No subject
Sun Jul 26 15:10:43 CEST 2015
Those FabLabs are publicly funded and though they are made for the
general public they are most frequently used by students. When the
maintainers of the FabLabs are asked what they provide they replied
infrastructure - i.e. the machines -, expertise and the FabLab
network. Unfortunately I can't say much about this network but
`Peter's paper`_ may contain more information about this.
When the maintainers are asked what they provide their service for,
there were two types: One type replied that they provide
infrastructure for people to produce stuff, the other type replied
that they provide infrastructure for people to produce *cool* stuff
(aka innovation).
When asked what the maintainers take pride in running those FabLabs
they replied that they take pride in the effects that using the
FabLabs has on users. The pain of the maintainers is the funding. They
are running on subsidies with no idea how to continue when the
subsidies run out. There is also a tendency in the FabLabs to say "we
don't want to be business".
Peter also gave a number of examples where designs created in FabLabs
were interesting for business. One example was a small walking robot
which has been designed and created in a FabLab but was so interesting
for a company that they asked for permission to use the design.
Another example was about a FabLab in Indonesia where it helped to
produce cheap leg prostheses.
After the talk there were lots of questions from the audience and
later on in a private conversation with again highly interesting
answers. One question was about the cost models of these FabLabs.
Peter said that there are basically two models. One is similar to a
normal business where you need say $1000 per day for energy, wages,
amortization, ... The other model is more like "let's have some space
where we can *build* our fabbing machines ourselves". Yes, people
really build their materializers themselves! The latter approach of
course lowers the barriers to have neighborhood FabLabs.
Another question about the business model was what about charging the
users for using the FabLab. There are various opinions in the FabLab
scene. One is that FabLabs *should* be free of charge. Another one is
that charging say $20/half day is really ok. Another alternative are
companies - i.e. not FabLabs - which sell the production of customer
designs. So effectively there is a continuum from totally free of
charge to selling some production capability.
Another question was about the costs of the raw materials. According
to Peter the raw material varies from scrap materials you can obtain
without costs to high-priced raw materials for special machines.
Another question was about using industrial robots in such FabLabs.
Peter told us that at the moment the automotive industry is throwing
out the last generation of industrial robots replacing them by newer
models. FabLabs may have them for free of buy them for low prices.
However, industrial robots are scary machines. In contrast to the
3D-printer type of machines it is well possible that an industrial
robot kills a person during operation.
As I said this was one of the most interesting talks to me and I'd
suggest that you check out `Peter's paper`_ for more details. Though
the other talks were also interesting I'll report only briefly about
some of them."
_Peter's paper:
.. _Commons-based Peer Production of Physical Goods - Is There Room for a H=
ybrid Innovation Ecology?: http://wikis.fu-berlin.de/download/attachments/5=
9080767/Troxler-Paper.pdf?version=3D1&modificationDate=3D1285065227000
Commons-based Peer-Production of Physical Goods r2
Commons-based Peer-Production of Physical Goods-Is there Room for a Hybrid =
Innovation Ecology? =A9 2010 Peter Troxler, CC-BY 3.0 3 Next to these singl=
e-aim or single ...
Read more...<http://wikis.fu-berlin.de/download/attachments/59080767/Troxle=
r-Paper.pdf?version=3D1&modificationDate=3D1285065227000>
=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D=
-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D
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<p>Hi all</p>
<p><br>
</p>
<p>Normally, in order for someone to join the Journal of Peer Pro=
duction (JoPP) board, the following has to happen:</p>
<p><br>
</p>
<p>- A board member sponsors the candidate on this list;</p>
<p>- The candidate responds by briefly describing their research&=
nbsp;interests and how they intend to contribute to the journal;</p>
<p>- If a week elapses and no-one has objected, they are inc=
luded on the board.</p>
<p><br>
</p>
<p>In the case of Peter Troxler, none of this applies, and he is =
from this moment officially a board member. <span style=3D"font-s=
ize: 12pt;">There are two main reasons for this extraordinary and <spa=
