started a 3-D printing venture in late 2014. They assert that the technology will have a greater impact on production in this century than the Industrial Revolution has in the 300 years since its inception. With the current trend toward mass customization, the book proposes 3-D printing as the means for fulfilling that demand. The coauthors state that, though companies only started experimenting with 3-D printing in the late 1980s, it caught on quickly. Currently, innovators are experimenting with the technology's application in pharmaceuticals, industrial design, and home construction, among a host of other uses. While the myriad uses of 3-D printing are inarguably fascinating, when the book ends on a note like "The future belongs not to the great prognosticators, but to those willing to innovate," it's hard to believe the authors aren't simply touting themselves.
