A New Manufacturing Paradigm

I was trawling the Web recently, not really paying much attention to where I ended up.

I checked out the usual sites - nothing that caught my attention.
Clicked on a few links just because, and ended up here.

Now I have seen milling machines in action before. I have watched one create 4 custom automotive wheel centres from a huge hunk of aluminium. And now I can buy that sort of capability for under $10,000. Heck, if all I wanted was the basic option, it's not much more than $5,000.

Let me put that in perspective - for not much more than the price of a decent used car, I can buy the capability to make almost ANYTHING that can be machined from plastic, wood, or metal.

You want a replacement part for something - source the right raw material and MAKE it.

No longer will you be held hostage by a manufacturer, distributor, or retailer over a widget for your doo-hickey. If the part they are selling is too expensive - source the right raw material and MAKE it.

I think I might invest in a company that sells raw materials for home CNC.