Go Lean Commentary
Quick survey: 30 years ago – 1985 – did you have a smartphone or did you envision a smartphone – with such processing power, functionality and storage – being available to carry around in your pocket?
If your answer to this question is ”No”, then congratulations, you are an ordinary everyday “man/woman on the street”. You, like most people, didn’t envision that this technology would change “us” so dynamically that it would transform our lives and render obsolete, so many ordinary appliances (and industries); think: camera, watch, pager, map, address book, calculator, books, and more.
Take note:
This transformative change is about to happen again!
An acute transformation – major change in a short period of time – is about to occur again. This time with 3D Printing. This change will affect the fabrication of so many ‘chattel’ goods. Imagine fabricating your own car!
Consider first, what 3D Printing refers to:
3D Printing (also called additive manufacturing) is any of various processes used to make a three-dimensional object.[1] In 3D printing, additive processes are used, in which successive layers of material are laid down under computer control.[2] These objects can be of almost any shape or geometry, and are produced from a 3D model or other electronic data source. A 3D Printer is a type of industrial robot.
3D Printing in the term’s original sense refers to processes that sequentially deposit material onto a powder bed with inkjet printer heads. More recently the meaning of the term has expanded to encompass a wider variety of techniques such as extrusion and sintering based processes. Technical standards generally use the term additive manufacturing for this broader sense. (Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/3D_printing)This VIDEO here depicts a simple 3D Printing demonstration:
VIDEO – Timelapse of Hyperboloid Print – https://youtu.be/1213kMys6e8
Time-lapse video of a hyperboloid object made of Polylactic Acid (PLA) using a RepRap “Prusa Mendel” 3 printer for molten polymer deposition.
The hypothesis in this commentary is not just theoretical; this acute transformation is happening in real life. Consider this story/VIDEO here of an actual car being made using the 3D Printing process (assembly methods and sourcing):
VIDEO – The First 3D-Printed Supercar – https://youtu.be/o8wFs1aipaE
Published on Jun 24, 2015 – Meet Blade – a super-light sports car with a 3D printed chassis, designed as an alternative to traditional car manufacturing. Through 3D printing, entrepreneur Kevin Czinger has developed a radical new way to build cars with a much lighter footprint.
Read More On Forbes: http://onforb.es/1fBjCqt
Traditionally, fabrication methodologies involve subtraction. This strategy calls for starting with a block/lump of raw material (wood, stone, etc.) and cutting away excess materials to keep the desired structure. The alternate fabrication methodology involves molding pliable materials (iron/steel/aluminum) to a desired shape. 3D Printing or additive manufacturing (AM) is a game-changer! As the name suggests, the approach is to add, build up to the design/mold that is intended. The encyclopedic reference continues:
The umbrella term additive manufacturing gained wider currency in the decade of the 2000’s[12] as the various additive processes matured and it became clear that soon metal removal would no longer be the only metalworking process done under that type of control (a tool or head moving through a 3D work envelope transforming a mass of raw material into a desired shape layer by layer). It was during this decade that the term subtractive manufacturing appeared as a retronym (new name) for the large family of machining processes with metal removal as their common theme. However, at the time, the term 3D Printing still referred only to the polymer technologies in most minds, and the term AM was likelier to be used in metalworking contexts than among polymer/inkjet/stereolithography enthusiasts. The term subtractive has not replaced the term machining, instead complementing it when a term that covers any removal method is needed.
Based on the above descriptions, the term Printer is only vaguely similar to traditional printing of ink on to paper. The similar movement of inkjet print heads versus the “head” movement of 3D Printers is what dominates the branding, and thus for the foreseeable future, the fabrication devices would probably be called “printers”, for both industrial and consumer uses; (see Appendix – 3D Printers).
The new reality of 3D Printing is now changing business models. Imagine distributed manufacturing where the additive manufacturing process would be combined with cloud computing technologies to allow for decentralized and geographically independent distributed production.[74] For example, make a car, with parts sourced from different locations by different 3D Printers. Under this new scheme, the creation of chattel goods will be a product of intellectual property.
The future is exciting!
