Microfactories

The future of manufacturing looks a lot like the past: Tiny.

Back in the old days, goods weren't made in large batches somewhere far away. They were custom-made and designed just for you. If you wanted a new pair of shoes, you would go right down to the local cobbler, he would take your measurements and create them on the spot. Everything fit just right, because they weren't created for a "Size 8". They were created for a Sarah.

For a while, it seemed like Mass Production was the better alternative to slow, old-fashioned "craft" production. Sure, it wasted millions of tons of oil and gas, polluted Earth's precious atmosphere and left behind barrels of toxic waste, but it was "cheaper". What you saved in price, you lost in value- thanks to mass production, the quality of goods usually went in one direction: down. Consumers also lost that close connection with those who produced the things they relied on. No longer do we get to see goods produced or who makes them. That's not to say there weren't a few benefits- products were consistent everywhere you went, the same size and made of the same materials. You just paid the price of individuality. Eventually mass-production spread into our culture too, with the same fast food restaurants following you everywhere you went and music studios stamping out teen pop idols on an assembly line.

In a resource-based economy, localized, closed-loop manufacturing is the "secret sauce" that brings everything together. While every city and town won't have their own factory, manufacturing will be far more distributed than it is today, with each region, or "metropolitan area" having one. All products are designed with recyclability in mind, completing the "loop" of raw materials.

So what are microfactories? True to their name, they are small factories. Small factories are cheaper to build and easier to maintain since they require less inputs. Microfactories are key because without them, transitioning would be nearly impossible due to the large expense of building or buying full-sized plants. What makes microfactories unique is that they aren't just small, they're completely automated, modular and mobile. A microfactory will be designed to neatly fit into a few shipping containers, be easily assembled and disassembled. Because they can be moved so easily, microfactories can be produced in one location and taken wherever they're needed. Microfactories will be able to produce nearly everything current factories do, including high-tech electronics. It would be impossible for one microfactory to produce every possible product, so a diverse array of specialized microfactories would be available in every region.

For example, one microfactory may produce high-quality steel while another makes custom computer chips. Yet another may refine biofuels and produce plastic, or gas. When an industrial process is too complex for one factory to do on it's own, an ecosystem of factories will work together to create a finished product.

The first microfactories will be designed around our basic needs: Food, Clothing and Housing. Food processing and preservation is a must, along with clothes. A simple brick press can be thought of as a crude "housing" microfactory, but later versions will build entire house sections, with electrical wiring and plumbing included. Chemical processes such as steel and glassmaking can also be easily miniaturized, but it's most likely materials such as steel and glass will be pelletized and shipped instead, to be melted down and made into products on-site.

When you think about it, microfactories make manufacturing easier. Finished products, which take up a lot of space and require special shipping conditions will no longer be traded between cities. Instead, raw materials will. Since raw materials are easy to load and ship, it's possible that products could be created faster. Large silos of raw materials would be located right next to the manufacturing complex so transportation time could be minimized.