Here's a discussion point.

Will the automation advantage derived from robotics (i.e. CNC) mean more jobs at home? Lets face it jobs are going to 2nd world nations because of lower labour costs. If reduced automation costs makes labour a smaller piece of the equation, and fuel cost make shipping more expensive, will we be seeing more manufacturing return to the 1st world nations. There is a wealth of questions raised around this subject.

What will happen to places like China which economists have said need 1 million new jobs a year to keep their economy on track?
How will the multi-nationals respond? Will they use this as an excuse to squeeze their suppliers even more than they already are?
Are we poised for an age of prosperity where small manufactures and inventors can flourish?
Are we looking at the start of a mini industrial age with a focus on small local manufacturers?
Should we be worrying about the effects that economic and social Darwinism will play on 2nd world nations?

I do know that robotics is not a new thing, but it has now reached a level of sophistication, simplicity of use, and cost, so as to make it viable for the average small scale manufacturer and craftsman. I personally will be taking advantage of this over the next few years and suspect that I am not alone.

Well I'm already exploring a small scale business opportunity with my micRo that I haven't yet received, but in answer to your question, I think there's still that whole economy of scale thing to overcome. But I'm sure enabling technologies such as micRo and RoGR could be profitable for small businesses where the overhead can be kept low to offset the challenges of scale.

asdf

Don't underestimate the value of small custom market segments. 50 years ago American steel companies learned this lesson to their woe. Japanese iron smelters found advantage in the small custom steel market and due to the low profit potential American companies let them have it. Over the years Japanese iron ate their way up the food chain until they can now successfully outperform American steel even in the largest markets.

I don't think countries like China will just give up market share without a fight, but for once there seems to be some hope on the horizon for us. My greatest fear is that we will see more dumping used as a technique to squash potential future competition. As a result, we may be entering into a period of increased competition and trade wars.

By the way, thanks for the link to cnczone. I'm always on the lookout for good topical sites.

I did some more research on the subject of manufacturing jobs in the USA. Scanning for CNC related jobs I got 13848 CNC job hits at the first job search site I went to. www.indeed.com.

Salary ranges

$20,000+ (12894)
$40,000+ (5792)
$60,000+ (1986)
$80,000+ (664)
$100,000+ (237)

This number suprised me, particularly when you consider that the over all number of manufacturing jobs has been decreasing for years. I think this is a very positive sign. Hopefully our technical colleges are tooling up to help meet this demand.

Robots are an essential and absolute fact of modern living. Like with the personal computer ala 1980; we are poised at the threshold of ubiquity for this long-emergent technology. "Profit" motives for ownership are actually slipping as the affordability improves...and the end-user now simply wants the freedom to create whatever they wish, rather than that which is directly linked to profit.

It is important to understand these robot things democratically as well, as it is our future, and the dawn of the robot is nigh! The caveats of "Skynet" notwithstanding; the rate of progress out-paces the public mind by factors...let us work toward understanding instead.

One other thing; the issue of China has come up. China weighs on me, having some experience; and I wonder often about the future of free-thought as is fundamentally more controlled by economic force. It is easy to believe that China's malabused labor force will add up to our democratic-demise, but an interesting argument to the contrary has materialized in my mind lately. America has loads of money, but few cheap laborers, especially not the millions of slaves needed to dominate the low price segment in the global marketplace...but, we've got the creative genius, technical know-how and American 'gumption' to create an automatronic army that never suffers, and can outproduce all of the slave-laborers that China can produce. A narrow-minded business will seek the cheapest labor on-the-spot, as many American businesses feel they must do; but the time is nigh to invest heavily in our "manifest destiny" of creative, freely distributed high technology...it is our technology after all! Thus, we-the-people win the "China game" because our "robots" don't feel pain! What I mean simply is that China can't produce robots to win the economic game...they need jobs for their billions of poor; but this is contrary to the American condition, which needs only cheap labor to out-compete.

asdf

I think bainchild has hit on the very core and key to the US winning any economic war.

"China can't produce robots to win the economic game...they need jobs for their billions of poor; but this is contrary to the American condition, which needs only cheap labor to out-compete."

Of course there is more to it than that. Over the years America has become a very unfriendly place to do business. This is particularly true of the more liberal states like California. Silicon wafers are no longer made in Silicon Valley. It's too expensive to do business there. There is little incentive to compete if we don't get to reap the rewards. Lumenlab could probably increase their net income by 10% simply by moving to a more Business friendly state. Their employees would also pay less on imcome and sales tax. For lifestyle reasons they choose to stay where their at, but big bisiness doesn't care. They go where to goings good and that may mean an other country.

asdf

Not sure what you mean by religion, but your right. This has become more of a political discussion. I don't know if we can seperate politics from the subject "Automation changes how we do busines". Competion is at the heart of automation, and foriegn competion, and local business environments directly affect our ability to compete.

Since there seems to be little interest in the subject anyway perhaps we should just let it drop.
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In 1905 G.K. Chesterton was hired to write a weekly column for The Illustrated London News. He was told he could write about anything but religion and politics. Chesterton responded by say their was nothing else worth writing about.

asdf

Eh? There's neither ([Person X], let the mods moderate pretty please). JPD makes a claim about the ease of doing business in some locales over others. His point is relevant from the perspective of "lost" or migratory American high-technology, or the difficulty of keeping business where it begins....or even doing this type of biz here in the USA.


I'm still game; one of the better conversations and worth caring about.

asdf

OK, ahem Hirudin,

I prefer to be called the "Grandmaster POOBAH" in public, (I am not the person known as Grayson, nor am I responsible for that ass-hat's behavior)

Am I missing something? The guy posted his job search results? Why are you afraid to be [person X]? What??

I may have chosen the wrong words in my first request poorly. It's hard to tell the intent behind what is written on the internet sometimes. Maybe it came across as an idle remark when I actually feel pretty strongly regarding the subject. If I wanted to use my real name on the internet I would have entered it in the "screen name" field when I was signing up.

Let me be as clear as I can...
Please edit your posts brainchild to remove my name.

Moving in a slightly different direction.

I found an interesting article by Clive Thompson in Wired Magazine How DIYers Just Might Revive American Innovation.

It talks about how many people today are loosing touch with the mechanical/material world. My kids have never taken a shops class because the schools nolonger even have a shop. They have no understanding of the shear pleasure I get out of the simple act of fixing a latch or the creative act of slapping 2 pieces of wood together to make something. Training at technical college might be to late, and what about those brilliant creative sorts that are steared away from the work bench and into universities. Like art, simple shop training can hones the mind. A workforce without a basic mechanical aptitude will never be able to benefit from the creative advantages automation presents us.

Fortuneately there are people like us still tinkering away in our garage, and there are more of us out there than people realize. This gives me hope... Now if I could only get the kids to finish the projector before I break down and do it myself.