Introduction

This new section is dedicated to Open Manufacturing developments, making it easier to identify interests in creating physical objects. This is a smaller subset of our much broader section on Open and Shared Design Communities.

Key Resources

Discussion

1. Open Manufacturing: The Social Implementation of Open Manufacturing & Distribution Techniques
2. Rapid Prototyping mailing list

Overview

Advanced Civilisation is a site founded by Charles Collis to introduce current and developing states of Open and Distributed Manufacturing. (website)

Note in particular the overview on turning virtual designs into physical objects at "Virtual designs into physical objects"

Tools of The Trade

A working directory of hardware tools are available here.

Readings / Media

1. Kevin Carson: Expanding Peer Production to the Physical World

Also:

1. Immerse yourself in a variety of informative texts here.
2. Personal Fabrication for Dummies: 10 different techniques explained and shown in video illustrations
3. Video: Eric von Hippel on User Centered Innovation: in fact, for a long time already, users (and user communities) have been responsible for most industrial innovations!!
4. Kevin Carson: Emilia-Romagna as an example of sustainable manufacturing
5. Neil Gershenfeld on the need for a new digital maker literacy

An important note on terminology: leading experts such as Frank Piller and Terry Wohlers prefer to use 3D Printing for a general public, and Additive Fabrication in technical contexts, instead of Rapid Prototyping or Rapid Manufacturing [1]