Technology: 3D Printing - A Glance On The New Industrial Revolution

 

(Drivebycuriosity) - We are witnesses of a New Industrial Revolution. Yesterday visited the "Inside 3D Printing Convention" at the Javits Convention Center, New York City (/inside3dprinting). This is a kind of global traveling circus which shows new developments in 3D printing - "the third industrial revolution" - around the world. The convention comprises a row of speeches about the state of art in the industry and an exhibition where the producers display their machines & programs.

3D printing is also known as additive manufacturing. This technology is literally "printing" parts of machines and devices by using computational power, lasers and basic powdered metals and plastics.

The manufacturing expert Christina Chatfield reports (manufacturing): "No longer relegated to printing ungainly plastic components, 3-D printing has rapidly evolved to the point where it can produce items made of metals, mixed materials and even human tissue. The result is shorter lead times, improved quality because of fewer components, reduced waste and the ability to produce complex shapes without complicated machining. Additive manufacturing is causing changes in the way engineers and designers think about creating products and components, and it is changing the way we will educate and train future generations.Already emerging are printed parts for high-value applications like patient-specific implants for hip joints or teeth, or lighter and stronger aircraft parts".

According to Wikipedia the 3D printing technology is already used in architecture, construction, industrial design, automotive, aerospace, military, engineering, dental and medical industries, biotech (human tissue replacement), fashion, footwear, jewelry, eyewear, education, geographic information systems, food, and many other fields (wikipedia).



                   Icing The Cake

The displayed 3D printers looked a bit like microwaves but they are much more sophisticated. They all have a moving part which resembles a sled, but this device is much more complex. Watching those "sleds" - which are steered by some software - reminded me a bit of icing a cake. But I guess, the picture of a spider, who spins its web by emitting silk, is more appropriate.

Anyway the displayed machines use cables of plastics or metals which get melted inside. Then their jets - which are working like the glands of a spider - are adding layer on layer which produces any kind of shape the software demands.

The convention - and the included exhibition -  attracted a lot of visitors: Engineers, consultants, stock market analysts, geeks, curious bohemians and TV reporters. I plan to visit the show again if it comes back to New York City next year.

PS. My wife commented "There was an authentic energy here, and to me the show was a good example of how the economy is in a healthy state which is fostering so much innovation* and entrepreneurship-. Best of luck to all the ventures!
***including new materials, widely accessible engineering tools even NEW BODY PARTS! ***"

Economy: Why The China Trade Haters Are Wrong

(Drivebycuriosity) - What do Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders have in common? They are both against free trade, especially with China. Both claim that free trade with China is hurting the poor in the US. Their argumentation is simple: Unskilled US workers are losing their jobs because people buy Chinese products that are cheaper thanks to low wages in China.  The China trade haters claim that Chinese workers are undercutting American workers and so stealing their jobs.

Trump & Sanders are wrong. Every American benefits from cheap Chinese goods, especially the poor. Imports from China, including apparel, hardware and toys, are reducing the cost of living in the US. And they make many things like smartphones, laptops and other electronics more affordable. These cost savings allow the poor to spend more money for other goods and services - they gain more life quality. Money which isn´t spend for apparel, hardware & Co (because of the lower prices) will be spend for domestic goods & services and will create new jobs in the US - compensating the job losses at least partly.

Free Trade with China - and with the rest of the world - also creates a healthy competition. If US producers would be protected by trade restrictions as Trump & Sanders demand, they would become monopolists - more or less. Then they could hike prices and reduce the quality of their products (lower quality means lower productions costs = higher profits). So the free trade with China not only implies lower prices it also yields a higher quality and more variety. And the competition with China forces the US industry to become more efficient & productive.

Due to the low prices China has a trade surplus meaning that the country exports more goods to the US than it imports from there. China uses these surpluses to buy US government bonds (treasuries) with a value of trillions of dollars (investopedia).  So the Chinese workers are financing the US public deficit and indirectly the US public spending. Without the Chinese treasury purchases the US government would have to pay higher interest rates and maybe reduce the public spending which could cost US jobs.

If the China trade haters will get their will and the US imposes high trade barriers against China (like tariffs and other regulations) they could start a trade war because China would be provoked  to retaliate. In the year 1930 the US implied high tariffs on over 20,000 imported goods (Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act) and started so a trade war with England & France. As a result global trade imploded and the recession became the Great Depression.



P.S. For illustration I used the image of workers in a Chinese toy company.

Books: Affinity By Sarah Waters

 

(Drivebycuriosity) - Some people claim that they possess spiritual abilities and that they can communicate with ghosts. The historical novel "Affinity" by Sarah Waters focuses on such a person (amazon). 

The book, set in London in the late 19th century (Victorian era), is written in first person, told by Margaret, an affluent woman around 30 who still lives with her mother. In order to spend her time more worthwhile she becomes a regular visitor of a prison, where she talks with the female inmates. She develops an intense interest in the captive Selina, a young spritiualist who is convicted for fraud and worse (this is a spoiler free blog).

I purchased the book because I enjoyed Waters` novel "The Paying Guests" very much (here my review driveby ). "Affinity" isn´t as strong as the "Guests". It lacks the erotics of the "Guests" and the very slow paced story is a bit too long for my taste, but I liked the ending which compensates for some boredom.  

I also enjoyed the mystery and the dark atmosphere of the book. Waters`sinister descriptions of Victorian London, the harsh prison conditions and the very special inmates reminded me of Kafka. The book is also an intense psychological study about "affinity" as promised by the title.

"Affinity" might entertain readers who like dark historical novels about female psychology with a mysterious twist.

