Hardware Reference
In-Depth Information
constraints. By designing for a specific fabrication process, you can take advantage
of its strengths, avoid its weaknesses, and optimize for its parameters. Be specific:
different kinds of 3D printers have very different possibilities, as do different stock
materials that you might cut with a laser cutter or CNC machine. Working with a
particular machine or process as you iterate on your design allows you to learn the
capabilities of the machine and ensure that your designs are compatible with it. Of
course, other people trying to reproduce your design might not have access to ex-
actly the same machine or process, so try to find ways to avoid relying too heavily
on individual quirks or features. Pay special attention to the tolerances of your
chosen fabrication process. Don't create designs that rely on a precision that's not
possible to reliably achieve with the machine (e.g., if you have to laser-cut 10 parts
to get 2 that actually work, you might want to rethink your design). Hand-solder-
ing is not a particularly exact process; when designing enclosures for a circuit, re-
member that some components may not end up exactly where the design file speci-
fies they should.
Pursue unique meanings, functions, and aesthetics.
The power and efficiency of
mass production make it difficult to compete with this approach on its own terms.
Instead, try to find unique values for your open source devices. Those might come
from solving a problem that's of interest to only a small group of people, albeit
possibly of great value to them. It might mean using unusual materials or aesthet-
ics to differentiate your devices in ways that might not appeal to a mainstream con-
sumer but might be appealing to someone looking for an alternative. Or the unique
value might simply flow from finding ways to meaningfully involve individuals in
the production of the devices. Take advantage of the fact that personal fabrication
allows you to make devices in small quantities to find audiences that aren't well
served by existing commercial products.
Find ways to make iteration faster, cheaper, and easier.
A key benefit of digital
fabrication is that every part it produces can be different. To take full advantage of
this ability, find ways to iterate on your design rapidly. Getting direct access to a
laser cutter, for example, might mean you can try out a few designs in an afternoon
instead of waiting a week or two to get a single one in the mail. Similarly, having
the electronic components on hand to solder them to a newly fabricated circuit
board will allow you to test that board more quickly and update its design accord-
ingly. Identify the biggest barrier or barriers to iteration and try to find ways to re-
move them, whether by getting hands-on access to a machine, using software tools
to refine your design before fabricating it, or being able to modify or update a part
after it's been made.
