IaaC Blog

The Ananda light (named after a small enchanted Egyptian Red Sea resort)  - Ronen Kadushin

Designer promote Open Source way of sharing files ready for fabrication.

I downloaded file from site www.ronen-kadushin.com, It was DXF and WORD file. All files include clear instructions how to prepare files and material to fabricate.

I chosed The Amanda Light a table lamp and I made 4 modifications of this lamp.

The material used to fabrication is stainlees steel 1,2 mm and dimensions of lamp are L: 29 CM, W: 29 CM, H: 25 CM

Designer Ronen Kadushin [www.ronen-kadushin.com] has incorporated an open way to promote his work since 2005 when he forms an open design company. As he mentions in his web site “Open Design is a personal attempt to close a creativity gap between product design and other fields (music, graphic design, animation and photography), Which found their creative output in phase with the realities of information technology and economics.The Open Design method is based on the principles of the already successful Open Source method that revolutionized the software industry, and gave birth to a social movement that is cooperative, community-minded and seeks legitimate ways of sharing creativity.”

From his collection of free designs I download and fabricate the “Flataalto flower holder”. It is a project based on Alvar Aalto’s 1936 classic glass Savoy Vase [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Savoy_Vase]

The .zip folder included a dxf file with the fabrication file and a word file with good instructions and information about the license under which this design is. The author also urged designers that would made variations on his authentic projects to send them to him.

The material required was 1.5mm stainless steel and the dimensions of the result was l:24cm, w:17cm, h:18cm. The cutting method required was with hydrogen due to the material.

Variations: The original Savoy Vase is produced in different sizes and different proportions. Some are slimer and taller, and some shallower and with bigger area. Since Kadushin’s design can be considered as a contour of the vase the variations are keeping this line but on the same time the proportions and sizes are changes.

Portfolio Chair is a very slim profile, foldable chair, that can fold out in a second to become a comfortable and durable chair. The size of the chair allows to fabricate 6 of these with one sheet of alucobond, which is 3000 by 1500 mm.

images
rhino & cad

Portfolio Chair by Burak Kilic is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non-Commercial-Share Alike 3.0 Spain License.

Nervous System have created an open source web site under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike license. The aim they are reaching with an open source site is to encourage others to follow this framework of creative ideas. The sharing of information becomes beneficial to the creators and the interface.

n-e-r-v-o-u-s.com is website in which generative design methods are used to create new forms of products with the use of rapid prototyping methods. It allows members to login, download, upload and create designs. The site consists of a shop and blog application. Various designs of products or fashion are categorized under identifying characteristics of style. The users are able to buy their desired finished product, with an optional variation in colour or material.

Modifications within the design may be carried out with the use of a series of interactive applets. This is a tool created by Nervous System in order to follow up on the designs in a similar organic manner creating geometrical alterations, yet allow personalization. The parameters are adjusted, saved and ordered as a self designed final product.

The blog includes information of interest uploaded by nervous system or by the users. The categories include several up-to-date issues concerning the design world. The products are also further purchased at various retailers around the world.

link: http://n-e-r-v-o-u-s.com/

OF is an open source platform that exhanges and sells designs. The concept of this effort is to create a company that can be profitable while, at the same time, can keep its interest in the idea of sharing and exchanging.

The platform is open to anyone interested in design and it functions based on a point system that facilitates users to download and fabricate products.

Above: navigating the website, the ‘download’ section is divided by fabrication type and furniture points

Above: image explains some of the main characteristics of the platform

Above: economic model of the platform

Above: structure of the point system

OF also promotes the use of the Fab Lab here in Barcelona, as well as some other selected locations around the world, giving users of the platform the possibility to fabricate their designs, or other designs they chose from the OF website. Any projects that had been fabricated at the Fab Lab will bear the Fab-Lab-Approved stamp, which will serve as a guarantee of the quality of the design.

give & take | a group of design conscious people with an aim to create an open source platform where anyone interested in design can participate in sharing their knowledge. We are looking to mutually benefit from each other through engaging in an open dialogue discussing issues of digital design, materiality and fabrication in relation to the agenda of self-sufficiency.

Our slogan to invite people to join give & take is as follows:

be part of the circle of give & take, the platform where you give a little to take a lot more

The whole idea of the platform is to provide a space for designers, educators and anyone interested in design to share their knowledge and creativity and become part of a network of like minded people based mainly on digital fabrication. The are three main routes on the platform: make | see | go

make| is related to objects (things) that have been designed and fabricated and is open source database of designs, designers and fabricators, where things can be exchanged.

see| is related to learning, sharing knowledge about design, fabrication, materials, tools and any other information.

go| is related to events based on digital fabrication, materials, tools in order to attract people to become part of a network interested in design and fabrication.

Here are a few examples of the pages on the website related to downloading a particular design:

In order to access any part of the platform, users need to sign up and join give&take by paying a small fee of Euro 1/- and are free to donate any extra amount they would like to. Design files are downloadable for Euros 5/- and once a user has downloaded one file, any variations of that same object is free for the user. The basic economic model is that the platform benefits from each new user through the sign up fee and through the sale of design files, as they take a share of the money paid by users who download the files. All designs are checked before they are published online by the site administrators as a form of quality control.

In the fabrication category, users have three choices, to either get the Fablab to fabricate for them, or to join in the fabrication process or to fabricate themselves using the facilities in the Fablab. This opens up the possibilities for designers of different fabrication skills to benefit from the fabrication facilities in the Fablab. This will also be a major source of income for the platform, through the use of the facilities in the Fablab.

The events such as workshops and meetings that are advertised on the website will not only make give & take some income but also provide a meeting place for the whole give & take community to convene and network.

For a full presentation of how the platform will work, please click here

SourceShop is a shop of digitally fabricated designer products that can be purchased by anybody. This exchange intends to go beyond its commercial aspect by expanding knowledge towards the world of digital fabrication.

The main goal of SourceShop is to share knowledge between students, participants and all interested people of digital fabrication. You have different possibilities to fabricate the products yourself, or even to buy them.

Organization
SourceShop is a platform which links different Fabrication Laboratories (Fab Labs) in the world.

Financial Structure
The income for the funding of SourceShop is mainly through adverts of digital fabrication machine companies, and secondary through the people which download, produce or buy products from the shop. The distribution of the fund goes partly to the designer, the Fab Labs and the administrators (Master).

Download the SourceShop presentation here:
SourceShop.pdf [1.2mb]