Alexa Log

1 Thu Aug 15, 2024
2 Fri June 21, 2024
3 Mon May 20, 2024
4 Thu May 9, 2024
5 Sat May 4, 2024
6 Fri May 3, 2024
7 Thu May 2, 2024
8 Sun Apr 28, 2024
9 Thu Apr 4, 2024
10 Wed Mar 13, 2024
11 Mon Mar 11, 2024
12 Mon Mar 4, 2024
13 Sun Mar 3, 2024
14 Tue Feb 27, 2024
15 Mon Feb 19, 2024
16 Sun Feb 18, 2024
17 Sat Feb 17, 2024
18 Fri Feb 16, 2024
19 Thu Feb 15, 2024
20 Tue Feb 13, 2024
21 Fri Feb 9, 2024
22 Wed Feb 7, 2024
23 Mon Feb 5, 2024
24 Sun Feb 4, 2024
25 Sat Feb 3, 2024
26 Fri Feb 2, 2024
27 Wed Jan 31, 2024
28 Sun Jan 14, 2024
29 Fri Jan 12, 2024
30 Wed Jan 10, 2024
31 Mon Jan 8, 2024
32 Thu Dec 28, 2023
33 Tue Dec 26, 2023
34 Sun Dec 24, 2023
35 Sat Dec 23, 2023
36 Sun Dec 17, 2023
37 Sat Dec 16, 2023
38 Fri Dec 15, 2023
39 Thu Dec 14, 2023
40 Tue Dec 12, 2023
41 Sun Dec 10, 2023
- 41.1 Onboarding Assessment
  - 41.1.1 Tactical
  - 41.1.2 Inspiration
42 Fri Dec 8, 2023
43 Tue Dec 5, 2023
44 Mon Dec 4, 2023
45 Sun Dec 3, 2023
46 Fri Dec 1, 2023
47 Wed Nov 29, 2023
48 Tue Nov 28, 2023
49 Mon Nov 27, 2023
50 Sun Nov 26, 2023
51 Wed Nov 22, 2023
52 Sat Nov 18, 2023
53 Fri Nov 17, 2023
54 Wed Nov 8, 2023
55 Mon Oct 10, 2023
56 Mon Oct 9, 2023
57 Tue Sept 26, 2023
58 Sat Sept 23, 2023
59 Sat Sept 16, 2023
60 Fri Sept 15, 2023
61 Tue Aug 29, 2023
62 Fri July 14, 2023
63 Sun July 9, 2023
64 Sat July 8, 2023
65 Wed July 5, 2023
66 Mon May 22, 2023
67 Sun May 21, 2023

Thu Aug 15, 2024

Fri June 21, 2024

I'm back with updates!

I have been working on the printer in my spare time all month long, gradually performing upgrades and ironing out issues. I will do my best to compile the technical aspects of my notes for this past month at D3D Pro v23.12 Data Collection. I have yet to begin more structured/formal data collection on the printer, but I have a shortlist of things I will be testing for:

Max Temps (Deg. C/ Deg. F)
Max movement of all axes (mm)
Input shaping settings (frequencies, damping factors, etc. - usually unique to each machine but this will be a ballpark for others)
Pressure Advance (K-factor, also ballpark)
Axis backlash for all axes (mm)
Build time (hours, minutes)
Max speeds (mm/s)
Max acceleration (mm/s^2)
Max jerk (mm/s^3)
Max volumetric flowrate (mm^3/s) (filament specific, but again ballpark)
Bed leveling mesh data (mesh output) (need to ensure that the printers don't have wildly warped beds - need to test limits of warp somehow)
Bed max lift before belt skipping (g or kg)
Total machine cost (BOM, labor, packaging, etc.)
Filament used in machine's printed parts (g)
Count of each part (for BOM)
Printing results/Start success (failure rate, %) (min. 2 Sigma prior to any sales)
"Benchy" test print included with each printer
Skew (mm/m)
Overhang performance (angle)
Warping and delamination (test print)
Noise (dB)

I have also ordered and received most of the parts for the next printer build of v23.12. I will be using some different BOM part choices from the first build. A few of the 'new' parts are updated 3D printed parts. I will be uploading those files at D3D Pro v23.12 3D CAD.

Mon May 20, 2024

D3D Pro v23.12 Data Collection

Thu May 9, 2024

Since Saturday I have been working on the 3D printer. I have probably spent over 40 hours on the project this week, but I will have to check all of my notes and upload the grand total. I will be updating the printer data and build information at D3D Pro v23.12 Data Collection. This has been a blast!

Sat May 4, 2024

D3D Pro v23.12 Build Pictures and Video I worked on the universal controller assembly first as that is the module that likely needs to come first for the sake of testing all of the other components.

Fri May 3, 2024

D3D Pro v23.12 Build Pictures and Video

Thu May 2, 2024

D3D Pro v23.12 Build Pictures and Video. I posted recent pics and videos to the Open Source Ecology Workshops Facebook group. The results have been good so far :)

Sun Apr 28, 2024

Interview Questions

Thu Apr 4, 2024

I have been working on enterprise development for the past few weeks. I now have an LLC set up and a website up and running with demo content [1]. I have been mapping out processes in the business on a flow chart to plan for what standard operating procedures I need to write. I am currently stuck on my ability to purchase more parts to continue prototyping work, at least for the time being, so I have been working on other things. I have also focused on printing additional products for photographing. I have been adding to my listings on Etsy.

