3D Printing and 3D Printing Business – Some Major Effects

The world will react to 3D Printing technology, and the trends are clear.

Governments that protect labor pools will tax the technology.

Many countries adopted protectionist measures to keep citizens employed. These measures were designed to stop foreign competition from selling products in protectionist countries. Nations put tariffs on, for example, Chinese, Japanese and even American goods to keep local factories in business.

But what happens when a local Englishman can simply “print” a part for his car? No stores, import duties, quotas or government revenue. We can bet that 3-D printers will be taxed on purchase and for their use. Much like today, with television taxes in Europe, where citizens pay a government tax to have a TV set in their houses. Owners of 3-D printers might pay one as well.

Companies that rely on expensive labor will embrace the technology.

In much of Europe, the labor laws make it difficult to fire people, painful to cut wages in hard economic times, impossible to eliminate health insurance, and unacceptable to slash or deny benefits. The social cost of doing business in Western Europe already keeps many manufacturers out of the labor pool. Strong government subsidies often are necessary to lure firms to Europe.

With 3D printing, an employer can have a machine do a person’s job. The machine doesn’t get sick. The machine doesn’t require five weeks’ vacation. The machine can run 24 hours per day and can be moved to another region or country without disrupting an employee’s family. 3D printing offers a way to manufacture close to a client’s location as well as market opportunities that aren’t hamstrung by labor costs.

Global shipping firms will have to get into 3-D printing or suffer grave consequences.