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i4.0, 3D printing, deglobalisation and new manufacturing clusters: The view from Australia

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2023

Al Rainnie
Al Rainnie*
Affiliation:
University of South Australia, Australia
*
Al Rainnie, Division of Business and Enterprise, University of South Australia, North Terrace, Adelaide, SA 5001, Australia. Email: al.f.rainnie@gmail.com
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Abstract

Before the COVID-19 pandemic erupted onto the world stage, a new narrative was apparently beginning to emerge about the impact of i4.0 and new technologies in general, and three-dimensional printing in particular, on the future of work and employment. This was to have particular geographical implications for the manufacturing sector in particular. Proponents of i4.0 also suggested that this process, particularly in manufacturing, would promote the re-emergence of patterns of clustering. Developments in advanced manufacturing, particularly three-dimensional printing, would accelerate and reinforce these tendencies. This article looks at the role that three-dimensional printing is supposed to play in the new world, and in particular, critically evaluates its role in reinforcing the trend towards deglobalisation on the one hand, and, on the other, new clusters of manufacturing industry.

Keywords

O33Advanced manufacturingfourth industrial revolutioni4.0manufacturing clustersnearshoringnew technologiesplatform capitalismthree-dimensional printing
Type
Original Articles
Information
The Economic and Labour Relations Review , Volume 32 , Issue 1 , March 2021 , pp. 115 - 133
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s) 2020

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