As 3D printing technology progresses, and more and more items can cheaply be constructed via 3D printed parts, the entire way in which the economy as well as the manufacturing industry functions will change. One project called the Open Source Ecology project looks to build 50 machines with open source instructions. These machines include backhoes, cement mixers, wind turbines and more. Many of these machines are built with parts which have been 3D printed. More details on the Open Source Ecology project can be found here: http://3dprint.com/10110/3d-printers-economy/

What are your thoughts? Could we see drastic economic changes due to open source information and 3D printing? Check out an example of the open source backhoe