Wed Mar 13, 2024

Input Shaping

Mon Mar 11, 2024

My Ender 3 V2 printer broke on Tuesday/Wednesday when I was upgrading the nozzle from 0.4mm to 1.0mm - I stripped the heater block threads. I purchased a replacement part online that arrived on Saturday. I repaired the printer and finished the upgrades. The print time for a universal frame rebar corner connector dropped from 11.5 hours to 4.5 hours with the new nozzle. The print quality also improved. Currently I am printing all of the motor pieces, carriages, and carriage closures for the printer. The whole job is estimated to take 27.5 hours.

Work on D3D Pro v23.12 Build Instructions Kit Sourcing and Preparation Guide.

Mon Mar 4, 2024

D3D Pro v23.12 Data Collection

Sun Mar 3, 2024

D3D Pro v23.12 Data Collection. I had the assistance of a friend for note taking and discussing process improvements during my work today. We both worked on D3D Pro v23.12 for 4.5 hours.

Tue Feb 27, 2024

Work on D3D Pro v23.12 Build Instructions Kit Sourcing and Preparation Guide. Currently still in section 1 (sourcing).

Mon Feb 19, 2024

Work on updating the D3D Pro v23.12 BOM for the switch to the 12" bed, plus adding the tools and supplies (zip ties, ferrules, electrical tape, etc.) that were not included as details in the CAD. I also realized that I made a mistake in the naming of the machine. If I wanted to go for a 12" bed the machine should have been named D3D Pro 2 v23.12 as the Pro 2 is the 12" bed.

Sun Feb 18, 2024

Today I worked on setting up a Magento ecommerce website on AWS for my business. It can be viewed here: [2]. I went for the name Open Source Manufacturing as it nicely sums up the work I'll be doing in my future microfactory.

Sat Feb 17, 2024

D3D Pro v23.12 Build Instructions Kit Sourcing and Preparation Guide

Fri Feb 16, 2024

D3D Pro v23.12 Build Instructions Kit Sourcing and Preparation Guide

Thu Feb 15, 2024

D3D Pro v23.12 Build Instructions Kit Sourcing and Preparation Guide

I met with User:Strangeloops to discuss OSE, the GVCS, the D3D Pro v23.12 3D Printer and what I could use help on in the project. They are going to look into the firmware and software for the beagleplay board.

Tue Feb 13, 2024

Resizing D3D Pro v23.12 to accommodate a 12" bed.

Fri Feb 9, 2024

I worked for a few hours tonight drafting a business plan with the help of a friend. I have more work to do in market research and analysis and expanding on the other sections. I also worked on BOM research. The printer's total cost came out slightly under what I had expected, which is nice. :)

Wed Feb 7, 2024

The CAD work is coming along nicely. Universal Controller is in place, Z axes are in place, etc. I'm finishing up the bed and then all of the major components and fasteners will be done. Then I have to determine if it will be worth my while to do wiring in the CAD file itself. I like how it was done in the CAD for the Lyman filament extruder. In that file the wire plug locations are marked with color coded cylinders that indicated which wire went to where. On the other hand though, it's time I could spend on other documentation. Once the CAD is finished I am planning to break every part out into it's own separate file and upload it to the parts library on the wiki.

Evening

I worked more on the D3D Pro v23.12 3D CAD today. I caught some spelling errors and generated new parts including the thermistors, heater cartridge, PEI Sheet, 2-sided tape, 1/2" conduit (which for some reason seems to not be 1/2" in any dimension), and the halogen light bulbs and holders (which I did my best to look up online but may be inaccurate to some degree). The assembly is nearing completion. There are currently around 350 individual parts in the part tree and that does not include wires, a few missing screws, or zip ties.

Mon Feb 5, 2024

I have been messaging back and forth on discord with an individual who wants to contribute to open source projects. They are looking into firmware options for the upgraded D3D Pro v23.12. I am looking forward to hearing their thoughts on whether the additional features like gcode preprocessing and advanced bed mesh calculations will be worth the switch.

I realized that I am going to need to redesign the '4D printed' Universal Controller mount board. It is not compatible with the new rebar frame and it needs extra space for the BeagleBone computer. I settled on the BeaglePlay as it has built-in wifi and is around $100. It is also fully open source [3]. You could probably fire up OSE linux on it if you wanted. :)

Sun Feb 4, 2024

D3D Pro v23.12.

Sat Feb 3, 2024

Continue work on D3D Pro v23.12 3D CAD. Getting a lot done. Top axes are in place. Frame is in place. Extruder is in place. I must say, I've really been enjoying the FreeCAD 0.16 workflow. It feels more like I'm assembling a big 3D puzzle when doing placement-based versus when I do constraint-based assemblies and I spend hours fighting to get the constraints near perfect (which is much less fun). I had to hunt around a little bit on the wiki to piece together the CAD library that I have been using. I broke down the D3D Pro v23.12 3D CAD page into subsections for each module and their individual parts. I am planning to complete the CAD work ASAP |am grateful for all of the countless hours of prior development work that went into this project already. It has made my small additions possible.

