Open Source Microfactory Boot Camp

August 25-31, 2018

Factor e Farm
Maysville, Missouri USA

Build Yourself. Build Your World.

The Open Source Microfactory Boot Camp is the first ever one week immersion course on the Extreme Manufacturing techniques of Open Source Ecology. You also build a 3D printer to take home with you.

Learn to design, build, and use the open source desktop Microfactory in an immersive learning environment. The Microfactory consisting of important digital manufacturing tools: a 3D printer, CNC Circuit Mill, Laser Cutter, and Filament maker. Participants will build a 3D printer to take home with them, and learn how to set up an online print cluster as a small enterprise for printing parts. Atttendees will also assist in teaching a workshop on how to build the 3D Printer – to experience the teaching side of the equation.

All together, this is a crash course in open source product design and enterprise – using accessible, open source software, and the open source Microfactory for rapid prototyping. The basic microfactory involves a modular, Universal Axis motion system – allowing anyone to take our design and modify the design to any size and shape that they like. Because our design is based on common, off-the-shelf parts – participants can use the 3D printer to print parts for additional machines of the desktop Microfactory.

And – with the Filament Maker – one can turn scrap plastic to 3D printing filament – for closed loop manufacturing – while cleaning up the environment. Together with an online print cluster, we will show how average people can begin changing the landscape of production by using open source blueprints for common consumer goods.

We will show how a professional grade cordless drill can be designed in an open source fashion, and how it can be built from scratch using the open source microfactory. We will start with scrap plastic that is turned to 3D printing filament – and used to print the cordless drill body. The body will be 3D scanned from an existing drill and reverse engineered. The CNC circuit mill will be used for the cordless drill charger, and the laser cutter will be used to make the battery charger enclosure. Together with easy-to-source parts, we will build the cordless drill from scratch as an example of a professional grade tool that can be built in the open source microfactory as a potential small enterprise.

Hear more about the Immersion Training Program from Marcin Jakubowski, OSE Founder. The Open Source Microfactory Boot Camp is the first week of the OSE 5 Week Immersion Training Program:

3D printing and open source micromanufacturing, in its infancy, has great potential for distributing production. We start with a 3D printer, learn how to build one, and set up an online printing service for producing parts. In order to expand our enterprise – and enable the printing of large objects at low cost – we diversify into producing 3D printing filament from scrap plastic. We grind down scrap plastic, extrude it into 3D printing filament with our filament maker, and then wind it onto spools with the filament winder. Produced at a cost of only 10 cents per lb – we have inexpensive 3D printing filament that is almost free. So we can run an online 3D printing service successfully.

Can we then develop high value products that are competitive with standard consumer goods? That is our goal. So we collaborate on the Open Source Everything Store, where we design a whole catalog of products that compete with Amazon and Walmart – but are designed and produced locally. Household consumer goods total a $20T global market – so the pie is large and there is plenty of room for collaboration. It turns out that with 3D printing, a CNC Circuit Mill, and a small laser cutter/engraver – and a bunch of readily available, off-the-shelf parts – we can produce a whole range of useful products, and thus begin to effect manufacturing in a substantial way.

We are excited, and want to spread the word. So we run public workshops teaching people to build these machines, and how to design products that can be made with these machines – using a completely open source toolchain. We take this to our local libraries, schools, events – and involve thousands of people in collaborative product design. We teach people about massive parallel swarm-based development techniques – and every child and grandmother begin designing their own products and publishing the plans on the internet for free. The depth of local manufacturing increases – and people begin making more of the parts that would normally be purchased – such as motors and power supplies. We democratize the face of manufacturing – converting consumers to producers…

That is the narrative we’d like to see happen, and the 1 week OSE Boot Camp is an introduction to how to do this in practice. We will learn to design and use the open source Level 1 Microfactory, consisting of important desktop manufacturing tools. These tools are: a 3D printer, CNC Circuit Mill, Laser Cutter, and Filament maker. Participants will build a 3D printer to take home with them.

Some may say that this is already happening – but 3D printing and distributed manufacturing has not taken much of a hold in terms of replacing consumer goods. The key is high quality, proven designs – not fringe things on 3D printing websites that in many cases cannot even be printed. The key is engaging enough cooperation – that all the possible products truly become best-in-class – while remaining fully open source. We not only show you that this new mindset is possible – but how to build the actual production tools – and how to leverage massive collaborative development processes – so that we democratize product development on the face of this earth.

Perhaps the greatest single impact is environmental – as people learn to build their products – they also know how to fix them – thereby putting an end to the throw-away society – with lifetime design that can be modified, improved, or recycled back into feed-stocks. Our aim in the OSE Boot Camp is to introduce people to the first steps in seizing democratic control of production.

The schedule is a packed 7 days. Please see Boot Camp Schedule.

Register by selecting your option below. If you would like to take on the Entrepreneurship Track (see first video above) – just register for the first option below and let us know you intent by emailing us at info at opensourceecology dot org.

True Fans of OSE: As supporting members of OSE, True Fans who have been subscribed for 6 or more months receive a 25% discount on all of our workshops. This discount is only for the tuition part part of the registration fee, but not the 3D printer materials cost. Email us for details. You can sign up as a True Fan now to become eligible for the True Fans discount on future workshops.

Sponsor another participant or Donate to OSE: We are a nonprofit organization with 501(c)3 status, and you can make tax-deductible contributions to us. You can fund attendance of someone who is on the waiting list for financial assistance. We receive low-income assistance requests for all of our workshops. Sponsor by paying the quantity on the order form, or use the donate button below. Please email us at info@opensourceecology.org that you are sponsoring someone else. We can send you a tax deduction receipt.

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Bitcoin Address: ”’166yC48RakrZdtsBj36vY9q29CpzknHbxY”’

Logistics: Email us if you would like to bring a group. Workshop fee includes food. We have a barbecue grill and a kitchen available at HabLab, so feel free to bring ingredients as well. You will be responsible for your accommodations, and wild camping is available on site. If you would like to stay in the HabLab, our shared room dormitory, you may also do that as well for $15 per night – please add that to your payment via the OSE eCheck transfer on the Donate Page.

Payment Options: eCheck, PayPal, Credit Card, Bitcoin, Check, Money Order, or Wire Transfer
To register, you can use PayPal or eCheck options. We prefer that you use the eCheck option (bank routing + account number) so we can avoid the 3% PayPal fee. We can also accept Bitcoin, checks, and wire transfers.