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by feefie 4626 days ago
Will 3D printers be able to make nice clothes some day?
4 comments

If you define a 3D printer as either something approaching a Star Trek replicator, or alternatively as a machine with a ton of different tools for specific tasks, then yes, why not.

In the foreseeable future, you really would need a sewing machine as part of it.

Not 3D printers, but there are advances in sewing robots; it's a nontrivial problem of mainly computer vision and manipulators, but it's progressing well.

As far as I know they already are able to make okay clothes, but currently they are more expensive than humans at sewing machines - the moment they become cheaper than workers like Meem, all those millions will be out of work.

Probably. Then what will happen to these workers?
They will throw their sabots into the machine and cry 'liberté, egalité, fraternité!'

I don't claim to have any answers, but looking at western history you start to see some similarities.

There's a big difference from western history - in western history, the machines were right next to them; however, if for example a Bangladesh worker is replaced by a sewing robot located in Taiwan, then there's nothing the working class can do about that, and there's no chance that any benefits will trickle down to them as the new profits and rich class are located elsewhere and won't even hire them as servants.

The future will not be evenly distributed, that's for sure.

Sure darpa was looking into it (Robots) IE - http://www.gizmag.com/sewingrobot/22900/

It is some fucked up shit though, millions of the really really poor will lose their jobs and contrary to many of the lefts opinions these workers won't be able to then go to school and eat cake they will just get even poorer.

We are heading for an awesome future or a horrific one. Not sure which yet.