Here comes change! Consider the governmental consequences:
If Caribbean governments depend on ‘Customs Duties’ of manufactured goods for a revenue source, they are hereby put on notice that this revenue stream will dry up. In many countries, (the Bahamas for example), the duty rates for automobiles are on a sliding scale from the high of 85% down to 55%. With an average costs of US$25,000, that is a lot of lost revenue for a member-state to adjust to.
The future is scary!
The book Go Lean…Caribbean focuses heavily on the future, and how to manage, monitor, and mitigate the changes (good and bad) that the future will bring. This acute transformation of 3D Printing is a good model of the type of innovation the Go Lean book anticipates. The book posits that the Caribbean region must not only be on the consuming end of these developments; we must create, develop and contribute to the innovations. This means jobs!
The job-creating initiatives start by fostering genius in Caribbean stakeholders who demonstrate competence in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM). This will eventually apply to government revenue officials, but initially the focus will be more on the youth markets, as these ones adapt more readily to acute transformations.
This vision was pronounced early in the book with these statements in the opening Declaration of Interdependence (Pages 12 – 14) about the need for the Caribbean Union Trade Federation:
xiv. Whereas government services cannot be delivered without the appropriate funding mechanisms, “new guards” must be incorporated to assess, accrue, calculate and collect revenues, fees and other income sources for the Federation and member-states. The Federation can spur government revenues directly through cross-border services and indirectly by fostering industries and economic activities not possible without this Union.
xxii. Whereas the preparation of our labor force can foster opportunities and dictate economic progress for current and future generations, the Federation must ensure that educational and job training opportunities are fully optimized for all residents of all member-states, with no partiality towards any gender or ethnic group. The Federation must recognize and facilitate excellence in many different fields of endeavor, including sciences, languages, arts, music and sports. This responsibility should be executed without incurring the risks of further human flight, as has been the past history.
xxvi. Whereas the Caribbean region must have new jobs to empower the engines of the economy and create the income sources for prosperity, and encourage the next generation to forge their dreams right at home, the Federation must therefore foster the development of new industries, like that of ship-building, automobile manufacturing, prefabricated housing, frozen foods, pipelines, call centers, and the prison industrial complex. In addition, the Federation must invigorate the enterprises related to existing industries like tourism, fisheries and lotteries – impacting the region with more jobs.
xxvii. Whereas the region has endured a spectator status during the Industrial Revolution, we cannot stand on the sidelines of this new economy, the Information Revolution. Rather, the Federation must embrace all the tenets of Internet Communications Technology (ICT) to serve as an equalizing element in competition with the rest of the world. The Federation must bridge the digital divide and promote the community ethos that research/development is valuable and must be promoted and incentivized for adoption.
xxviii. Whereas intellectual property can easily traverse national borders, the rights and privileges of intellectual property must be respected at home and abroad. The Federation must install protections to ensure that no abuse of these rights go with impunity, and to ensure that foreign authorities enforce the rights of the intellectual property registered in our region.
xxx. Whereas the effects of globalization can be felt in every aspect of Caribbean life, from the acquisition of food and clothing, to the ubiquity of ICT, the region cannot only consume, it is imperative that our lands also produce and add to the international community, even if doing so requires some sacrifice and subsidy.
The Go Lean book serves as a roadmap for the introduction and implementation of this Caribbean Union Trade Federation (CU), a technocratic federal government to administer and optimize the region’s eco-systems. In fact the book identifies the prime directives of the CU with these statements:
- Optimization of the economic engines in order to grow the regional economy to $800 Billion & create 2.2 million new jobs.
- Establishment of a security apparatus to protect the resultant economic engines.
- Improvement of Caribbean governance to support these engines.
The CU strives to elevate all of Caribbean society and culture. A recommended community ethos for the region to adapt, “Return on Investments” (Page 24). This calls for embedding incentives and inducements to encourage students and apprenticeships in these STEM fields. These incentives can resemble forgive-able student loans, on-the-job training employment contracts, paid internships, signing bonuses, etc. This ethos also translates into governing principles for CU-sponsored business incubators, R&D initiatives, grants, entrepreneurship programs and the regional implementation of Self-Governing Entities (SGE).
