STEAM Camp Business Plan

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Keys to Success

  1. Strong and irresistable positioning related to transition from consumerism to open source product designers. or shifting the economic playing field from competition to collaboratiton to create an economy of abundance, creating the world we all want to live in with the open source, circular economy. The OSE brand stands for this, and has a clear value proposition based on ethics and practice
  2. Fill workshops by hiring the best possible instructors
  3. Link to economic freedom by joining a community and much larger program for Open Source Amazon

Executive Summary

The Open Source Microfactory STEAM Camp empowers novices and experts alike to learn the basics of collaborative product design using advanced, open source tools. Curriculum covers 4 days of using tools and techniques that allow an individual to contribute meaningfully to collaborative, open source product design. These tools include collaborative literacy and development techniques, open source CAD software, open source 3D printers for on-demand prototyping, and documenting everything according to best practices of open hardware documentation. We focus on using Universal Axis - an open source construction set for precision motion - to create open source manufacturing tools - such as 3D printers, CNC mills, and laser cutters - and then apply these tools to building real products that contribute to a public design effort for creating the open source economy.

Using open source techniques and guidance from our team of instructors, students build real products that they can then take home with them: 3D printers, a vaccuum robot, a Raspberri Pi tablet, an aerial drone, and many others. All participants are then encouraged to start their own business producing 3D printed electromechanical products and to create the open source equivalent of Amazon.

While the above products are consumer goods, the goal is to include larger builds in time based on modularity and scalability. For example, scaling up the electric motor that is part of the initial curriculum - we can move on to electric cars. The goal is to do basic builds that prepare the participant for designing and building larger versions. As such, the STEAM camp has direct relevance to creating economically-significant products - and doing so in a way that contributes to creating the open source economy.

Strategy

Focus on getting the most interesting people that others want to pay for. Challenge may be aligning their interests with OSE - so the ideal candidate may be a superstar open to open source economic development. For those in competing businesses, it may be good publicity for them.

OSE Dev Kit

Dev Kit gets you started in design and prototyping using Arduino, Simple 3D Printer, Universal Controller, and Sensors.

  • Arduino kit - with temperature and humidity sensor, camera, and solenoids. Mega comes with the D3D Simple.
  • LCD screen - Basic programming on LCD screen - display and selection. LCD screen included in 3D printer kit.
  • D3D Simple - a basic 3d printer for beginning to prototype like a pro. With the D3D Simple, you can start prototyping usable components.
  • OSE Linux bootable disk. Has FreeCAD tutorials and other critical assets. Comes with front page of browser configured to load the OSE Part Library, and show the OSE Crash Course - Collaborative Literacy and 12 top design lessons building upon the Open Source Microfactory STEAM Camp Recordings
  • OSE Part Library USB - download all of our designs.
  • Hacksaw blade with 3D printed holder.

Finances

Curriculum

See STEAM Camp Curriculum

Links