Erik's Blog: Discussing open source innovation, personal fabrication and a ...

If you haven't seen Zeitgeist the Movie, go see it now (ps. you can turn of the Dutch subtitles by clicking on the CC button). It's free to watch online and you may copy it. It is a very thought-provoking documentary that dismisses many commonly held beliefs. It doesn't do this in a subtle way, but the style is motivating and the general idea is: don't just take the public image of what's going on for the truth. You should not take things Zeitgeist says as the truth either, look for this yourself. For example about the WTC being a controlled demolition, I have my doubts about that. I don't dismiss the possibility either, though. There's a lot of good information out their on the WTC on Wikipedia on the controlled demolition theory. I have no doubts that a lot of this were in reality not as the US government admits, but that's nothing new. Get used to the fact that the media misrepresent these issues. They can be influenced. But, you should form your own opinion. Be critical, there are many of bad arguments that are made to defend both theories. Also, get used to the fact that powerful people do really nasty things. I tend to seek for the 'good' in every person, but there's a lot of damage done by people pursuing their own interests blindly. An inaccurate interpretation of Adam Smith's theory says that it's in everyone's interest for everyone to pursue their own interests. In this interpretation the invisible hand, the market forces would regulate the system. This is not even what Adam Smith argued to be true, but now many people still defend this view. And they often do it by referring to the authority that Adam Smith had. Self-interest is bad. Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz recently said: "In this sense, the fall of Wall Street is for market fundamentalism what the fall of the Berlin Wall was for communism - it tells the world that this way of economic organization turns out not to be sustainable." If we want to be successful and have social wealth, we must start at society's foundation: trust. High trust societies are proved to function much better than low-trust societies. I read a major treatise on the subject of TRUST, it's extensive but very good). Besides a lot of evidence, it's common sense too. Society can achieve more when you trust and help each other.

Back to Zeitgeist. They do quite a lot of tricks to make things 'feel' like everything is evil from the bottom up. I am not so pessimistic, but there is no doubt that the current economic system is not the best system. You should be critical about how good it really is and look for alternatives. A more open, direct and transparent democracy would be much better. We should work towards an environment where sharing of ideas is promoted, not keeping ideas. Luckily these changes are happening as we speak, simply because people want it. People want to share. Open source hardware is getting bigger. This doesn't mean that there aren't many things that need to be resolved, so the scope of sharing can become much bigger.

Eric von Hippel of MIT states that: "In the case of open source software this is possible because innovations can be “produced” and distributed essentially for free on the web, software being an information rather than a physical product."
-- von Hippel, E., Horizontal innovation networks - by and for users, Industrial and Corporate Change Advance Access, published May 16, 2007, p. 22

Elsewhere he says:
"In a sense, hardware is becoming much more like software, up to the point where you actually fabricate an object," von Hippel says. "That's why you're starting to see open source techniques in hardware. Design is largely going to shift out from manufacturers to the communities."

RepRap and other open source fabbers are an important for distributed innovation of physical products. They will be important to this change and wil both precede and set the stage for nanotechnology, further down the road.

But the transition from the current 'scarcity based' economy to a resource (value) based one another is a major change. The addendum (Zeitgeist part two), focusses mostly on the financial system. It says that we should not support it. It then follows to explains the Venus Project. This is essentially a future design for cities where technology enables them to live in harmony, more or less free from work and most importantly: free from greed and corruption, because it's a world based on abundance instead of scarcity. Many of the ideas are strong and positive. They do not explain how to make this transition though. There is some critisism to the design. Independently of Zeitgeist, while looking for example of open source hardware I found out about a community called Factor E Farm. If we're thinking about open source, using it or perhaps even developing (like I am)... they are LIVING it. What's even more special, they're doing it now. That they're getting their hands dirty is by no means an indication that they don't have a plan. Their bigger plan is actually extensively thought through and documented.

I think that the Factor E Farm is a much better candidate to than the Venus project. Because it is an open source farm and its plans are actually being implemented as we speak. They live off the grid, are creating their own water supply based on a well that is made with open source plans. They've built an open source tractor, concentrated solar power applications, their own PV panels, growing seeds, making their own flour, open source housing (Hexayurt), etc. They also develop a hydraulic press to press pretty solid bricks from earth. Those can be used for construction. Sounds like fun and they have an excellent group that tinkers a lot and also gets a lot of results. As far as I can see all of their results are made open source and published. They've also identified RepRap and multimachine as being very useful. It would be a very interesting setting to have a RepRap over there. The video's are nice to watch and give you a quick impression of what they're doing. Many of the results are pretty recent. In other words, they're really busy making this happen. You should have a look at the movies on their blog here.

