HOW TO GET AHEAD IN GOVCAMPING

• 3D printing (and scanning) is in its infancy; costs are high but falling fast
• In a localgov context:Companies are creating new markets for themselves e.g. Crayon Creatures which turn children’s drawings in to 3D objects and Replicator Warehouse which prints 3D objects on demand.
  • libraries and museums could reproduce artefacts for visitors to handle
  • braille descriptions could be printed on objects for the visually impaired
  • Localgov should catalogue objects and release them with an open licence allowing others can reproduce them (a bit like the Open Government Licence for open data, but for physical objects)
  • Personalisation – objects could be tailored to meet individual needs e.g. for those receiving care in the home
  • Sue Lawson (@shedsue) and other Library Campers have loads more ideas
  • There are resources available at Maker Librarian
• Power to the people: one individual with a good idea can turn it into something tangible
• Thingiverse is brimming with examples of ideas and designs
• Products like Cubify and Makerbot are helping 3D printing at home become a reality
• Already, there are ways to recycle material with neat products like Filabot which lets you recycle household plastic for 3D printing and the Lyman Filament Extruder which lets you recycle old filament
• Printing human embryonic stem cells? Yes, really
• Printing skull implants ready for surgery? Of course
• There’s even a pen that lets you create stuff in 3D
• How long before the first spam arrives on a 3D printer?

Somewhere I read that – in the longer term – household rubbish could be broken down in to its constituent parts and then reassembled for printing. We could witness a fundamental shift in transport, supply and distribution. I could go on – indeed, I already have. Suffice to say I think it’s quite exciting.