The book estimates that the technology job-creating effect can amount to 64,000 new direct and indirect technology/software jobs in the region. This is just one ethos. The Go Lean roadmap was constructed with more community ethos in mind to forge change and build anticipation and excitement for technological transformative changes. The book lists the following samples, plus the execution of related strategies, tactics, implementations and advocacies:
| Community Ethos – Deferred Gratification | Page 21 |
| Community Ethos – Economic Principles – People Choose | Page 21 |
| Community Ethos – Economic Principles – People Respond to Incentives in Predictable Ways | Page 21 |
| Community Ethos – Economic Principles – The Consequences of Choices Lie in the Future | Page 21 |
| Community Ethos – Economic Principles – Job Multiplier | Page 22 |
| Community Ethos – Governing Principles – Lean Operations | Page 24 |
| Community Ethos – Ways to Impact the Future | Page 26 |
| Community Ethos – Ways to Foster Genius | Page 27 |
| Community Ethos – Ways to Promote Intellectual Property | Page 29 |
| Community Ethos – Ways to Impact Research & Development | Page 30 |
| Community Ethos – Ways to Bridge the Digital Divide | Page 31 |
| Community Ethos – Ways to Promote Happiness | Page 36 |
| Community Ethos – Ways to Impact the Greater Good | Page 37 |
| Strategy – Vision – Confederate 30 Member-States | Page 45 |
| Strategy – Vision – Invite Diaspora Back to the Caribbean Homeland | Page 46 |
| Strategy – Mission – Exploit the benefits and opportunities of globalization | Page 46 |
| Tactical – Confederating a Permanent Union | Page 63 |
| Tactical – Fostering a Technocracy | Page 64 |
| Implementation – Ways to Pay for Change | Page 101 |
| Implementation – Steps to Implement Self-Governing Entities | Page 105 |
| Implementation – Trends in Implementing Data Centers – Creating the ‘Cloud’ | Page 106 |
| Implementation – Ways to Deliver | Page 109 |
| Implementation – Ways to Impact Social Media – Caribbean Cloud | Page 111 |
| Planning – 10 Big Ideas for the Caribbean Region – Cyber-Caribbean | Page 127 |
| Planning – Ways to Make the Caribbean Better | Page 136 |
| Advocacy – Ways to Grow the Economy | Page 151 |
| Advocacy – Ways to Create Jobs | Page 152 |
| Advocacy – Ways to Improve Education – STEM Promotion | Page 159 |
| Advocacy – Ways to Improve Governance – Managing Changes of e-Government & e-Delivery | Page 168 |
| Advocacy – Ways to Foster Technology | Page 197 |
| Advocacy – Ways to Foster e-Commerce | Page 198 |
| Advocacy – Ways to Develop the Automobile Industry | Page 206 |
| Advocacy – Ways to Impact Youth | Page 227 |
| Appendix – CU Job Creations | Page 257 |
This Go Lean roadmap calls for the heavy-lifting to transform Caribbean society. As conveyed in the foregoing VIDEOs, technological change is coming anyway; consider the imagery of a freight train coming down the track, the force and momentum cannot be stopped. The roadmap advocates getting ahead of the change, to shepherd and navigate important aspects of Caribbean life through these “seas of change”. These goals were previously featured in Go Lean blogs/commentaries, as sampled here:
| http://www.goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=5435 | China Internet Policing – Model for Transforming the Caribbean |
| http://www.goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=5376 | Drones to be used to Transform Insurance Damage Claims |
| http://www.goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=5155 | Transformative Tesla unveils super-battery to power homes |
| http://www.goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=5034 | Patents: The Guardians of Innovation |
| http://www.goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=4381 | Net Neutrality – This Matters … For Transformation & Innovation |
| http://www.goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=3915 | Change the way you see the world; you change the world you see |
| http://www.goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=3490 | How One Internet Entrepreneur Can Rally a Whole Community |
| http://www.goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=3187 | Robots help Amazon tackle Cyber Monday |
| http://www.goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=2953 | Funding Caribbean Entrepreneurs – The ‘Crowdfunding’ Way |
| http://www.goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=2126 | Where the Jobs Are – Computers Reshaping Global Job Market |
| http://www.goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=1698 | Where the Jobs Are – STEM Jobs Are Filling Slowly |
| http://www.goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=1487 | Here come the Drones … and the Concerns |
| http://www.goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=1416 | Amazon’s new FIRE Smartphone |
| http://www.goleancaribbean.com/blog/?p=308 | CARCIP Urges Greater Innovation |
The Go Lean book focuses primarily on economic issues, and it recognizes that computer hardware and software like 3D Printing systems – as portrayed in the foregoing VIDEOs – are the future direction for industrial developments. This is where the jobs are to be found. The Go Lean roadmap describes the heavy-lifting for people, organizations and governments to forge these innovations here at home in the Caribbean. The Caribbean consumes manufactured goods now. What an acute transformation that much of the manufacturing maybe here at “home”; not just in the homeland, but also in home garages, family rooms and study desks.