There is a small business network in my town that provides startup assistance and access to funding opportunities that I am considering joining for the sake of the workshop business I am starting.

Fri Feb 2, 2024

Continuing work on D3D Pro v23.12 3D CAD. I finished the Universal Frame Assembly. I am going to have to start naming parts with the machine name in the file name. I'm starting to overlap names I used on D3D Mega v23.05.

Wed Jan 31, 2024

D3D Pro v23.12 3D CAD. D3D Pro v23.12 Requirements + Value Proposition.

Sun Jan 14, 2024

I've had lots of fun working on the working doc from Friday's log. I have gotten to a point where I have an early prototype CAD model and I've shared my work (early and often as always). File:Universal Frame Rebar Connector.FCStd

Fri Jan 12, 2024

I spent a little while playing with the Angle Frame Corner generator that is part of the 3D Printer Workbench in FreeCAD. I may attempt to expose more variables from the connector macro vs restarting from scratch to design a new frame corner for 1/2" rebar. If just a few more things were exposed as variables I would be able to generate a 1/2" square slot for the rebar to be inserted into. Then it's just a matter of tightening down the set screw and you're square.

Hint: Start a Working Doc and you can paste this text in there and continue to update with pictures. I'd like to see pictures.-MJ

edit

Wed Jan 10, 2024

At work I have been spending a lot of time looking into Semantic MediaWiki. The extension effectively lets a person use a wiki as a low/no code relational database. It would be great to use for data collection or running a business single source of truth. I may use it to track business operations and keep myself organized personally as it's very customizable. I'm honestly surprised that it's not in use on the OSE wiki, but it does add complexity and has an additional learning curve, so maybe not too surprised. I've also been considering that a wiki would be the perfect place to store notes and information as I continue my path of life-long learning.

Recently read the Lecture Notes on Teaching General Semantics by Lance Strate, Ph.D. available at the General Semantics website. I was particularly inspired by the section on Idealization  and  Operationalism. Idealization causes frustration because it makes people believe that things like 'love', 'success', etc. are unattainable because they idealize them. When something is put on a pedestal, untouchable, it becomes unattainable because there are no concrete steps to get there. Operationalism, conversely, means you define something by the steps it takes to get there. If you want to "change the world", what will be changed and what are your steps to get there? Similar to the working principles around SMART goals.

I have also recently decided that I'd like to apply the general semantics principles/life principles that I have been pondering lately to my organization ability. I have struggled a lot in the past to stay organized and on top of everything (whether at work or home), and I'd like to learn and develop organization as a skill. In its simplest form, organization is just having a place for everything, and everything in its place. The steps to get there would be to make places for every thing that I want to take time to organize, and put it there; whether that means a physical location for an object, or a place for data to live.

Mon Jan 8, 2024

The new year didn't exactly start as planned, but I'm back. I'm going to continue work on D3D Pro v23.12 Development Timeline, move on to finishing my critical path and set a realistic workshop date.

An interesting development in my life - a friend of mine is starting out a new small venture making hair care/beard care products at my encouragement. He has a lot of experience from another business he ran making those same products. I want to help him start his business with the most basic tools to get the job done while still allowing for industrial productivity. He should be able to produce his products in a simple double boiler on a gas, electric, or induction stove. I can manufacture all of his packaging on my 3D Printer, and we can use my printer and Cricut machine to produce waterproof/oilproof labels. We can use my 3d printer to make pouring /filling jigs for bottles and chap stick tubes. We are working on manufacturing everything in-house as much as possible. This business will be antifragile - the multipurpose machines that we're using can be put to use in many other ways in the business, and for the most part we already own everything we need personally, so there's not really any chance of 'going out of business'... just the possibility of having a few hundred dollars of hair care products to use at the house.

Also, I have convinced him to share all of his documentation openly and collaboratively, from standard operating procedures to recipes to data collection. He agrees with me that having free access to that information is better for the world, and helps solve the pressing world issues that we have talked about wanting to solve. Hopefully soon there will be a handful of additional products available for the Open Source Everything Store, and some free cash for more open source work. :)

I read through most of The Homebrew Industrial Revolution: A Low-Overhead Manifesto by Kevin A. Carson. Great book that mentions OSE. I really liked the author's discussions about how precision machining and making parts to higher tolerances, alongside the freeing potential of electricity and the electric motor, bring home or workshop based manufacturing to the same quality as products produced by mass manufacturing. The book has a lot of similar themes to OSE's guiding philosophies.

Thu Dec 28, 2023

SH4 Documentation Proposal‎ Typos. D3D Pro v23.12 Development Timeline expanding upon full timeline of work.

Tue Dec 26, 2023

Expanded on D3D Pro v23.12 Development Timeline. I am attempting to break the assembly steps down today. That way when I get to the later assembly and build manual documentation steps I will be more prepared. The old 3D Printer Manual is helping me get the general order of operations down, even with many steps being different in later versions.