n style=3D"font-family: Calibri, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 1=
6px;">dramatic
</span>circumvention of customary processes:</span></p>
<p><br>
</p>
<p>1. Peter has been involved in the peer production space for years (see a=
ppendix A); he is the president of the International Fab Lab Association; h=
e co-edited with maxigas JoPP#5 on "Shared machine shops"; and he=
is an active participant on this list. </p>
<p><br>
</p>
<p>2. Last week I approached Peter on behalf of the editorial team and aske=
d him if, <span style=3D"font-family:Calibri,Arial,Helvetica,sans-seri=
f; font-size:16px">in addition to normal board duties,</span> he would be a=
ble to help us with the CMS/website; he accepted.</p>
<p><br>
</p>
<p>So, welcome aboard Peter! </p>
<p><br>
</p>
<p>cheers</p>
<p><br>
</p>
<p>Mathieu</p>
<p><br>
</p>
<p>PS. I will post another message about the CMS shortly.</p>
<div><br>
</div>
<p></p>
<p>=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-<span style=3D"font-=
family:Calibri,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size:16px">=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=
=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D-=3D</span>
</p>
<p><br>
</p>
<p>Appendix A</p>
<p><br>
</p>
<p>Whilst searching in my mailbox for "troxler" I came across a m=
essage posted by Stefan Merten to the English Oekonux list on 13 October 20=
10 about the <span style=3D"font-family:Calibri,Arial,Helvetica,sans-s=
erif; font-size:16px">Free Culture Research Conference
which had been held at <span style=3D"font-family:Calibri,Arial,=
Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size:16px">Berlin' Freie Universit=E4t a fe=
w days earlier</span></span>. I am reposting the relevant passages below:</=
p>
<p><br>
</p>
<p>"<span style=3D"font-size:12pt">One of the most interesting panels =
titled "New Forms of Production"</span>
</p>
<p class=3D"p1">was right in the beginning of the conference. The utmost in=
teresting</p>
<p class=3D"p1">talk of Peter <span class=3D"s1">Troxler</span> was titled =
`Commons-based Peer Production of</p>
<p class=3D"p1">Physical Goods - Is There Room for a Hybrid Innovation Ecol=
ogy?`_.</p>
<p class=3D"p1">Peter reported results from three studies about FabLabs [#]=
_. I don't</p>
<p class=3D"p1">remember the exact number but so far the number of FabLabs =
on this</p>
<p class=3D"p1">planet seems to be still small - in any case much less than=
100.</p>
<p class=3D"p1">FabLabs in this sense are shops where there are these cool =
machines</p>
<p class=3D"p1">often called fabbers or 3D-printers which materialize physi=
cal goods</p>
<p class=3D"p1">From digital designs.</p>
<p class=3D"p2"><br>
</p>
<p class=3D"p1">Those FabLabs are publicly funded and though they are made =
for the</p>
<p class=3D"p1">general public they are most frequently used by students. W=
hen the</p>
<p class=3D"p1">maintainers of the FabLabs are asked what they provide they=
replied</p>
<p class=3D"p1">infrastructure - i.e. the machines -, expertise and the Fab=
Lab</p>
<p class=3D"p1">network. Unfortunately I can't say much about this network =
but</p>
<p class=3D"p1">`Peter's paper`_ may contain more information about this.</=
p>
<p class=3D"p2"><br>
</p>
<p class=3D"p1">When the maintainers are asked what they provide their serv=
ice for,</p>
<p class=3D"p1">there were two types: One type replied that they provide</p=
>
<p class=3D"p1">infrastructure for people to produce stuff, the other type =
replied</p>
<p class=3D"p1">that they provide infrastructure for people to produce *coo=
l* stuff</p>
<p class=3D"p1">(aka innovation).</p>
<p class=3D"p2"><br>
</p>
<p class=3D"p1">When asked what the maintainers take pride in running those=
FabLabs</p>
<p class=3D"p1">they replied that they take pride in the effects that using=
the</p>
<p class=3D"p1">FabLabs has on users. The pain of the maintainers is the fu=
nding. They</p>
<p class=3D"p1">are running on subsidies with no idea how to continue when =
the</p>
<p class=3D"p1">subsidies run out. There is also a tendency in the FabLabs =
to say "we</p>
<p class=3D"p1">don't want to be business".</p>
<p class=3D"p2"><br>
</p>
<p class=3D"p1">Peter also gave a number of examples where designs created =
in FabLabs</p>
<p class=3D"p1">were interesting for business. One example was a small walk=
ing robot</p>
<p class=3D"p1">which has been designed and created in a FabLab but was so =
interesting</p>
<p class=3D"p1">for a company that they asked for permission to use the des=
ign.</p>
<p class=3D"p1">Another example was about a FabLab in Indonesia where it he=
lped to</p>
<p class=3D"p1">produce cheap leg prostheses.</p>
<p class=3D"p2"><br>
</p>
