Open Design and the Reprap Project

Abstract

This paper details the investigation of an emerging trend within technology development: `open design?. Improvements in communications and computing technology have made collaboration over geographically vast distances possible. This technology has already had a major impact on the field of engineering, from the development of CAD/CAE/CAM practices to the emergence of concurrent engineering. Taking the lead from open source software, open design is an approach to technology development in which technical design information is licensed in such a manner that it can be accessed, utilised, modified and redistributed by anyone. The potential implications of this concept can be inferred from the impact of open source software. A review of the existing literature on the subject was conducted. A practical demonstration of the process was undertaken, via an attempt to contribute to an existing open design technology: the RepRap. This is a low cost rapid prototyper capable of manufacturing the parts required to make a copy of itself. The ability to use resin as a construction material was identified as a requirement of the device. An approach to integrating resin extrusion within the device was selected, a suitable material identified, and an experimental rig designed and assembled. Initial test results indicated that resin extrusion is viable for the RepRap.