{"title":"社会企业家在南非和肯尼亚使用Fab实验室和3D打印","authors":"Tobias Schonwetter, Bram Van Wiele","doi":"10.23962/10539/30356","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"This article outlines findings from a study in South Africa and Kenya that explored\nsocial entrepreneurs’ use of fabrication laboratories (fab labs), and in particular fab\nlab 3D printing services, in order to advance their social innovations and enterprises.\nBased on interviews with representatives of fab lab initiatives and social enterprises,\nthe study found strong linkages between social entrepreneurship and fab labs, and\nbetween social entrepreneurs and the use of 3D printing technology. However, it was\nalso found that social entrepreneurs tend not to rely primarily on fab labs for access\nto 3D printers, preferring to buy and build their own printer units—a practice made\ncost-effective through the selection of low-cost, open source models. In respect of\nthe computer-aided design (CAD) software used to design the files for 3D printing,\nit was found that social entrepreneurs prefer the stability and user-friendliness of\nproprietary CAD software, despite the cost implications. At the same time, it was\nfound that social entrepreneurs frequently use free and open source CAD files\navailable online, and that they seek, in turn, to share their designs on a free and open\nsource basis.","PeriodicalId":33369,"journal":{"name":"The African Journal of Information and Communication","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0000,"publicationDate":"2020-12-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"3","resultStr":"{\"title\":\"Social Entrepreneurs’ Use of Fab Labs and 3D Printing in South Africa and Kenya\",\"authors\":\"Tobias Schonwetter, Bram Van Wiele\",\"doi\":\"10.23962/10539/30356\",\"DOIUrl\":null,\"url\":null,\"abstract\":\"This article outlines findings from a study in South Africa and Kenya that explored\\nsocial entrepreneurs’ use of fabrication laboratories (fab labs), and in particular fab\\nlab 3D printing services, in order to advance their social innovations and enterprises.\\nBased on interviews with representatives of fab lab initiatives and social enterprises,\\nthe study found strong linkages between social entrepreneurship and fab labs, and\\nbetween social entrepreneurs and the use of 3D printing technology. However, it was\\nalso found that social entrepreneurs tend not to rely primarily on fab labs for access\\nto 3D printers, preferring to buy and build their own printer units—a practice made\\ncost-effective through the selection of low-cost, open source models. In respect of\\nthe computer-aided design (CAD) software used to design the files for 3D printing,\\nit was found that social entrepreneurs prefer the stability and user-friendliness of\\nproprietary CAD software, despite the cost implications. At the same time, it was\\nfound that social entrepreneurs frequently use free and open source CAD files\\navailable online, and that they seek, in turn, to share their designs on a free and open\\nsource basis.\",\"PeriodicalId\":33369,\"journal\":{\"name\":\"The African Journal of Information and Communication\",\"volume\":null,\"pages\":null},\"PeriodicalIF\":0.0000,\"publicationDate\":\"2020-12-15\",\"publicationTypes\":\"Journal Article\",\"fieldsOfStudy\":null,\"isOpenAccess\":false,\"openAccessPdf\":\"\",\"citationCount\":\"3\",\"resultStr\":null,\"platform\":\"Semanticscholar\",\"paperid\":null,\"PeriodicalName\":\"The African Journal of Information and Communication\",\"FirstCategoryId\":\"1085\",\"ListUrlMain\":\"https://doi.org/10.23962/10539/30356\",\"RegionNum\":0,\"RegionCategory\":null,\"ArticlePicture\":[],\"TitleCN\":null,\"AbstractTextCN\":null,\"PMCID\":null,\"EPubDate\":\"\",\"PubModel\":\"\",\"JCR\":\"\",\"JCRName\":\"\",\"Score\":null,\"Total\":0}","platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"The African Journal of Information and Communication","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.23962/10539/30356","RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":null,"ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"","JCRName":"","Score":null,"Total":0}
Social Entrepreneurs’ Use of Fab Labs and 3D Printing in South Africa and Kenya
This article outlines findings from a study in South Africa and Kenya that explored
social entrepreneurs’ use of fabrication laboratories (fab labs), and in particular fab
lab 3D printing services, in order to advance their social innovations and enterprises.
Based on interviews with representatives of fab lab initiatives and social enterprises,
the study found strong linkages between social entrepreneurship and fab labs, and
between social entrepreneurs and the use of 3D printing technology. However, it was
also found that social entrepreneurs tend not to rely primarily on fab labs for access
to 3D printers, preferring to buy and build their own printer units—a practice made
cost-effective through the selection of low-cost, open source models. In respect of
the computer-aided design (CAD) software used to design the files for 3D printing,
it was found that social entrepreneurs prefer the stability and user-friendliness of
proprietary CAD software, despite the cost implications. At the same time, it was
found that social entrepreneurs frequently use free and open source CAD files
available online, and that they seek, in turn, to share their designs on a free and open
source basis.