How AI and 3D printing can lower the barriers to domestic manufacturing
American manufacturers face deficits in workforce numbers, skills, and labor costs that tariffs alone can't solve. Professor Nikhil Gupta sees AI and 3D printing as solutions for competing with cheaper foreign production. AI can automate design processes across four areas: design, printing, testing, and material development. Gupta notes, "You can automate the entire process of design" by creating multiple options through iterations. Combined with localized 3D printing, these technologies could enable domestic manufacturing reshoring.
