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CubeSpawn:
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All the action on the site lately has been here.
as part Drawings are added

CubeSpawn is an open source hardware project. Its intended purpose is to "open source" a design for a flexible manufacturing system and design its components in such a way as to make the system capable of making most of its own parts. (Recursive production)

This, it is thought, will make it possible to start out with a few small, inexpensive machines, download designs from a repository and make more complex machines at the cost of materials and energy. (cheap!) this has a long list of potential benefits and could help contribute to greater independence for individuals and communities.

The project consists of a collection of design ideas:

Modularity
Just as "form factor" contributed to the development of multiple storage technologies for early PC's and help their prices to fall, a "standard" size for manufacturing equipment should help to settle fabrication toward discrete functions that plug together in different sequences to produce parts, tools and goods.

A power and data connection will allow the cubes to be chained together in any sequence.

A set of rails and a linear motor driven pallet will allow for the transport of workpieces between cells.

Minimum Part Counts/Part re-use
The machines in the system should have a high degree of interchangeable, standard components. This lends itself to easier production by simplifying part designs and allows for reconfiguring existing parts to serve new purposes rather than manufacturing unique parts for each design.

Modular Coordination/Preferred Dimensions (ISO 2848) (wiki)
The Cubes are based on 300mm module sizes, leading to 300mm cubes, 600mm cubes and so on.
This provides a standard metric framework that works well with imperial units as well.

A 300mm cube might be appropriate for a SMT pick and place module, a 600mm for a small router or RepRap style Rapid prototyping cell, where a 1.2 meter cell may be better for silk screening garments or performing a robotic assembly task.

There are no inherent limits.

Recycling (recycling facts CU) (Trash Trivia)
One major way that adopting this approach to manufacturing for communities and small producers can lower costs is that as more designs are added to the repository, stable, reusable designs for most commonly needed machines and processes will emerge. New innovations can be adapted to existing machines, reducing what is required to upgrade a machine. Designing for recycling is an important consideration also, so when a component wears out, its materials can easily be recaptured to make replacement components, only adding the materials lost to wear and during recycling, by not conforming to the "throw away" paradigm substantial wealth (in a better, greener, process) is recaptured. This also means that the demand for materials could fall, if this approach were widely adopted.

Access to Technology
With a central (or distributed) repository of designs, access to sophisticated equipment for the cost of materials and energy opens the door to innovation, given that money becomes less of a barrier.

Having control of the means of production at the individual or community level de-couples financial security from national economies, giving REAL financial and material security that no Government agency can ever match.