Jobs and 3D Printing -- China Vs. US

While Presidents and politicians throughout the US have been crying for a reshoring of manufacturing for years now, lower-cost labor countries like China continue to account for a huge portion of American production. Economists and President Obama alike have pointed toward 3D printing as a likely way to bring jobs back to American soil...but will it be the outsource-killer they're claiming? 3DPrint.com's Brian took a look at some of the figures behind the claims, and isn't so sure that 3D printing will benefit in-country production as much as some have predicted. Check out the basis behind his hesitation in the full article: http://3dprint.com/57708/3d-printing-jobs-china/


Below is a photo of President Obama inspecting 3D printed objects:
http://3dprint.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/c5.jpg

I'd agree with the premise that the advances might be a zero sum game, unfortunately 3D printing is only part of it. China is also putting a lot of money into innovation and problem solving- not just manufacturing the solutions but creating them in the first place. Obvoisly this has not been a strong point on the Mainland but if we look at Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore we can see that it's certianly possible.

I've done 3D printing workshops for Chinese 8-10 year olds, they are within a year or two of their US counterparts when it comes to creative problem solving. The sharp-drop off occurs in the early teens when they are forced to endlessly cram and memorize for China's equivalent of the SAT. There are experimental schools here in China that are looking to solve this problem.

TLDR: The US is trying an unlikely bid to use 3D printing to catch up in manufacturing- while ignoring the well funded efforts being made to surpass it in design and engineering.