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Open source home appliances
  • Vote Up0Vote Down
    gonzo
     
    November 2011
    Hello all,
    First of all, I am very very happy to find the OSE project. I will also make a donation soon.
    I know your goal is to produce industrial machines, but I believe that it's at least equally important to produce open source home appliances.
    Creating such appliances can be a good start, as they can be easier to design, to promote and to sell, therefore generating quick revenue for designing more complicated machinery.
    In my case, I have 3 coffeemakers that have the pots broken. I can't replace the pots because I simply can't find others to buy.
    So I have to buy another 3 coffeemakers, that cost 25 euros each, while the pots should cost only 2 or 3 euros each. The manufacturers change the size and shape of the pots each year, and they won't sell the pots separately, nor any other component of the machines.
    If you (or, well - we) produce such appliances and sell them, and also sell the parts, then the people will be able to repair their appliances easily, buying only the parts they need.
    Also, such an approach can create a chain of small shops with 3d printers. When you need a plastic component for your appliance, you can buy it or you can go to the shop at the corner of the street and print the component that you need, just giving the URL with the model of that part. Exactly like you can make a photocopy for documents, you will be able to copy a part of your appliance. It's more likely that the people will go to such a shop, instead of buying a 3d printer on their own. The same happens with documents - average people don't buy a photocopier on their own.

    You should not buy another washing machine if a door, a plastic button, or a small metal sheet cover is broken. You should have the opportunity to simply replace those components.
    The approach would also reduce waste and improve recycling a lot.

    It will also greatly help to reduce poverty.
    People in the poor countries can hardly (or never) buy a washing machine, a fridge and other basic appliances. But with an open source approach, they will be able to start their own small companies that produce parts. Also, they will be able to buy them, paying a price related to the income of the workers in their countries (lower income -> cheaper products). What happens today is: they work cheap to create home appliance for western companies, and they can never buy them, as they are sold at prices tailored for western consumers.

    Please think about it. It will be a big step forward for the humanity. I am available to help with everything I can. I already tried to convince others about this idea. I sent mails to Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Google.org, and other foundations that claim they want to improve the world. I am not even sure if they have read my messages.
    It's very important not only to design the appliances, but also to make them available to buy, and to make the parts available to buy. It will take time until the people will understand they can produce the parts on their own. Until then, the availability of the parts will make them get used with the concept. Also, each component can be done with lower or better quality. Producing components at a high quality can ensure a market share and keep the sales going and generate continuous revenue. For example, there are many companies that produce keyboards, but companies Logitech still sells good even basic keyboards, simply because they have better quality. Even the smallest piece of plastic can be done in a better quality than another. Therefore, it is possible to have a significant market share even with fierce competition and with open specifications.

    If you will start doing home appliance and sell them to the people, then I'm available to donate even 1.000$ for that. Just because I know that's the next step for the progress of humanity, and I can't miss the opportunity to have a contribution into making it happen. I don't need a share into a future company that produces the appliances, I just want to have the opportunity to buy open source appliances and components, as a regular consumer - that's more than enough for me.
    I hope you can get more funding and I'm really sure you can make a profitable enterprise by making open source machines.
    There are much more people that need home appliances than the people who need tractors, bulldozers, bakery ovens, furnaces, and so on.
    Therefore you can generate cash much faster by starting with home appliances. And not only cash - you will attract attention very fast, and that's even more important than money.
    I think the philanthropists, charities and foundations that want to reduce the poverty in the world should be interested to support you with funds, as open source appliances will greatly reduce poverty in the world.

    I will support you anyways, even if you won't bother creating home appliances. Because I know the more successful your project will be, the more chances will be to inspire others to create home appliances too.

    Please excuse me for writing such a long message, I hope my input was useful though.
     
  • 8 Comments sorted by
  • Vote Up0Vote Down
    MetzMetz
     
    November 2011
    Open source appliances is nice, but it will prob have be something you will have to develop yourself and add to the wiki. the resources at the factor e farm are still rather limited with everyone there still struggling to finish the building of the latest prototypes, not to mention that Marcin will prob be taking off to do more fund raising tours and speaking soon when the weather is too cold to work in the shop.

    If you would like to undertake the design and documentation of a open source appliance yourself or use this forum to meet others and collaborate on something I don't see why anyone would find it objectionable.

    For example I have a oven design that has already been developed and proven that could be rewritten and added to the wiki.  Today im short of time but if you want the documentation I have, shoot me a email metzindustries  (at) gmail and Ill send what I got to you.
     
