Yes, it's an overnight success. Not so much. I've been hosting and syndicated my own technology-related national talk show since the mid-90s. That was the dawn of the digital age. Over the last 20 years, computers and the Internet have changed, well, everything. There has been one constant, though. The Internet eats everything it sees.

One industry after another has just been totally consumed by the Internet.

Think about it.

Music, movies, and television.

And now transportation, thanks to Uber and Lyft.

And it certainly doesn't end there.

The next industry to be consumed by the web is going to usher in the

most profound change to our economy yet. Do you know what that is? It's the sound of the

machine that could disrupt manufacturing as we know it. It's a 3D printer. They've been around for many years, but only

in the last few years that they've become smaller and cheaper. These machines are able to create

almost anything you can imagine. Toys, shelving units, replacement parts, tools, model homes, and

thousands of other objects. The plans for these items are contained in a small computer file that can be downloaded

right from the internet.

Those plans can then be sent to a 3D printer.

And a few hours later, well, out pops the object, right there.

The printer's head methodically moves back and forth, adding layer after layer of plastic.

The process is very similar to your inkjet printer.

But instead of spraying ink on two-dimensional pieces of paper, it's actually using plastic

to create real objects that you can hold.

A decent 3-D printer can cost as little as $1,500. The implications of this

technology are just profound. It's going to turn manufacturing on its head. One of the first

people to realize the revolutionary potential of 3D printing was a young man from Texas.

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