A planning / note to self overview of the opportunity for a digital manufacturing web platform.

1. What is FabHub?
October 2011.

2. What exactly does
this mean? FabHub
What is the GitHub for digital
fabrication.
opportunity?
How should we
execute?
© Scientific Questions. Private & Confidential. August 2011.

3. If you look broadly at the process
of design for digital fabrication. Price
Quotes
generation
Metadata / Payment
materials
Workflow Product Format
Story conversion
Co-design Format
File delivery
validation
User Design Publish Sell Make Product
CAD Search /
software Production
Listings
Display QA
Preview
generation Delivery
Assembly

4. Each step is a business of its own.
User Design Publish Sell Make Product

5. We have to understand whether we’re vertically integrated,
or targeting specific parts of the process.
User Design Publish Sell Make Product

6. If we’re vertically integrated, we have
some serious competition.

7. Why FabHub when you could use Ponoko?

8. If we’re targeting a specific part of the process, then what
problem are we solving better than anyone else?

9. Our original
concept was for:
“a social platform
for designers to
share and build on
each other's
designs”
“an open, p2p,
collaborative
ecosystem”

10. Trouble is, “facilitating
collaboration” is a
long way from
the revenue stream.

11. We’ve discussed a
“shop” option as
being the fastest
route to revenue.
collate library of publish on a sign up CNC millers split payments
WikiTable style WikiHouse style to produce, test and between us,
products. gallery website deliver designer and miller

12. Alternatively, we could focus on developing the “marketplace”.

13. Either way, we want to create a scalable,
disruptive business.
"It's all got to do with changing how the world works.
The current system that we have of mass
manufacture, it's a hundred-year old system
and it's time for change."
Derek Elley Co-founder of Ponoko.

14. So how is that revolution
progressing?
The early adopters had to
create their market and
focus on the areas where
the technology was most
applicable.
"When you're a pioneer, it's like
climbing Everest every day. I think
that's the biggest barrier ... not
having a model to follow."
Derek Elley Co-founder of
Ponoko.

15. As a result, they make necklaces and lampshades:
“Most of the examples are very personal items that will truly bring much more
emotional value to everybody who likes to design."
Fried Vancraen, CEO and founder Materialise
vs

16. Revolution.
Not a revolution.

17. What if ...
Instead of lampshades, you
could design buses, radios
and racing bikes?

18. They have also had to create
production and delivery
infrastructure.
These are fixed processes,
with proprietary lock-in at
the points in the chain where
they make their money.

19. What if ...
Instead of being locked in,
you could choose the
cheapest, or the fastest, or
the most reliable
manufacturer?

20. Our original concept
of an “an open, p2p, Buyer
Technician
collaborative
ecosystem”, is a
natural alternative to
Manufacturer
a centralised, hard-
wired platform with Creative FabHub
proprietary lock-in.
Delivery
Provider
Engineer

21. However, the
implementation
doesn’t have to be
about workflow first.
It can be about
loosely coupling the
process integration,
so users can choose
who they work with
and whose services
they buy.

22. Digital fabrication is oriented around products but products
are always components of an ecosystem.
"There is no such thing as a toaster. People enrol
in the toaster project."
Harvey Molotch.

23. For digital fabrication to cross from hobbyist to essential business
function, there has to be a platform that allows complex products to be
compiled from multiple components.

24. Compiling complex products from components is
a key manufacturing function: the production line.

25. "To supply parts used in assembly, a later process goes to an earlier process to
withdraw only the number of parts that are needed."
Taiichi Ohno.

26. Each step in this process (when a later process “pulls
value” from an earlier process) is an opportunity for
loose coupling: for the request to be handled by
competing providers.
Creates Part Part
Part
Part
PULL
Part
Part PULL
Part
Part Part
Part
PULL
Assembly PULL Part
Part
(possibly buyer) Part
PULL
Part
Part
Part Part
PULL
Part
Part
PULL
Part
Part
Part

27. If we can define the right
FabHub
interfaces, to enable
GitHub for digital
complex products to be fabrication.
compiled from competing
providers, we can create a
universal production line.
An open, emergent, p2p
platform that supports
the design and making of © Scientific Questions. Private & Confidential. August 2011.
more than just necklaces
and lampshades.
That’s what this means.