OSHW Definition and Best Practices - Building Open Source Hardware - page 18

Several members of the community wanted further guidance as to which file formats
were acceptable, since the definition does not identify specific formats. For example,
Eagle, the program that many people use for circuit layout, is a closed source product.
Nevertheless, the community determined that Eagle files were acceptable as well as PDFs,
due to the ease with which both types of files can be accessed. When the definition was
written, the community recognized that file formats might change; consequently, they
didn't want to pigeon-hole specific formats as correct, given that those formats might later
become obsolete or no longer represent the best possible solution.
For clarity, in the Best Practices document, acceptable file formats have been listed for
many different types of hardware. You can find listings of file formats under the headings
“ Original Design Files ” and “ Auxiliary Design Files .” A review of open source hardware
projects reveals that the most comprehensive library of varying file formats is Open
Source Ecology. 2 Open Source Ecology also includes great examples of open documenta-
tion and would be an excellent resource from which to learn best practices. Its hardware
spans the complex grid of documenting machinery to build as a global construction kit.
Chapter 10 , Physical Materials , goes into more detail about file formats for various types
of hardware.
2 . http://opensourceecology.org/
The author notes in the next section designated by the heading “Note” are not part of
the community-written Best Practices. The following text was taken from ht-
tp://www.oshwa.org/sharing-best-practices/ .
Best Practices for Open Source Hardware 1.0
As described in the open-source hardware definition and statement principles,
the essence of open-source hardware (OSHW) is sharing the design files for a
piece of hardware for others to modify or make hardware from (including for
commercial purposes). There are, in addition, many other things you can do to
encourage the development of a vibrant community of people who use and im-
prove your open-source hardware project. This document discusses these best
practices.
Elements of an Open-Source Hardware Project
Here are some files that you should consider sharing when publishing your
open source hardware project. You are not required to post them all, but the
more you share the more the community benefits and the higher the likelihood
the community will pick up your project.