Sun Dec 24, 2023

Added to Saturday's timeline, and then moved it to D3D Pro v23.12 Development Timeline. I am working to expand my to-do list down to every detail that I feel I can reasonably capture. Once completed I will have a list of tasks that is detailed enough to enable swarm-based workflows. The one I'm looking forward to the most is the Kit Certification and build manual documentation steps. I plan to have me and two others work together to document the build manual. One person builds and explains the steps of the printer build they take as they work. Another person takes up close photos of before, during, and after each step. The third person transcribes the steps into a work document.

I have started to break down the documentation that I will create for handouts at D3D Pro v23.12 Development Timeline.

Sat Dec 23, 2023

Timeline to workshop ready point:

(Does not include marketing/workshop stuff, just kit documentation prep)

Create and finalize LOD500 cad
- Model frame for 1/2" rebar
  - Model corner connectors / Y axis holders 8hrs
  - Model Z axis top and bottom holders 4hrs
- Model heated bed components and assemble
  - Buy halogen bulbs and holders to take measurements .5hr
  - Model halogen holder and bulb 1hr
  - Model heated bed tubes .5hr
  - Model heated bed sheet metal (including holes) .5hr
  - Model heated bed carbon fiber blankets .5hr
  - Assemble heated bed in CAD 2hr
- Assemble extruder in CAD from available prior work 4hrs
- Assemble control panel in CAD from available prior work 4hrs
- Assemble axes from available prior work - Done

Generate BOM from CAD - Instant in FreeCAD 21
- Find multiple vendors for each part 12hrs

Source and order all of the first kit supplies
- Order parts from multiple sources to vet quality/compatibility

Prep the first kit
- Print 3d printed components - 48+ hrs
- Cut rods and rebar to size - 1.5hr
- Cut lengths of belt - 15min
- Cut lengths of pipe for bed - 30min
- Cut plates for bed (if necessary) - 15min
- Cut aluminum heatsink to size - 10min
- Machine aluminum heatsink on drill press - 15min
- Test all electrical components (motors, endstops, RAMPS+Mega, bed heater, etc) 30min
  - Motors all spin
  - Endstops trigger properly and are correct type for failing safely
  - Bed Heater - lighting up
  - Hotend and thermistors - Heat up and measure temp
- Heat gun the control panel print as in 4D Printing 5min

Build the first kit
- Build Universal Frame
  1. Gather all materials 1min
  2. Build two squares from the corners and rebar 10min
    - Use jig to square (wooden dowel cut to length of connector distance)
    - Be mindful of corner direction
    - Tighten fasteners
  3. Add 4 vertical rebar pieces into one of the square's corners 2min
    - Tighten fasteners
  4. Put second square onto the top 2min
    - Turn frame onto its side
    - Use jig to square
    - Tighten fasteners
  5. Done!
- Build Universal Axes
  - X Axis with rods jutting past the sides
  - Y Axes with unique carriages
  - Z Axes with shorter rods
- Build Universal Extruder
- Build Heated Bed
  - Primarily assembled using high temp epoxy
- Build Universal Controller
  - Tin all wires
  - Attach all components to panel
  - Follow prior art wiring plans
- Build filament holder

Perform Kit Certification

Assemble another printer, taking pictures of every step and recording the steps taken in order.

Create documentation for printer, following wiki development template
- Kit Prep Manual
  - Safety, workspace layouts, kit prep expected effort timeline
  - Sourcing section - notes on finding local substitutes
  - Metal Cutting Section
  - Aluminum Heatsink Prep Section
  - Steps for partial preassembly
  - Packaging for workshop
  - Packaging for shipment
- Build Manual
  - Universal Frame Section
  - Universal Axis Section
    - X, Y, and Z are separate
  - Universal Extruder Section
  - Fast Heated Bed Section
  - Universal Controller Section
  - Final Assembly Section
  - Wiring and testing Section
  - Troubleshooting Section

Have an assistant assemble a kit from documentation alone to test for weaknesses
- Revise documentation as necessary for clarity, ease of assembly, turnkey-ness

Prep the workshop kits
- Print 3d printed components
- Order parts
- Cut rods and rebar to size
- Cut lengths of belt
- Cut lengths of pipe for bed
- Cut plates for bed (if necessary)
- Cut aluminum heatsink to size
- Machine aluminum heatsink on drill press
- Test all electrical components (motors, endstops, RAMPS+Mega, bed heater, etc) for all kits
- Gather together kits per BOM
- Label parts as labeled in the documentation (aiming for eventually offering language agnostic assembly instructions)
- Package kits in separate crates/boxes for easy transport to event
- Print out documentation binder - 1 per kit
- Prepare OSE Linux Live USBs - 1 per kit

Work in progress*

Sun Dec 17, 2023

D3D Pro v23.12. Started work on CAD Assembly. It's moving very quickly due to prior work on D3D Mega v23.05.

Sat Dec 16, 2023

Worked a little bit on my critical path at User:Alexa. I am reworking it to have a more realistic timeframe.

Fri Dec 15, 2023

LOD 500 CAD To-Do Breakdown:

Model halogen holder and bulb
Model heated bed tubes
Model heated bed sheet metal (including holes)
Model heated bed carbon fiber blankets
Assemble heated bed in CAD
Assemble extruder in CAD from available prior work
Assemble control panel in CAD from available prior work
Resize rods on universal axes from v23.05
Resize angle iron in v23.05 frame

I do not yet know how to best model the wires/wiring connections for the CAD. I would really appreciate direction on where I can learn to do this if anyone reading knows.