  • Vote Up0Vote Down
    gonzo
     
    November 2011
    I'm not good at designing any machinery or appliance. I am just a computer and open source enthusiast who understands that open source devices are the future.
    Sorry but I can't use your oven design. Maybe if you ever have the time, you can add it to the wiki?
    Thanks
     
  • Vote Up0Vote Down
    mjnmjn
     
    November 2011
    The idea of designing open source home appliances has some attraction to it.  Simple things like a washing machine can be very liberating to people of limited means -especially women.  One question is:  how far back in history do you want to go?  Should we make an open source wash basin?  A wringer?  Maybe a peg dolly will do the trick.  There were a bunch of motorized washers in the late 1800's that came on the market.  I suspect their patents have expired.  You could help the effort by doing some research, @gonzo.  Create a wiki page, say "Open Source Washing Machine" with a basic summary of why we might need such a thing.  Then create a page called "Open Source Washing Machine/Research" and write down everything you can find:  expired patents, old Google or Internet Archive books, current attempts at making washers for the third world, etc.  You don't have to be a designer to push the project forward.

    - Mark Norton

     
  • Vote Up0Vote Down
    gonzo
     
    November 2011
    Thanks, I will do what I can. I already started a blog a month ago, in a form of wiki. I included the idea there: http://improve.referata.com/wiki/Home_appliances.
    I just found now the page http://opensourceecology.org/wiki/Open_Source_Washing_Machine_Project and its category: http://opensourceecology.org/wiki/Category:Home_fittings
    I will have to study them. I think patents last only 20 years, so even washing machines made in 1990 should be ok.

    How far we should go? I think I have a possible answer: Even the tiles color should be standard. I'm speaking about tiles like this
    If I buy tiles today and pave an interior with them, I will buy some extra for replacement because colors and models change every year. But maybe I lose or break them (that happens frequently by the way). Or simply maybe I will need to change one more than how many I bought. Or I sell the property and I forget to give the new owner the reserve tiles.
    So, if I'm happy to live a modest life or I start a business in a modest, standard paved place, I should have the option to buy tiles with exact same color and model, even after 5, 10, 20 or more years. A company that
    would produce standard tiles and keep it's promise to maintain the supply, should win.

    Even the flexible desk lamps can be made standard. I found a picture here.
    It has three main parts: the feet, the flexible arm and the actual lamp. Sometimes you have to replace only one part of it. The feet might be a 1kg metal - why to scrap it if you just need the arm? Doesn't make any sense. Instead of spending 6 $ for a new lamp, buy just an arm for 2$.

    In my opinion, there are simple things like these who should have been standardized and maintained in the market by national authorities (or better, by ISO), a long time ago. It simply increase recycling, reduce waste and create more job opportunities. Looks very strange (and extremely tragic) to me that it didn't happen yet.

    An open source wash basin makes very much sense, but in a larger context: standard building apartments. I was thinking a lot about that. Apartments made standard (in different configurations, of course), would also improve things a lot. Need another window? No need to pay the design for a new one, just buy a standard window from the market. You can use the standard wash basin, and so on. 

    Clothespins are way too small and cheap (and already standard - anyone can produce them) to bother. The list of things that need open specifications should have in the top the things that are most frequently used and those who are most essential and vital for human life. Another criteria is size (nails are too small) and complexity (reducing the number of the screw types in all the OSE project might be interesting). However, it's not me or you who should say what should be list of open source fittings, but there should be a debate for creating that list, that's why I think ISO should have created such things a long time before - they have enough specialists to do the job.
     
  • Vote Up0Vote Down
    gonzo
     
    November 2011
    I am terribly sorry, I messed it up while editing my post in order to add hyperlinks. Can't find any option to delete my posts. Can any administrator please remove the last 6 ones (including this one)?
     
  • Vote Up0Vote Down
    mjnmjn
     
    November 2011
    All fixed.  :)

     
  • Do not worry about patents when it comes to making something at your home.

    Forming a business for profit is different.

    You can always build for yourself / friends / community!

    Posting ideas open source is EPIC!

    Just Build It!

    Russell Philips
     
  • Vote Up0Vote Down
    gonzo
     
    February 2012
    I think it would be a good marketing move to design and produce just a few home appliances.
    If OSE would produce a few things like: a cool lamp, a coffeemaker, that would be much easier than a washing machine, a fridge, etc.
    A coffeemaker can be designed to be very modular and cool, and such an appliance will be featured on biggest tech sites (like Engadget.com)
    There are many geeks and enthusiasts who would like to bring Open Source into their kitchen, therefore the whole OSE project would get instantly a lot more visibility. Such a move has also a big chance to bring much needed cash to the project.

    @PulseFuelNerd: patents are also important as not everyone will have the time and space and money to have their own machines to produce everything. Most of the people will stay consumers and they will prefer to buy components for their appliances. Therefore those components and appliances should better be patent free. Why to have your own 3D Printer if you can print something at the corner of the street once at 3-6 months when you need something? Most of the people don't have their own Photocopier because they would use it very rarely.
     

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