100k Garages

= network of Digital Fabrication shops, where your design can be fabricated

URL = http://www.100kgarages.com/

100KGarages is a partnership between Ponoko, a New Zealand-based aggregator of custom blueprint designs and a North Carolina-based company ShopBot Tools, a company that makes and sells both small scale and industrial CNC routing manufacturing machines. [1]

Description

1.

"It could be a piece of furniture, a part for your new energy innovation, a piece of trim for a building, or an artistic wall hanging. You might want just one for a home project or you may be ready to make and sell your project. Big factories won't talk to you unless you want a thousand at a time. You might be able to make the parts yourself, but that requires an investment in tools and skill that you might not be ready for.

You may be surprised to learn, though, that there are several thousand shops all over the world with tools for digital fabrication (sometimes called CNC tools) that can make exactly what you want (how can replicating parts be that easy?). There's probably even one near you. Some are regular businesses, some are part-timers, and some are small shops that have some spare production time: each has the capability to help you make all kinds of things. You know what a 'Copy Center' is for getting printed pages and projects made, 100kGarages is like a virtual 3D copy center for getting real parts and projects made.

100Kgarages is your access to the network of these 'garages' that can make stuff for you (well we're just getting this thing started ... but you can read more here on the big idea). Your digital fabrication work will be done by a community of local workshops with digital tools for precisely cutting, machining, drilling, or sculpting the components of your project." (http://www.100kgarages.com/)

2.

"100KGarages.com is an online, decentralized community of consumers, small manufacturers (makers) and designers. Once they register for an account on the 100Kgarages web site, makers (or manufacturers), designers and consumers become part of a sprawling, unregulated, global, virtual design and production ecosystem. The makers (makers must own a ShopBot to participate on the site) post a profile about their workshop’s unique manufacturing capabilities. The designers post their design ideas online in the form of electronic blueprints, or CAD designs. The consumers post descriptions of the objects they would like to have manufactured, including their ideal purchase price, delivery date and product specs. Consumers browse designs online and when they find an object they’d like to have custom-made, the action turns to the online Job Site. On the online Job Site, consumers invite bids and negotiate directly with the maker on project details, design issues, cost and so on. When a deal between a customer and maker is struck, the customer sends payment to the maker for labor and materials, production begins, and the item is shipped to the consumer when finished. Quality control is consumer reviews of their experience with various makers and designers." (http://web.mae.cornell.edu/lipson/FactoryAtHome.pdf)