open source manufacturing

Plan C Live: Design, Make, Protect — A Survey Of Maker Response In 2020

Plan C Live: Design, Make, Protect — A Survey Of Maker Response In 2020

In 2020, makers responded to the crisis of Covid-19 and produced millions of units of PPE, getting them into the hands those who needed them most. This intensive and extensive effort called on preexisting networks and built new ones. The maker community centralized and distributed designs through open source repositories, prompting innovation and collaboration across […]

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Fab Labs @ 10

Fab Labs @ 10

Fab Labs are a global community of local workshops that enable invention by providing access to tools and for digital fabrication education and enrichment, which has grown to over 250 labs worldwide in ten years.

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Privacy No More? A Bill of Rights for the Internet of Things

Privacy No More? A Bill of Rights for the Internet of Things

When your shoes can tell the Internet where they are and what they’re doing, personal privacy is on strange new ground. Keeping your personal data out of the wrong hands is shaping up to be an epic struggle.

Limor Fried and Phil Torrone at Adafruit Industries say the answer is easy: we need a Bill of Rights for the Internet of Things. And you can help write it.

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Maker Pro: Tracking Manufacturing from Start to Finish with OpenERP

Maker Pro: Tracking Manufacturing from Start to Finish with OpenERP

If you’re a maker ready to scale up to commercial production, soon you’ll be asking questions about how to manage the process of sourcing parts, ordering raw materials, describing the fabrication process, and scheduling access to equipment.

Software tools that help you plan and operate your manufacturing business are often called “enterprise resource planning” systems, or ERP for short. ERP systems generally include tools for managing inventory, scheduling materials and resources for production, ordering new materials when needed, and accounting systems to keep track of your expenses and revenues.

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MAKE it in China: How to Spot a Good Factory

MAKE it in China: How to Spot a Good Factory

We hear a lot of horror stories about factories in China so how do you avoid becoming one yourself? Certainly not by dwelling on failure. Failure happens when you’re manufacturing in China or anywhere— even if you have made the best plans. Here’s what to look for.

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