Editorial
Article Type: Editorial From: Rapid Prototyping Journal, Volume 18, Issue 3
I have just returned from my first visit to Beijing in China since 1998. As everyone will tell you who has been there recently, the city has changed beyond recognition with high rise buildings now the order of the day and bicycles being overwhelmingly replaced by (too many) cars. Indeed, I experienced probably the worst traffic I have ever seen and I am so glad I was not driving. I found it hard to reconcile in my mind the fact that the country is governed by self-declared communists with the clear exhibition of capitalism in the shops around town; a very interesting paradox. Everyone I met treated me with the utmost courtesy and I sometimes wondered if they had mistaken me for someone important! In particular, I was very honoured to be invited to participate in a couple of family get-togethers with two of my PhD students. One of these was on the eve of the Chinese New Year and was followed by the most incredible ad hoc display of fireworks I have ever seen. The whole of Beijing was a cacophony of bangs and thuds with rockets lighting the sky in every direction. Going back to my hotel afterwards was a bit like driving through a war zone with explosions (mostly small) still coming from every direction, the roads littered with firework debris and the air filled with the haze of gunpowder smoke. Certainly an experience I will never forget.
The reason for my trip was to visit a number of organisations who have participated in a PhD student project involving the digitisation of archaeological artefacts with a view to using the data to support additive manufacturing. My student displayed some of the results she had already achieved and the level of interest generated was very encouraging. The willingness to investigate the use of these “new” computer technologies alongside traditional methods was commendable and should lead to further collaboration in the future. (Hopefully, some of the results generated will be published in a future issue of the RPJ.) This willingness to embrace the new was also seen at the Design Resource Centre in Beijing. Here, a sizable number of mainly small design companies are co-located with Government sponsored training and technology provision (including additive manufacturing). Student internships from local universities are also encouraged. The ultimate aim of the Centre’s management was to transform “Made in China” into “Designed in China”, and the resources being made available to achieve this aim were significant. The Chinese Government has realised that the “low-wage manufacturing” advantage enjoyed by China for many years is beginning to disappear and that alternative strategies are needed. There is definitely a major challenge here for Western economies to ascertain how they can continue to maintain a lead in creating high-value added products.
Ian Campbell
