Open Design

Abstract

Within the broader concept of the commons, Open Design (OD) refers to a specific model of development, manufacture and distribution of products of industrial design, applied art and other physical artefacts. A defining element of this model is the open and collaborative work-flow that characterises the production of the artefacts. Another defining element is the employment of licences – when necessary – that allow modification and further distribution of the products. Finally, the use of the Internet to share digital blueprints of computerized numerical control or CNC machines to manufacture the products is another recurring element. OD found a receptive ecosystem within the context of 3D printing, where designers share their blueprints in the form of CNC files which can be directly executed by a 3D printer in order to make the product. Examples of collections of files intended to be printed in 3D are becoming very popular on the Internet (see e.g. Thingiverse). But Open Design is not limited to the internet and the digital dimensions even though it has therein found a particularly prosperous terrain: creators of objects can share their plans in many other forms in order to allow anyone to manufacture their creations. Open Design has therefore thrived within so called FabLabs, i.e. workshops where the sharing of manufacturing machines, know-how and knowledge is combined with the free availability of blueprints and plans.