Manufacturing has gotten shtupid for various reasons. In fact, it has gotten to the point to be anti-people. It is more destructive than it is good. And thus, it will massively change in the coming decades.
- Planned obsolescence
- Expensive repair parts
- Paying others to pollute their countries
- Cutting all of the corners
- Products designed to fill land fills
- Hiding costs from the buyers
Most people do not have any idea what things cost, and this was done on purpose.
In fact, super-giant corporations have made it a mission to help you destroy the planet by you choosing the lowest price. (and in many cases, it is now the only option)
Plans to keep selling you crap
Everyone knows of the term "planned obsolescence" but do they really know?
A true company, who decided to make the best whatever (lets use toaster) would eventually make a toaster for everyone. And if the toaster lasted for 20 years, then that would mean their sales go to zero.
We geared up so much to make a toaster for everyone. That is a really big undertaking. 100 million households, that is a lot of toasters. And then, you make one for everyone, and demand drops precipitously. There are grandmother's old toasters that are still working. No one is buying. Our giant manufacturing building will go out of business! Quick, do something!
So, we now have planned obsolescence. The act of making something wear out in a short amount of time so it must be repurchased. Also, the planning of continually shifting styles / patterns / colors. (and it is planned. I has someone lay out the order of changes for me, and he was correct)
You would think that with better technology and better manufacturing process we could now build things even better than in the past. But, our refrigerators have gone from lasting 50 years to about 5.
Repair parts ARE the business model
Repair part prices are a scam… sorta.
While manufacturing the item, the parts are cheap. So cheap they are sometimes not picked up when they fall.
But, 5 years later when your thingamajig breaks, and you need a part to repair it, it costs a fortune. Sometimes more than buying a new-used one of the same thing.
Now, it does cost a lot to keep these things in stock. And the things were in production 5 years ago. Today, the plastic injection mold sits on a shelf in some warehouse. And it costs 10s of thousands of dollars to get it to make one more part. (as opposed to the $1 a part it was spitting out at one a minute when it was in operation)
Just too many pieces, and they are not fixed, because repair parts are big money. (it has been said that auto manufacturers do not make money on the cars, they make it on repairs)
- Parts are not standardized. (most control circuits are basically the same, but they make whole new one for every model)
- Looks have to be completely changed from model to model. (even though the insides of most fridges look pretty much the same)
- Replacement parts have to be made and then stored for 5 years on shelves. Warehouse space costs.
- Replacement parts have little to do with cost of manufacturing.
3D Printers to the rescue
The solution to these problems is to manufacture things in a different way.
Instead of one huge centralized location, that has huge fixed costs and a desire to stay in business no matter what the cost, we manufacture in a largely dispersed manner.
The ideas surrounding 3D printers are what we are looking for (although 3D printers really can't do anything close to what people talk about 3D printers doing (usually in the near future).
CNC milling, shaping and turning machines are where it is going to be at to solve our manufacturing woes.
Machines that are small enough to fit in a garage, and cheap enough for the average person to buy. Then they start making a part required of the finished good.
Then the magic of the internet connects people who need parts to people who manufacture parts.
And thus, a network of part manufacturers, and finished goods assemblers springs into existence. And thus, the consumer can get their product from someone local, and repair parts are fairly easy to get (a new one can be made by dozens, or more, of people)
Economics breakdown because of manufacturing overseas
The biggest advantage to distributed manufacturing is that people realize exactly what something costs.
How much time and resources went into this part is reflected fairly accurately in its price. And that lets people understand what they are trading their time and resources for.
I mean, you take a $500 fridge, you slap a $100 flat screen on it, and now it sells for $2500? This isn't a cost based on inputs. This is a cost based on how much the marketing folk think they can get out of you.
So, it will be a huge change in what things cost. And how we can easily understand that cost.
We may have one guy assemble a fridge (from local parts manufacturers) in a plain box, and it costs $500. And you may have another guy who is a metal artist, and makes a one of a kind fridge (from the same parts inside) and he charges $2500. At least now you know where your money is going, and why. (and this $2500 fridge costs the same to repair as the $500 one. Same parts)
What these fixes mean to us
The other part that local manufacturing fixes is that it keeps the money flowing locally.
Instead of paying WallyMart $2500, which gets transferred to an overseas bank, which pays the cheapest price they can pay for manufacturing. (probably about $250, cost at manufacturer). All of that money just siphoned out of the local economy never be seen again.
It is our main problem, economically speaking, that we send all of our labor (our earnings) overseas. So, we sent our jobs overseas, and now continually send our earnings there too.
And the last thing that local manufacturing will solve is that it is just fine if production drops off to zero. With the cost being only the tool sitting idle in the garage, it is supportable to continue on part time basis (as opposed to a huge manufacturing plant which has a really serious minimum output it needs before it goes out of business)
This will come about as we build better and better "3D printers"
It will become the normal. (I hope it starts being realized before global trade collapses due to war and fiat breaking down.)