ED SAYS

Welcome then to the last edition of the year – and what a year it has been. An election, a massive turn around in the economy, interest rates apparently on hold, and everything is looking pretty rosy in the garden (the downside being that my lawn needs cutting every week now we have warmer weather).

This year we have delved deeper into reporting on 3D printing technology. Surprisingly there are still people in the industries we cover who can’t see the technology disrupting the universe as we know it.

As I have written many times before, I believe it is a game-changer that will knock many business owners (and workshop managers) for six. For those who don’t take the technology seriously they will wake up one morning and realise they have nothing to do – no orders, no backlog of work – nothing.

In October HP, the big company that probably made the photocopier in your office, announced the development of new technology that is making the printing of physical objects even more accurate, and up to 10 times faster than the current competition. Watch out for HP’s machines when they start being marketed in a few months’ time.

The technology behind robots and robotic arms is also leaping forward at great pace. This is another technology that will replace people doing routine manual tasks in factories and shop floors across the planet. Will the technology deliver us to Elysium? Time will only tell. But again, forward thinking owners of manufacturing firms need to take note. Great strides are also being made in nanotechnology. How long will it be before machines repair themselves, perhaps even making lubricants (and goodness knows what else) obsolete?

In my mind, the future of manufacturing, engineering, and everything we use today, will be replaced or dramatically changed by the use of 3D printers, robots, nanotechnology, and even smarter software. It will be a time of wonder and development like we have never seen before. And it’s coming fast.

You won’t be able to stop it – too many corporations have invested too much money for that to happen. The best you can do is stay informed, look forward, adapt and embrace new developments at every opportunity.

In October 2012, the date of my first column as editor of Demm, I mused that no one reads editors’ intros. Well done for reading my final one, you are now up to speed.

All of us at Demm thank you for your outstanding support during 2014. A new editor will take the helm to drive Demm to even greater success in 2015.

Make it a fantastic summer.

All the best, Steve Hart editor@demm.co.nz

Theteam at Demm magaz ine wouldlike to wishyou a Merry Christm anda as Happy NewYear !