Episode 109: Reinventing Manufacturing

Peter and Dan discuss today’s reinvention of the manufacturing industry, and how emerging technologies — from 3D printing to generative design — are enabling faster and more automated production at scale. Touching on one company, Re:Build Manufacturing, they demonstrate how local, just-in-time manufacturing and tech-driven lean processes are beginning to disrupt the global supply chain. In this episode: Dan talks about the history of the global supply chain after WWII, and what incentives emerged after the war’s conclusion for the world to begin trading internationally.  Peter and Dan agree that the best way to continue progress is to automate the routine and humanize the exceptional, such that we can leverage robots to increasingly perform jobs that are dull, dangerous and dirty.  Peter frames the conversation by illustrating a future in which we could use technology to rearrange atoms to create the ultimate manufacturing machines.