I think it has the ability to spread. I hope another site will arise in Europe. To be honest, my hands are itching... But for now I'll stick to the RepRap project, because through the RepRap, a similar decrease of dependence on outside suppliers is possible. Ecologically it is a major change, people can use their home-grown bioplastics (both biologically sourced and biodegradable). Or they can recycle waste plastic into useful products. Since we have nearly infinte amounts of waste...
I see a nice synergy where the RepRap is one of the early steps towards a more locally accountable and sustainable. More of the project plans should be 'encoded' in CAD files accompanying the plans. This make transferability across sites much easier. Distributed innovation is easy in software, but in hardware it's more complicated. The RepRap takes away major impediments of developing physical stuff collaboratively while physically dispersed.

The pictures of the green city lab are available at fablab.waag.org. All in all, it was a really fun and interesting event where I met may wonderful people!

What does the RepRap project do? What do they mean with self-replication?

Its aim is to design, through the open source process, a 3D printer that can replicate most of its own parts. Currently a large fraction of the parts can in fact be 3D printed, save some nuts and bolts and rods (60+ unique parts, little over a hundred of parts in total are printed). This fraction won't increase much because it's already reached a point where fabbing (fabricating) the supporting rods is not desirable (total costs are very low, they are available anywhere), but it could be done nevertheless. Same goes for screws and such.
What is still desirable to be able to replicate is the electronics. In fact, the standard (1.0) model of the RepRap, the 'Darwin' is capable of milling professional-looking and absolutely functional PCBs for the electronics:


Some initial successes are in fabricating the stepper motors to control the motion of the machine. The need for fabricating readily available stepper motors, that can even be scavenged from dead/outdated 2D printers is not that pressing to fuel this avenue of development, but it certainly is possible that we will 3D print the basis for functional motors.

Why is it important to 3D print specialist parts and not (as much) nuts and bolts?

Because the custom parts that convey most of the thinking need to be reproduced faithfully. More practically, those parts are impossible to acquire otherwise (you cannot find them in traditional stores like with nuts and bolts).

Isn't there a chicken and egg problem that you need at least one RepRap to make more of them?

There is. But fortunately, to mitigate the problem in a world where there no RepRap in every major city (YET!), there are "RepStraps". Those are 3D printers that can be made from various parts and through various techniques. The result can then print a RepRap. Many rapid prototyping machines, can produce parts for a RepRap (there are arcylic, steel, plywood and FDM versions of most parts). In the Netherlands, for example, there are four public FabLabs: Amsterdam (Waag), Utrecht (Protospace), The Hague and Texel. Both Eindhoven and Tilburg are just starting-up a new FabLab. Finally, a FabLab 2,6 kilometers away (1.6 miles)!! I'll be working with Protospace to help make a couple of RepRaps there. The first ones will probably be laser-cut acrylic RepRaps, since they can easily be made on their existing equipment. After that, they can print mechanically strong and durable 3D parts with this first RepRap.

RepRap can also function as a bootstrap machine to 3D print parts for other machines than itself. RepRap is more than just the machine, it is also the toolchain in software. Most of all, it is the helpful an very thriving, knowledgeable multi-disciplinary community.

For more information, check out these websites:

• http://www.reprap.org


• http://blog.reprap.org


• http://builders.reprap.org


• http://blog.erikdebruijn.nl/categories/7-RepRap

I'll be speaking on the RepRap at the Wikimedia conference in Utrecht on 1st of November.

The programme is in Dutch.

See also the www.wikimediaconferentie.nl website

The gears in my acrylic extruder were skipping where there was a moderate amount of resistance given by the drive shaft. Also, because of the distance between the two gears being too big, there was a considerable backlash/play. Since the encoder is on a different gear than the target drive shaft, this would waste a lot of the accuracy gained by the encoder. I used a drill to enlarge the holes in the direction where it is red in the following drawing. The motor could then be fixed, turned a little counter-clockwise. The gears are now closer to eachother.


Also, it was really hard to remove the drive shaft holder from the part below it, because the big(gest) washer from the heater barrel was in the way of the M5 hex headed bolts (their positions encircled in red). If you place these bolts the other way around (in the top and main plate) you do not have this problem. Also, this prevents you from breaking the top plate or main plate by screwing the bolt too far up the caged nut. It will break open the cage and will need superglue. The hex headed bolts are actually a bit too long. An extra washer would solve this, but my solution of using the bolts in the other direction (head between top and main plate), this is solved as well, giving the extra benefit that the heater section and the top section can be separated more easily.

[update] Inmiddels heeft een filantroop zich aangemeld en is er nu $100.000 prijzengeld beschikbaar voor een (sterk) verbeterde RepRap (volledig in lijn met mijn voorstel)! Meer info... [/update]

Dit is een open oproep voor sponsoring.

Ik werk in een project om een 3D fabricagemethode beschikbaar te maken voor iedereen (The RepRap Project). Om het te zien als slechts een fabricagemethode is een understatement. Het is de wens en doelstelling om:

Terug te gaan naar een balans waarin weer een symbiose met de natuur kan ontstaan.
Deze balans wordt gezocht in productie van onschadelijke producten maar ook onschadelijk productiekapitaal, eliminatie van transport, etc.