<p class=3D"p1">After the talk there were lots of questions from the audien=
ce and</p>
<p class=3D"p1">later on in a private conversation with again highly intere=
sting</p>
<p class=3D"p1">answers. One question was about the cost models of these Fa=
bLabs.</p>
<p class=3D"p1">Peter said that there are basically two models. One is simi=
lar to a</p>
<p class=3D"p1">normal business where you need say $1000 per day for energy=
, wages,</p>
<p class=3D"p1">amortization, ... The other model is more like "let's =
have some space</p>
<p class=3D"p1">where we can *build* our fabbing machines ourselves". =
Yes, people</p>
<p class=3D"p1">really build their materializers themselves! The latter app=
roach of</p>
<p class=3D"p1">course lowers the barriers to have neighborhood FabLabs.</p=
>
<p class=3D"p2"><br>
</p>
<p class=3D"p1">Another question about the business model was what about ch=
arging the</p>
<p class=3D"p1">users for using the FabLab. There are various opinions in t=
he FabLab</p>
<p class=3D"p1">scene. One is that FabLabs *should* be free of charge. Anot=
her one is</p>
<p class=3D"p1">that charging say $20/half day is really ok. Another altern=
ative are</p>
<p class=3D"p1">companies - i.e. not FabLabs - which sell the production of=
customer</p>
<p class=3D"p1">designs. So effectively there is a continuum from totally f=
ree of</p>
<p class=3D"p1">charge to selling some production capability.</p>
<p class=3D"p2"><br>
</p>
<p class=3D"p1">Another question was about the costs of the raw materials. =
According</p>
<p class=3D"p1">to Peter the raw material varies from scrap materials you c=
an obtain</p>
<p class=3D"p1">without costs to high-priced raw materials for special mach=
ines.</p>
<p class=3D"p2"><br>
</p>
<p class=3D"p1">Another question was about using industrial robots in such =
FabLabs.</p>
<p class=3D"p1">Peter told us that at the moment the automotive industry is=
throwing</p>
<p class=3D"p1">out the last generation of industrial robots replacing them=
by newer</p>
<p class=3D"p1">models. FabLabs may have them for free of buy them for low =
prices.</p>
<p class=3D"p1">However, industrial robots are scary machines. In contrast =
to the</p>
<p class=3D"p1">3D-printer type of machines it is well possible that an ind=
ustrial</p>
<p class=3D"p1">robot kills a person during operation.</p>
<p class=3D"p2"><br>
</p>
<p class=3D"p1">As I said this was one of the most interesting talks to me =
and I'd</p>
<p class=3D"p1">suggest that you check out `Peter's paper`_ for more detail=
s. Though</p>
<p class=3D"p1">the other talks were also interesting I'll report only brie=
fly about</p>
<p class=3D"p1">some of them."</p>
<p class=3D"p1"><br>
</p>
<p class=3D"p1"><span style=3D"color: rgb(33, 33, 33); font-size: 13.3333px=
;"> _Peter's paper:</span><br style=3D"color: rgb(33, 33, 33); font-si=
ze: 13.3333px;">
<span style=3D"color: rgb(33, 33, 33); font-size: 13.3333px;">.. _Commons-b=
ased Peer Production of Physical Goods - Is There Room for a Hybrid Innovat=
ion Ecology?: </span><a href=3D"http://wikis.fu-berlin.de/download/att=
achments/59080767/Troxler-Paper.pdf?version=3D1&modificationDate=3D1285=
065227000" target=3D"_blank" style=3D"font-size: 13.3333px;" id=3D"LPlnk469=
769" title=3D"http://wikis.fu-berlin.de/download/attachments/59080767/Troxl=
er-Paper.pdf?version=3D1&amp;modificationDate=3D1285065227000=0A=
Cmd+Click or tap to follow the link">http://wikis.fu-berlin.de/download=
/attachments/59080767/<span class=3D"highlight" id=3D"0.7038837051950395" n=
ame=3D"searchHitInReadingPane">Troxler</span>-Paper.pdf?version=3D1&mod=
ificationDate=3D1285065227000</a></p>
<div id=3D"LPBorder_GT_14450556599830.9027405537199229" style=3D"margin-top=
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Commons-based Peer-Production of Physical Goods r2</div>
<div id=3D"LPDescription_14450556599820.6464220911730081" style=3D"margin-t=
op: 8px; font-size: 13px; font-family: wf_segoe-ui_normal, 'Segoe UI', 'Seg=
oe WP', Tahoma, Arial, sans-serif; color: rgb(102, 102, 102); margin-left: =
14px; margin-right: 14px;">
Commons-based Peer-Production of Physical Goods—Is there Room for a H=
ybrid Innovation Ecology? =A9 2010 Peter Troxler, CC-BY 3.0 3 Next to these=
single-aim or single ...</div>
<div id=3D"LPUrlContainer_14450556599820.5636116215027869" style=3D"margin:=
8px 14px 10px; height: 18px; text-overflow: ellipsis; overflow: hidden; wh=
ite-space: nowrap;">
<a id=3D"LPUrlAnchor_14450556599820.7974701230414212" href=3D"http://wikis.=
fu-berlin.de/download/attachments/59080767/Troxler-Paper.pdf?version=3D1&am=
p;modificationDate=3D1285065227000" target=3D"_blank" style=3D"font-size: 1=
1px; font-family: wf_segoe-ui_normal, 'Segoe UI', 'Segoe WP', Tahoma, Arial=
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