The likely collision of 3D Printing and Advanced Factory Robotics

I was realizing lately that 3D printing where people can print almost anything to replace parts on anything or to actually duplicate all the parts on something is going to compete in some ways technologically with Factory Robots building almost anything from scratch.

However, as I thought about this more I think what will actually happen is that 3D printing will be used more (on a large scale) by farms and remote factories to build whatever they need on the spot. It will be a personal debate of people as to whether they would rather spend the time to call up a 3D printer to print a part or parts of something or whether to just go online to something like an Amazon.com or other online business and order a part or the whole thing and have it delivered in the next week or two.

So, I think in the end all this will sort itself out according to the real or perceived needs of each individual on Earth.

So, in the end likely rather than a collision this becomes more of an interface of technologies that both will be used by all individuals in different situations out in the country, in the cities and in suburban areas around the world according perceived or real individual needs. But, likely in the end the choice might be about either time or money. To make something for yourself is always going to be cheaper as long as the materials are less expensive than the finished product you order from someone else.  But do you have the time to do that on top of everything else you are doing?

And then, of course, you have to have the right size of 3D printer for what you want to print and if you want to print metal you have to have both a vacuum space, powdered metal of the kind you want to print and any bonding materials in stock, a working 3D printer in good order of the right size, etc.
So, unless you are prepared for all this you are going to go to Amazon or EBay anyway and have it delivered by UPS, Fedex or the U.S. Mail or other service within a couple of weeks.

Note: I'm not sure anything more than a vacuum, powdered metal of the kind you need, a digital plan of what you are building, an appropriate 3d printer with a workable electron beam might be all you need. I do know that in Scandanavia somewhere they already use this technology to build titanium hip replacement joints.

However, there might also be a middle ground where 3D companies created to custom make literally any part someone needs or to assemble these parts or both might be in local areas which would help local businesses have their products quicker which would make them more effective and stay in business longer too. So, all sorts of strategies to be cost and time efficient and to keep customers happy will be tried and the best ideas will be kept ongoing and further refined over time.

Eventually, assembling both food and all items at a molecular level by nanotechnology might be the end result of all this. And if nano technology is put inside human bodies to feed cells and to nourish them it would potentially be theoretically possible for people to never eat again and be okay either under the ocean or out in space with only wet suits or space suits and no longer need oxygen tanks or food or possibly even water to drink for periods up to a week or more. Also,  it might not be necessary to sleep either unless one needed to. However, if one thinks about all the sociological and psychological and spiritual and physical adjustments that people would have to make it kind of boggles the mind the way contemplating an actual singularity does.

1. 3ders.org - 3D Printing Bone replacements, Cartilage replacements ...

   www.3ders.org/.../20130218-3d-printing-bone-replacements-cartilage-re...‎

   Feb 18, 2013 - Normally a standard hip replacement would be called for, but in this case ... or 3D scanning and then 3D Printed in a sintering printer using titanium. ... print real bone replacements with an open-source home-built 3D printer.

2. Mayo Clinic Uses 3D Printer to Create Customized Artificial Hip | 3D ...

   www.3dprinterworld.com/.../mayo-clinic-uses-3d-printer-create-customi...‎

   Apr 15, 2013 - But, for a while, replacement hips were using a controversial metal on metal ... Most of the replacement hips being used today are made out of titanium and ceramic. ... cost of creating artificial hips, it may allow healthcare providers to build hips ... with hip replacement surgery or for that matter any other joint.