Eindgebruikers weer autonomie bieden door zelf spullen te kunnen ontwerpen en fabriceren.
Dit bied speciale mogelijkheden omdat bedrijven produceren om winst te maken en niet in de eerste instantie het beste product te leveren. Vanuit dit paradigma wordt vaak een (bewust) inferieur product gemaakt. Veelgebruikte methoden van fabrikanten zoals het creëeren van een 'lock-in' op het product of de 'consumables' zoals papier en inkt, kunnen omzeild worden. Ook ingebouwde veroudering, en het introduceren van producten met uitgeschakelde features zal minder goed werken. Strategieën op basis van exclusiviteit (hoog prijssegment) zullen ook minder goed werken.

De RepRap en afgeleide projecten zullen een explosie van creativiteit en innovativiteit betekenen.
Productiecapaciteit wordt gedemocratiseerd en geglobaliseerd. Iemand in Azie kan ontwerpen maken voor iemand in Europa.

In de derde wereld en in moeilijk bereikbare gebieden is het heel fijn om een apparaat te hebben om ieder gewenst voorwerp zelf te kunnen produceren.
Een belangrijk bijkomend voordeel is dat een RepRap per product nagenoeg geen menselijke arbeid vereist. Hoogwaardige productie bied de derde wereld een weg naar betere welvaart een een sterkere lokale economie. We zorgen met de RepRap voor een afname in afhankelijkheid van relatief dure en beperkte import.

Het bieden van een mogelijkheid om veel te leren.
Momenteel is de RepRap printer met enige begeleiding te bouwen door een zeventienjarig kind. Vanaf het moment dat die af is, kan een kind zelf maken wat hij wil en uitvindingen delen met de wereld en meewerken aan uitvindingen van anderen. Belangrijke vaardigheden zoals lezen en schrijven zou aangevuld mogen worden met het oplossen van problemen met eigen uitvindingen. Scholen hebben al interesse getoond voor RepRaps. [Update]Inmiddels (2010) zijn ze sterk in trek bij scholen en wordt de RepRap variant "Makerbot" zelfs weggegeven aan scholen![/Update]

Waarschijnlijk bent u het met mij eens dat dit nobele doelstellingen zijn. Toch verzeker ik u dat wij niet alleen spreken maar er hard mee aan het werk zijn en continue successen boeken. Ik ben dan ook nooit van mening geweest dat de doelstellingen onredelijk of te ambitieus zijn, slechts dat het doorzettingsvermogen, tijd en geld van een grote groep vrijwilligers eist. Deze ondersteundende groep is groeiende en stop met name veel tijd en nieuwe vaardigheden in het project (zeer multidisciplinair). Ik zal het punt over de ecologische balans nog verder toelichten.

Onze doelstelling is om RepRappers (mensen met een RepRap machine) de mogelijkheid te bieden milieuvriendelijker te produceren dan via traditionele methoden mogelijk is. Twee plastics waar wij mee werken zijn PLA (polylactic acid) en polymorph. Beide zijn biologisch afbreekbaar, en polylactic acid is te maken door lactose te fermenteren. Zie ook het paar sandalen in de afbeelding.

Concreet ben ik van plan twee wedstrijden uit te schrijven. Eén prijs kan gewonnen worden door het ontwikkelen van een doordachte methode om materialen (in de eerste instantie plastics) uit huis-, tuin- en keukengebruik te kunnen hergebruiken als waardevolle productiebouwstoffen.
De andere prijs kan gewonnen worden door het ontwikkelen van een goede, eenvoudig uit te voeren methode, waarmee biologisch afbreekbare plastics geproduceerd kunnen worden op basis van zetmeel of lactose. De technieken bestaan, maar het vinden van een goed werkende methode die voor een 'leek' toepasbaar is, is nog best een uitdaging.

De prijs is geld van mij en andere sponsors (leden en overige mensen die achter onze doelstellingen staan) en kortingen op benodigdheden (zoals electronica) om de machine verder te verspreiden. Ook dient de prijs om gemaakte kosten te vergoeden. Vanaf dat moment heeft iedereen met een RepRap niet alleen gratis productiemateriaal, maar heeft het ook een afvalreductie als gevolg. Bovendien kan alles wat gemaakt wordt oneindig gerecycled worden. Voor polymeren bestaat deze mogelijkheid al lang, maar worden in de praktijk vrijwel alle plastics verbrand of gestort.

Ik ben met andere actieve leden in discussie wat de precieze criterea moeten zijn zodat we creativiteit minimaal beperken maar dat het toch resulteert in een globale reductie van schadelijk afval. Zelf ben ik, hoewel ik ook al veel tijd en geld in het project investeer, bereid om enkele honderden euro's extra als prijzengeld aan te bieden. Misschien vind u het interessant om zich bij dit initiatief aan te sluiten?

Verdere informatie is te vinden in de attachment en op de volgende internetpagina's:

RepRap Project Homepage
RepRap Main Blog
RepRap Gebruikers/Ontwikkelaars Blog