There are even DIY versions of hazardous chemical engineering processes like refining biocrude oil and synthesizing Nylon. Take, for example, these instructions for turning a microwave oven into a smelting machine for melting and forming metal, or this youtube video documenting an attempt at a homemade vacuum evaporation coating machine, or this open-source tractor. Hobbyist and open-source hardware projects are using even more complicated and exotic industrial processes at the household scale. Large-scale, global mass production is so efficient that even complicated, niche products like milling machines are now affordable to a middle-class American household.Īll of the machines I mentioned so far are commercial products. But I think that they are more accurately seen as a testament to the success of mass production. Some commentators see these small-scale production tools as a challenge to traditional mass production. For less than $7,000 you can even get an injection molding machine, a laser cutter, or an induction melting furnace. In fact, for less than the price of a macbook pro, you can buy a small lathe or milling machine, the workhorse machines of industrial production.
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