3-D Printing of Open Source Appropriate Technologies for Self-Directed Sustainable Development

Abstract

The technological evolution of the 3-D printer, widespread internet access and inexpensive computing has made a new means of open design capable of accelerating self-directed sustainable development. This study critically examines how open source 3-D printers, such as the RepRap and Fab@home, enable the use of designs in the public domain to fabricate open source appropriate technology (OSAT), which are easily and economically made from readily available resources by local communities to meet their needs. The current capabilities of open source 3-D printers is reviewed and a new classification scheme is proposed for OSATs that are technically feasible and economically viable for production. Then, a methodology for quantifying the properties of printed parts and a research trajectory is outlined to extend the existing technology to provide complete village-level fabrication of OSATs. Finally, conclusions are drawn on the potential for open source 3-D printers to assist in driving sustainable development.

Thermal properties of 3-D printed polylactic acid-metal composites

“…Standard RepRap 3-D printers fabricate parts using fused filament fabrication (FFF) 1 and such open-source designs now constitute the majority of deployed 3-D printers [5]. As the costs for RepRap components have dropped below $500 [6] and high-quality commercial RepRaps can be purchase assembled for $1000-2200 [7], the potential for decentralized manufacturing with 3-D printing both in the developing [8] and developed countries [9] is feasible. Such decentralized digital fabrication leads to radical reductions in the cost of printing low quantity speciality items [10].…”

Researching the Emergence of 3D Printing, Makerspaces, Hackerspaces and FabLabs in the Global South: A Scoping Review and Research Agenda on Digital Innovation and Fabrication Networks

“…Another notable finding was that while few in number, there are researchers investigating the potentials and challenges of adopting or running DIFNs in the context of developing countries (Pearce et al, 2010;Gershenfeld, 2012;Dickel et al, 2014;Fox, 2014;Stacey, 2014;Gress & Kalafsky, 2015;Bloom & Faulkner, 2016). While it was encouraging to find a number of studies about the global South, most are still at a conceptual stage and there is a 2 Some studies have multiple levels of analysis.…”

3-D printing open-source click-MUAC bands for identification of malnutrition

“…Using the diameter measurements, the results showed that the click-MUAC bands are dimensionally accurate with only an insignificant error of 0·287 % between the average printed inner circumference and the solid model file when printed by a user-assembled RepRap. These are the most accessible and lowest-cost 3-D FFF-based printers in the world, which are capable of producing most of their own parts as well as a long list of appropriate technologies (28)(29)(30) . In the failure analysis all bands tested passed a series of 500 deformations without any significant permanent deformation.…”