Reimagining Manufacturing: The Technologies Driving the New Industrial Revolution

For the past 250 years, manufacturing was about companies mass-producing things in factories, and people buying them. Costs were largely determined by volume, and unique things were very expensive. But today the rapid democratization of technologies such as 3D printing is transforming manufacturing into something radically different, as companies and people create customized products that are not only reasonably priced, but often more innovative and better for the environment. This fundamental change in the way we make things is bringing radical change to the fields of manufacturing, building, business, transportation, and sustainability—and to society at large.

As concepts like mass-customization, personal manufacturing, and the Maker movement go mainstream, a new set of questions is forming about what this manufacturing transformation really means. For example:

• What does it mean for a manufacturer of consumer products to do, or even have to do, mass customization?
• What happens when the cost of making one unit falls to equal the cost of making a million units?
• What will happen to factories and supply chains when more things are made at home, and fewer bought in stores? 
• How will traditional manufacturers survive when their customers become their co-creators—or even their competitors?
• How will this new form of manufacturing impact the economies and societies of developing nations? 
• And how will intellectual property change when "making" becomes a commodity activity?

Join us to explore these and other questions about the impact of the new manufacturing on business, society, the environment, and ourselves. Through conversations and workshops with a wide range of respected experts and provocative thinkers, we'll work to develop a deeper understanding of this brave new manufacturing world, and give you the opportunity to shape this debate with your own perspectives.

View a slideshow of pictures captured during the workshop.
View graphic recordings from the workshop.
View a photobook from the workshop

Participants

Chris Anderson, Wired Magazine
Carl Bass, Autodesk, Inc.
Sara Beckman, Haas School of Business
Terry Brickman, PCL Construction Enterprises, Inc.
Bill Burkett, Evans Consoles Corporation
Maurice Conti, Autodesk, Inc.
Scott Crump, Stratasys Inc.
Dale Dougherty, Make
Ginger Krieg Dosier, VergeLabs and American University of Sharjah
Florencia Estrade, Cria
Mitch Free, MFG.com
Ping Fu, Geomagic
Gilad Gans, Objet Geometries Ltd
Neil Gershenfeld, MIT
Samir Hanna, Autodesk, Inc.
Mark Hatch, TechShop
David ten Have, Ponoko
Andrew Hessel, Singularity University
Dave Higgins Jr, HMH Builders
Jim Keravala, Shackleton Energy Company
Behrokh Khoshnevis, University of Southern California