doing it yourself

As designers, we pride ourselves in our ability to visualize spaces and objects before they are built. In a sense, we are consistently living in the future of possibility, our visions and representations of visions to be actualized at a "later" time. Having said this, we've probably all heard of rapid prototyping and the optimism that comes along with it, mainly that we can now actually build our ideas in rapid succession, quickly making object, tweaking design, making object, tweaking, and so forth. In theory, what an amazing sequence of events. However, there are limitations: and they are, per ususal, monetary. How much can you get that model built for? Excuse me? In my experience, that one thing standing between a house full of models and prototypes and myself is the almighty dollar.
If you, dear reader, buy any of this, than I must tell you there is hope. Last night, I was able to attend a lecture by a young gentlemen currently researching how to create a rapid prototyping machine for under $400. Desktop style Making, with a capital M.
If that weren't enough, in today's New York Times there is a wonderful article concerning the subject with links and even more information on how to at the very least buy prototypes on the low end of the price scale. For instance, Great Eastern Technologies, "will make small multicolored copies from a starch-based powder for about $70 using a printer from the Z Corporation."
It seems like desktop manufacturing is beginning to take shape, and if economies of scale begin to assemble, I believe we are in for an evolution in innovation. As we read of those Internet 2.0 geeks setting up shop in coffee shops all across the world, we can take inspiration and create a virtual network of freelancing designer who are open to open-source sharing, and who will disseminate ideas at a much faster and more poignant clip.