The great disruption : competing and surviving in the second wave of the industrial revolution / Rick Smith with Mitch Free.

Preface: "This changes everything!" -- Paradigm-plus -- The play-doh epiphany: a new way of making things -- The second wave -- Mass customization -- Liberating design -- The elastic manufacturing cloud -- The future in 3D -- The 3D printed organization -- Threat multiplier -- Disruptive leadership -- Hack rod prints the fast lane.

The Great Disruption reveals how 3D printing manufacturing will transform the world in the same way that Henry Ford's Model T upended transportation or Gutenberg's printing press started an information revolution. It traces both the impact of this disruption as it rapidly spreads around the world and affects every kind of industry imaginable, while detailing specific steps that can and should be taken right now to prepare. The 3D manufacturing revolution is pervasive and growing rapidly, and includes such major breakthroughs as: - A machine in Amsterdam that can 3D print a bridge over a canal underneath it using no support or scaffolding - A global auto manufacturer designing a car that automatically changes its physical shape and structure in response to current driving conditions - A scientist in London experimenting with 3D printing material that is two hundred times stronger than steel - A Harvard researcher who is 3D printing batteries the size of a single grain of sand - An astronaut who is printing replacement parts in space-and a shipping executive who is doing the same thing on cargo ships In exploring this radical future, The Great Disruption shows how we can position ourselves to successfully navigate this historic shift to our greatest benefit.