Contemporary Art: Nudes On Copper @ Dacia Gallery, New York

 

(Drivebycuriosity) - Artists are fascinated by the human body since the begin of their profession. The oldest known nude, the "Venus of Hohle Fels", was created about 35,000 years ago (wikipedia). Erin Anderson follows this tradition, but the artist has a new idea, she paints nudes on copper plates (here an interview with the painter  huffingtonpost).

 

(Drivebycuriosity) - The Dacia Gallery on New York´s Lower East Side (53 Stanton Street daciagallery ) shows new paintings (oil on copper) by Anderson, the exhibition is called "The Human System"  (through April 30, 2016, here the press release anderson).

I display here my favorites from the show,  a very subjective selection as usual.

Enjoy!

Contemporary Art: Women Painting Women @ Garis & Hahn Gallery, New York

 

(Drivebycuriosity) - Women are neglected in the art scene. They appeare often as objects, but rarely as creators. The gallery Garis & Hahn & on Manhattan´s traditional Bowery (garis) is working against that. The art dealer has now a show called "Beyond the Gaze: Women painting Women (through April 17, 2016).


From the press release: "While employing voyeurism from an uniquely female perspective, the paintings adhere to a more psychological understanding of representation by letting an informal yet stylized approach take precedence over glorified forms" (content).

I display here my favorites from the exhibition. A very subjective selection as usual. Let the pictures speak for themselves. On top of this post you can see "Relief" by Sarah Awad (2014, Oil on canvas, 60 x 48inches) followed by Tatiana Berg`s "Emily" (2014, Acrylic on canvas, 52 x 40 inches) & Sarah Awad`s  "Reclining Woman 3 (Triptych)" (2014, Oil on canvas, 50 x 38 inches).



                              Headless Parrot

Above this paragraph: Sarah Awad`s  "Reclining Woman 2 (Triptych)" (2014, Oil on canvas, 50 x 38 inches) & "Reclining Woman 1 (Triptych)" (2014, Oil on canvas, 50 x 38 inches) followed by "Texting" by Tatiana Berg (2015, Acrylic on canvas, 52 x 40 inches); Jay Miriam`s "Wednesday Morning Croissant" (2015, Oil on linen, 58 x 44 inches) & "Woman and Her Headless Parrot" (2015, Oil on linen, 60 x 38 inches).





Enjoy!

Contemporary Art: Chrono Chrome @ Gallery Artifact, New York

 

(Drivebycuriosity) - New York´s Lower East Side has a very dynamic art scene. You can find about 130 art galleries there. One of my favorite places is gallery Artifact on 84 Orchard Street (artifactnyc). The art dealer has frequently fascinating exhibitions which belong to the best shows in Manhattan (here   here here ).

Artifact shows now works by Timothy Atticus. The show is called "Chrono Chrome" (through April 10, 2016 facebook). I like the tasteful combinations of colors which remind of a bunch of spring flowers.

Enjoy!

Economy: Opec - The Clock Is Ticking

(Drivebycuriosity) - Watch out Opec, the clock is ticking. Tesla, the producer of electric cars, got 250,000 orders for its new Model 3 in just 2 days. The demand for electric cars is already high & rising, even that the vehicles are still expensive. Electric cars will get much more popular in the coming years. Traditional automakers, including Volkswagen, Honda, Toyota, Renault, Chevrolet, Mercedes and more, are already offering electric cars as well. And Apple plans to produce electric cars beginning in 2019.

These vehicles will get cheaper in the coming years thanks to technological progress, competition and mass production - and they will become common in the 2020s. Then the new car revolution will  curb the demand for gasoline considerably. Bad for Opec because crude oil is mainly use to produce gasoline. The chart below (source bloomberg) shows that oil is already irrelevant as power source for electricity production: Just one percent of the US electricity comes from petroleum.

It´s similar with heating (chart below: source eia.gov/). Less than 20% of US households use oil for heating, the majority is heating with natural gas and electricity (produced mainly by coal & natural gas).

So, most of the oil - about 70% -  is used for transportation and around 30% for petrochemical products ( energy).


But it will get worse for Opec.  The cartel also has to fight against a rising competition. Technological progress is making more of the oil reserves in the ground accessible. The rise of US fracking from around 2006 through 2015 is just the begin. Today the costs to extract an extra barrel of oil (break even point) in the US vary around $60 - with a range of range from around $40 to more than $70 a barrel (marketwatch).  At current oil prices - in the moment of writing the US Type of oil WTI costs about $37 - many wells are unprofitable and are getting shut off. This explains the slight drop of US oil production since last summer. But, the productivity of fracking is rising swiftly which leads to shrinking costs (economics21  oilprice  econbrowser). A study by BP explains that fracking is "a standardized, repeated, manufacturing process" and "manufacturing productivity has led to a trend decline in the prices of goods relative to services" (forbes).

So the break even point for producing oil has been moving lower and will continue to fall in the coming years. Falling costs of fracking also raise the chance that in the coming years the US oil producers will  be accompanied by oil producers from China and other countries. In June 2013, the United States Energy Information Administration (EIA) released a world shale oil and gas reserve assessment that showed 32 countries outside the United States have substantial reserves locked up in 137 different formations - units that can be exploited using Bakken-like technology....The EIA placed China third behind Russia and the U.S. in tight shale (tribune ).

After 2020 oil prices could fall well below $20 thanks to sinking production costs and a shrinking gasoline demand. Saudi Arabia and other big producers, who are sitting on huge oil reserves that should last many decades, would be well advised to sell their oil now. Maybe the advent of electrical cars - in combination with the evolution of fracking - is the real reason for the recent oil price collapse.