New working group on distributed manufacturing of open hardware

Medium articles via scribe.rip: * https://scribe.rip/@journalopenhw/open-hardware-distribution-documentation-working-group-intro-8b340748e59 * https://scribe.rip/@journalopenhw/open-hardware-distribution-documentation-working-group-values-based-standards-for-manufacturing-4e90da89070e

The group has a short term goal of a proof of concept around OpenFlexure, but a longer-term vision around enabling sustainable distributed manufacturing (and all that it entails, keep reading) in OScH. We aim to open a pathway for more OScH projects to have greater impact and use in the real world. Some of the questions we’re interested in include, how do we ensure the creators/developers get an equitable distribution of the value in a distributed rather than centralized production system? What are the incentives and strategies for the manufacturing community to drive quality and innovation in the process? How can we ensure the products meet quality standards so that scientists and others can trust the data that they produce?

Differences from typical capitalist practices include: * cooperation rather than competition; * open, shared, common knowledge instead of jealously-guarded “intellectual property”; * sustainable production instead of getting away with as much plunder as possible; * “equitable distribution of value” vs exploitation for profit.