Contingency plan for any prolonged delays to workshop is to build an online shop after completion of full product documentation. An ecommerce website is still a potentially viable distributive enterprise, even if it does not have the same local impact that a workshop would. I would still prefer to do the workshop first to prove the workshop model is viable before investing time into learning how to sell and market effectively on an ecommerce store. In any case, the store is an inevitability just like the workshop - just a matter of timing.

It's the day after the workshop and it was a horrible disaster. What went wrong and how could it have been stopped beforehand?

No tickets were sold so the event could not take place.

   * Could be mitigated by buying kits only after ticket sales so there's no money lost except for the venue deposit?
   * A solid marketing plan drawn up by an expert and executed to the letter.
   * A clear market has been defined as part of the above plan

The website got DDOSed/Crashed/Too Slow

   * Host on large national provider and use cloudflare for DDOS protection
   * Use the hosting provider's version of wordpress to ensure automatic updates occur

The kits were unfinished due to lack of time

   * Clear proofs of build time from inexperienced assembler doing a time lapse like in Kit Certification
   * Step by step instructions with clear pictures for each step. Proper warnings and safety information included. 
   * Clearly labeling each part by letter as in Language Agnostic Instructionals

The printers do not function

   * Test all motors and electronics prior to finishing kit assembly
   * Have a quality control checklist + BOM to review each kit with prior to event
   * Have a spare printer worth of parts available

Thu Dec 14, 2023

D3D Mega v23.05 Conceptual Design. Added additional notes on top cover of high temp heated chamber.

Tue Dec 12, 2023

I took a big step in my day job today. I transitioned to posting all of the work that I perform onto an internally hosted wiki for all to see. I have been missing the mark at times without a system for storing my work and the wiki was the perfect place to build in accountability, transparency, and capture all of the details. My hope is that this will increase my capacity to work more collaboratively with my peers as I have been learning to do through OSE.

Sun Dec 10, 2023

Onboarding Assessment

Tactical

1. How much time do you have to commit to the development of your chosen project?

I can sustainably commit to 8-12 hours per week of development time. I have a 40 hour per week job Tuesday through Saturday, I am a board member for a local nonprofit (which takes up at least a few hours per month), and I provide for and tend to my household, which takes up the rest of my time.

2. How long could you sustain your development effort prior to revenue? For example, in the worst case scenario of innumerable unforeseen events which prevented you from reaching the point of revenue generation, if it took way longer than was ever reasonably predicted - could you sustain your effort as long as it takes or would you have to pivot? We should have clarity on this question because it can help us match the expected preparation/development tasks to the available time. Please start on this question by thinking about a task list for preparing for a first workshop in as much detail as possible, as part of this question.

Because I am working another full time job I should be able to continue my development efforts without regard to incoming revenue. The development work can be completed with access to a single printer, so once that has been purchased, the overhead costs should be zero or near zero. Ultimately, pursuing sustainable and appropriate open source hardware projects is shaping up to be my life's work so it can take as long as it needs to.

Kits

Create development pages on wiki
Create and finalize LOD500 cad
Generate BOM from CAD
Source and order all of the kit supplies - Need to discuss best methods to fund purchase
Cut rods and angle iron to size
cut lengths of belt
cut lengths of pipe for bed
cut plates for bed (if necessary)
machine aluminum heatsink on drill press
print 3d printed components
Perform Kit Certification
Assemble the printer a second time, taking pictures of every step and recording the steps taken in order.
Create documentation for printer assembly (Combine with data from kit certification for accurate assembly time estimate)
Have an assistant assemble a kit from documentation alone to test for weaknesses (bonus points for an assistant who knows nothing about 3d printers) (Potentially optional step)
Test all electrical components (motors, endstops, RAMPS+Mega, bed heater, etc) for all kits
Assemble kits per BOM
Label parts as labeled in the documentation (aiming for eventually offering language agnostic assembly instructions)
Package kits in separate crates/boxes for easy transport to event
Print out documentation binder - 1 per kit
Prepare OSE Linux Live USBs - 1 per kit

Presentation

Create presentation that talks about unique features and benefits of the D3D Printer
Include modularity (and what that even means to someone)
Lifetime design vs planned obsolescence
Open source hardware
Distributive enterprise

Venue

Shop around to obtain rates from venues for a full day workshop
Pay deposit
Pay balance due
Arrive early day of for setup

Food

Choose a local restaurant for supplying lunch and or catering trays
Place an advance order for the food to be prepped
Pick up day of or before
Alternatively, just buy catering trays from Sam's Club

Marketing materials

Create and implement templates for social media posts (FB, insta, etc.), flyers
Distribute flyers in local businesses
Have venue partner share event on their social media accounts
Share event in local and surrounding community Facebook groups
Schedule social media posts for weeks and days leading to event.
Create website for event and product (lean on work for presentation for content)

Business plan

If outside funding is required, a business plan will need to be written

Budget

A budget will need to be written to estimate expenses and potential earnings.
Ticket Revenue
Venue cost
Kits cost
Marketing cost
Website costs

3. What do you see as the potential of the modular, Construction Set Approach for building things?

I see the modular construction set approach to building things as the most important method for creating modern appropriate technology. Many open source hardware projects exist in isolation at present. If those projects were designed to be interoperable and have intercompatible parts they would be easier to design and build while being more appropriate and more valuable. It's my view that the only way that a transition to an open source economy of abundance is possible is with access to a modular construction set of manufacturing tools. The integrated performance (including social, environmental, and technological aspects) of modular construction sets, will better internalize the costs of production as opposed to creating more pollution, forcing people to take jobs that are not their right livelihood, or reinventing prior art for each project. Because modern mass production is focused on point performance of products, there is a lot more value that can be captured for the producer and end user when this approach is used.