Do-It-Yourself manufacturing may be a reality! (See Appendix of 3D Printed Perpetual Engine).
Is this science fiction? (Consider a “Replicator” on the Starship Enterprise).
No, this is now! This is conceivable, believable and achievable; consider the foregoing VIDEOs. The Go Lean book offers the turn-by-turn directions for strategies, tactics and implementations so that our communities may not only be consuming these innovations, but be innovators as well. With the right commitment of time, talent and treasuries, we can forge our own future of inclusion and progress. 🙂
Download the free e-Book of Go Lean … Caribbean – now!
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Appendix VIDEO – 3D Printed Motor Runs Almost Like a Perpetual Machine – https://youtu.be/6m73MaNoSIM
Published on Jan 3, 2015 – This is a 3D printed EZ Spin Motor. It turned out being a very clean and nice running build. I also explain how to properly wire up an EZ Spin Motor. This thing would run for a very long time on a 5v super capacitor.
LaserSaber online store at: http://teslamaker.com/
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Appendix – 3D Printers
Industrial Use
As of May 2011, the company Ultimaker now sells additive manufacturing systems that range from $1,300 to $2,750 in price and are employed in several industries: aerospace, architecture, automotive, defense, and medical replacements, among many others. For example, General Electric uses the high-end model to build parts for turbines.[41]
Consumer Use
Several projects and companies are making efforts to develop affordable 3D printers for home desktop use. Much of this work has been driven by and targeted at Do-It-Yourself-(DIY)/enthusiast/early_adopter communities, with additional ties to the academic and hacker communities.[42]
RepRap is one of the longest running projects in the desktop category. The RepRap project aims to produce a free and open source hardware (FOSH) 3D printer, whose full specifications are released under the GNU General Public License, and which is capable of replicating itself by printing many of its own (plastic) parts to create more machines.[43][44] RepRaps have already been shown to be able to print circuit boards[45] and metal parts.[46][47]
Because of the FOSH aims of RepRap, many related projects have used their design for inspiration, creating an ecosystem of related or derivative 3D printers, most of which are also open source designs…
The cost of 3D printers has decreased dramatically since about 2010, with machines that used to cost $20,000 now costing less than $1,000.[50] For instance, as of 2013, several companies and individuals are selling parts to build various RepRap designs, with prices starting at about €400 / US$500.[51] The open source Fab@Home project[52] has developed printers for general use with anything that can be squirted through a nozzle, from chocolate to silicone sealant and chemical reactants. Printers following the project’s designs have been available from suppliers in kits or in pre-assembled form since 2012 at prices in the US$2000 range.[51] The Kickstarter funded Peachy Printer is designed to cost $100[53] and several other new 3D printers are aimed at the small, inexpensive market including the mUVe3D and Lumifold. Rapide 3D has designed a professional grade crowdsourced 3D-printer costing $1499 which has no fumes nor constant rattle during use.[54] The 3Doodler, “3D printing pen”, raised $2.3 million on Kickstarter with the pens selling at $99,[55] though the 3D Doodler has been criticised for being more of a crafting pen than a 3D printer.[56]
As the costs of 3D printers have come down they are becoming more appealing financially to use for self-manufacturing of personal products.[57] In addition, 3D printing products at home may reduce the environmental impacts of manufacturing by reducing material use and distribution impacts.[58]