Can Makers Replace Manufacturers?

You’ve probably heard of the maker movement. Places called “maker spaces” are popping up where everybody from quilters to semiconductor-device designers are getting their hands dirty pursuing small-scale projects that may or may not be commercially viable. New manufacturing technologies such as advanced general-purpose robotics, laser cutters, and 3D printers allow ordinary citizens to make things that would have required a factory full of expensive equipment just a few years ago …