Modular construction sets have the potential to enable low overhead distributed production of life sustaining essentials, tools, and machines all the way up to clean rooms and space ships.

4. How would you propose to implement 'lifetime design'? Discuss some of the key, specific features of your project that would express the 'lifetime design' philosophy. Think about what it would take to offer a 'lifetime design warranty' - point to some details of how you envision that this could this be implemented in a sustainable way?

The D3D Printer has multiple lifetime design elements. The chief design element is the plastic/steel construction of the machine, which combines the complex geometries of 3D printed plastic with the strength of steel. This makes for an extremely rugged design that is unlikely to need much if any maintenance. The parts that wear out fastest on the printer are the linear bearings and the belts, both of which are 3D printable. Other components like the halogen heating bulbs in the bed, the stepper motors, the extruder heater cores and thermistors, the endstops, etc. are all low cost, common-off-the-shelf components that can be easily sourced by the end user. The user will always have the option to service their own machines, even if the company that produced the kit or machine goes out of business.

A lifetime design warranty could consist of a few separate elements.

Access to the full CAD, documentation, design files, etc. for easy user servicing and repair of the machine
Offer replacements for all parts in cases where the machine was used under normal operating conditions for a 3D Printer, and the part was still within its useful lifetime. Require that the defective or damaged part be sent in for possible repair. End user pays shipping.
Base the lifetime amount calculations on industry standard lifetimes of the part. 10,000 hours for stepper motors, for example.
Anything outside of normal operating lifetimes won't be covered.
The cost of maintaining a lifetime design warranty will decrease over time as replacement parts are manufactured in-house on digital fabrication machines.

5. Why did you choose to pursue the OSE product as opposed to the numerous other options out there? Clarify what you see as the value and unique value proposition of our work, compared to other options. Why did you choose to pursue the OSE product as opposed to the numerous other options out there?

I chose to pursue working with OSE for the sake of the appropriateness of their work. The OSE Specifications align perfectly with my personal principles of the free sharing of knowledge, the growth and development of myself as an individual, and adding to the pool of human knowledge via time-binding. I also want to self-provide to enable my own buy-out-at-the-bottom financial independence. I ultimately want to spend my life doing personally meaningful work, and OSE is aligned with my goals on this perfectly.

OSE's most valuable practice is releasing all of their work under open licenses, based on universal guiding principles. The work done by OSE is always in furthering the ends of their vision, not just for the marketing gimmick that some companies engage in when they release their goods as 'open source'. OSE puts their money where their mouth is, so to speak.

I chose to pursue the D3D printer first as it is the machine that is most accessible to me, while also being one of those most ready for a product release from the GVCS. I can build the D3D printers entirely in my second bedroom in my apartment if necessary. I need very low overhead to produce the machines and sell them on a website, which is great because I am at the start of my career and I have very little capital available to me to start the business off. Other organizations' open source machines are available for me to replicate, but none of them have the low part count, modular, lifetime design of the D3D printer.

6. What are your revenue goals for the first stage and afterwards? Once you have obtained a 'sustainable enterprise' - what revenue and net revenue would you like that to be for you? Provide your goals and the time within which you would like to achieve these goals. How would you see that growing in the years to come?

Once I have obtained a 'sustainable enterprise' I am looking to make as much as I am currently with my day job, approx $30K net per year (which would be approx $100K gross revenue at 30% profit). I want the enterprise to become my full time work, so at the bare minimum I have to be able to sustain myself at my current standard of living. I want to be able to do this work full time within three years or less. After achieving the point of transition to full time work my goal is to increase revenues until I make at least $50K/year net ($167K gross) within five years and for the rest of my life. When combined with other methods of high tech self providing, this is a very sustainable income.

7. How do you envision implementing the collaborative and swarm-based development and production aspects of OSE in your project?

I am planning to continue uploading all of my work on my projects on the OSE wiki. I am open to working collaboratively with anyone inside or outside of OSE to get my first workshop done successfully. I have also studied how OSE collaborates on the wiki and on cloud based documents, so I can teach others how to best work with me on the project. I also have family members and friends who have expressed interest in helping me on the project if I give them enough direction on where to help, so I will be leaning on them to assist me with the kit production, marketing, and documentation work.

Kit production especially can be broken down into numerous parallel tasks. Picking and packing the materials for 12-24 3D printers can be done component by component by any number of individuals. Photography work can be done from multiple angles by multiple people for a much faster pace and higher quality in recording the steps for documentation.

Inspiration

1.Describe how you would like your company to look and behave once you have attained the status of Distributive Enterprise. Such as - what are you and your team doing, whom are you serving, what products do you have, how is your enterprise growing and providing unique value, what is your day-to-day, what are your prospects for the future), what are you thinking and feeling?

In the near term, while the business is smaller, my team and I would be spending around half the week making 3D printers as well as goods for the Open Source Everything Store (3D Printed Products, Useful 3D Prints, especially metal plastic composite construction), and the other half doing additional documentation work, creating new products for the Open Source Everything Store according to OSE specifications, prototyping new digital fabrication machines (D3D Torch/router table, laser cutter, D3D Circuit Mill, filament extruder, 3D Scanner), etc. We would be serving mostly the national market for our products online, and doing local craft shows to connect with more local customers. By this point there would be extra money to invest into prototyping and pursuing even more development. I would also have access to many more tools (multiple printers, power tools, welders, etc.) that will increase the amount and quality of machines and goods I can produce. All of the general use machinery available to me will enable flexability throughout changing market conditions. The future looks bright. According to my goals, this would be about three years out from now when I move to this being my full time work.

In the long term, I want my business to grow and evolve until I own and operate a microfactory and farm that serves my neighboorhood. This could include a food co-op, tool/equipment sharing, fabrication services, furnature manufacturing, OSE machine replication, educational classes and workshops, and a large catalogue of Open Source Everything Store products. I want to get as close to fully independent closed loop economy as possible to provide the best opportunities that I can for my family, friends, and neighbors. My day-to-day would be spent building machines, tending to orchards and greenhouses, designing new things, and otherwise contributing to humanity's progress via time-binding. The surrounding community would be more prosperous due to the existance of the microfactory campus. I am feeling fulfilled, at the peak of self-actualization, and I have a long life of contributions to make ahead of me.

2. What do you consider to be Pressing World Issues in today's world? Describe how you are or how you would like to contribute to solving them. Discuss your goals for 'making a better world' in as much detail as you like.

The United Nation's Sustainable Development Goals are the shortlist of pressing world issues that I believe need to be solved.The SDGs are primarily focused on ending material scarcity (poverty, food access, clean water/sanitation access, industry/infrastructure improvement, good health/wellbeing, reduced inequalities, affordable clean energy, sustainable cities/communities, and decent work/economic growth). They also include the need for education, stewardship toward life and nature, and improved governance.

I am going to contribute to solving these issues by working openly and collaboratively toward creating an open source economy of abundance. The best place to do that currently is OSE. I plan to continue to contribute to the appropriate technologies of the GVCS until completion, as well as contributing to the Open Source Everything Store. My hope is that freely releasing economically significant information will create meaningful livelihoods for people everywhere and help to reduce the issues that stem from material scarcity.

I also want to make a better world for myself in my own personal sphere. I want to use myself as a testbed for sustainable business development to prove the model. If I can go from making barely enough to cover my expenses to flourishing and saving for the future from this process then the world will be just that much better for me and anyone who follows this path. It would also prove that distributive enterprise replication can work and contribute to the eventual conversion of the material economy to an open source paradigm. Those who come after me down this path will (if all goes as planned) be able to provide for themselves and their loved ones and that helps to make the world a better place for everyone. The more people who are engaged in productive and collaborative works instead of crime, corruption, or other unethical behavior, the better.

3. OSE follows the principles of Good to Great. The core message is that anyone has a choice to develop the discipline to become great, because there is so much good work needed to be done. And in order to solve difficult problems, one needs great capacity. General acceptance of what is already 'good' keeps the world in a state of immense societal/industrial inertia - ie, stuck without adapting to the times. But, becoming great is not easy, and most people do not choose this route. What are your thoughts on being good vs great?

I watched the book summary from the Good to Great page for more context, and I have decided that I will read the book in its entirety.

The path to greatness outlined in Good to Great is making disciplined decisions/steps toward your goal. The apt metaphor of a flywheel is used to illustrate how achieving greatness is a series of small additions to the total momentum in a single direction. This theme of continually building upon the same base over and over again is seen in nature, in the concept of time binding, in the principles that lead to the OSE Specifications and GVCS, and in most of the good self improvement/personal growth literature that I have read. The path to greatness as outlined also requires discipline in relationships with others, and discipline of thought. Specifically, in being a supercollaborative individual who is chasing their own passions and focusing on the objective truth without losing sight of or faith in their end goal.

I believe that greatness is an achieveable state for many people given the above roadmap. For me specifically, I firmly believe that I can become great at running an enterprise with enough sustained effort. The way I could best cultivate it is to keep an open dialogue with those around me about my progress, struggles, goals, and visions for the future. When I make a quiet promise to myself it is sometimes not enough to keep me from missing the mark, but when I have people around me who keep me accountable to my goals I can keep moving in the right direction.

4. Take a look at the 4 Zones of Possibility. Discuss what these are for you, with respect to your specific OSE involvement, and in your life in general.

These are my answers as of 12/10/2023, but I believe items could move between the 4 zones in the future pending material changes to my circumstances.

1. Define what you know that you can do. I have moderate physical strength and dexterity, so I can meet most of the physical demands of daily life. I can provide for my family by laboring with my mind or my hands. I can use computers effectively. For OSE I know I can readily contribute to documentation and development work including FreeCAD modeling as I have been doing that on my D3D Mega v23.05 project. In life in general I know that I can physically perform most of the tasks that an average healthy person can.

2. What you think you can do. I think that I am smart enough to be able to learn new subjects and continue on a path of lifelong learning. I think I am an effective communicator of ideas, at least in one on one conversations. I think that I can learn enough to be able to successfully execute the 3D printer workshop. It may also be possible for me to fly out and be involved in some in person events at OSE. I think that I have the skills necessary to replicate the previously designed machines. I also think that I could have what it takes to contribute to OSE as a developer. I also received an associates degree in business so I can handle most business related math and know some basic aspects of business law and entrepreneurship (though I may be somewhat rusty).

3. What you think is probably too much It would probably be a financial burden on me to start anything too capital intensive, as I'm working on a tight budget. I have yet to dive into completely learning any programming languages so I will need practice before doing any edits to code on projects. The science, physics, and engineering education that I have is what I learned in high school, so there are a lot of holes in my knowledge of these areas. Raising money for my venture effectively would be difficult for me as I currently don't know where is best to start looking. I feel that doing my workshop alone would likely be exceptionally difficult.

4. What you know you can't do. I can't/won't do anything that will violate my principles, so unethical practices are out of the question. Outside of that, I'm open to trying to learn how to do anything. I can't relocate anytime soon as I have too much that is dear to me where I live.

5. Take a look at the Edge of Knowledge concept. Is there any way you can contribute to the 1000 hour curriculum?

I can definitely contribute in the 3D Printing and Open Source Everything Store segments of the 1000 hour curriculum. Those are the topics that I have the most knowledge of among those listed. I have also studied some about radio equipment as I work toward earning a ham radio license so I may be able to summarize simple topics in that field as well. Outside of that I don't have much of a specialization. I am very interested in learning the 1000 hour curriculum someday once completed!

6. Take a look at the concept of Level 6 Leadership. Have you ever considered or would you be interested in considering becoming a Level 6 Leader?

I am interested in becoming a Level 6 Leader. The material reason for starting my enterprise may be to earn money, but my goal is to add to the commons for all to benefit from. Everything that I do I can share freely with others without harming myself. I want to add to the momentum of the open hardware movement to liberate people (including myself) to be free to chase their passions and live personally meaningful lives. I believe that continuing to create open source alternatives to the conventional closed economy is the shortest route to achieving that end.

7. At the end of your life, what would you consider as goals achieved of a life worth living, by whichever metric you consider important?

I would have lived by my principles my entire life. I would have spent ample time with my loved ones. I would have added significant contributions to the pool of human knowledge. I would have learned something every day until the day I died. I would have made enough time to contemplate in silence and peace. I would have made the world a better place than when I found it. I would have given a boost to the next generations of humanity.

Fri Dec 8, 2023

After an email exchange with Marcin, I am planning to push back the date of my workshop to 4-5 months from now. I'm thinking end of April/beginning of May for the event now. I have a lot of work ahead of me for the project but I'm excited to get started. :))

Tue Dec 5, 2023

D3D Mega v23.05 3D CAD. - See Github link for most recent work. The CAD is coming along nicely now. I have four modules to finish - heated chamber, extruder, controller, heated bed. I am having an issue with my axes in the assembly - They each have a small square artifact that's visible and I don't know how to remove it. I think it has something to do with the belt peg model though because it didn't appear when I deleted that part from the assembly, but that's mostly a hunch. If anyone's here reading my log I'd love help on fixing the problem.

Also, I wanted to note that I've been building this assembly in the A2Plus assembly workbench in FreeCAD v0.21.1 as I could not for the life of me get Assembly2 to work in FreeCAD 0.16. I'm using OSE linux as my daily driver.

I've been putting work into consolidating the wiki's 3D printer documentation under the D3D Mega v23.05 project. My hope is that my eventual completion of the documentation including LOD 500 CAD will give others a launching point from which they can start distributive enterprises based on the D3D system.

I am planning to run a one day 3D printer workshop based on the D3D Pro V20.07. The tenative date and location is February 4th, 2024 in Port Huron, MI. I understand that I am free to run an independent workshop, but I am very interested in collaborating and continuing to contribute my work back into OSE's wiki. Following the workshop (or sooner, if my work on documentation procceds as planned) I am also planning to sell kits for D3D Pro, Pro 2, Pro 3, Universal, and the v23.05 Mega that I have been documenting. My long term goal is to be able to sustain my household from the income from this venture.

I am starting to get the word out now for the event. When I get a little spare cash I'm going to put a deposit down on the space so I can get out marketing materials and a website for the event.

My current roadblocks are my 40 hour job and my lack of startup capital, which also means a lack of a D3D Printer to practice on until I get my first ticket order for the event.

Mon Dec 4, 2023

D3D Mega v23.05 3D CAD . - See Github link for most recent work

Sun Dec 3, 2023

I have been inspired by the thought capture method of a "captain's log" seen on Eric Lotze Log so I will be documenting some of my thoughts on my work, projects, etc. here in my work log as I am so moved.