After a long debate across various open design/open manufacturing networks, that a sourceforge type of directory is needed that keeps track of design and development documentation to create an open source distributed manufacturing infrastructure, Eric Hunting has started with a already extraordinary outline of such a potential directory.

This is not it, but while a real directory with documentation will be built someday, perhaps on Appropridia as is almost generally suggested, here is a wiki-version of Eric’s directory.

It comes in two parts:

– the directory of Open Source Manufacturing Tools

– a bibliography of supporting material.

Bear in mind that it is still mostly an outline, but the bibliography is already quite comprehensive, and some subsections, like the ones on modular and non-modular building systems, are already fleshed out.

Here are the caveats from Eric Hunting:

“I think I can offer a list of some things to get this started. Some of this relates to research I’ve been doing on a T-Slot sourcebook. The outline order is not that orderly, since I was pulling a lot of things from memory, bookshelves, and loose bookmarks, but it’s a start. I tried to find an order by age or sophistication within sub-categories. Other approaches may be better. I’ve also listed a lot of commercial sources as examples rather than sticking with just open source projects, since there are very few for many areas of technology other than software. ”

Here are the three key open source toolkits already available, at the start of the directory:

*1. RepRap – The first open source fabber, first to self-replicate – http://reprap.org/bin/view/Main/WebHome

*2. Fab@Home – Second open source fabber – http://fabathome.org/wiki/index.php?title=Main_Page

*3. BugLabs Platform – Open Source software based (but not hardware) modular electronics platform for personal gadgets – http://buglabs.net/

Here’s the selection of blogs from the bibliography:

* Make Blog – http://blog.makezine.com/
* Instructibles – http://www.instructables.com/
* Ready Made Blog – http://readymade.com/blogs/rmblog
* Finkbuilt – http://www.finkbuilt.com/blog/
* DIY Life – http://www.diylife.com/
* Fab Prefab – http://www.fabprefab.com/
* BldBlog – http://bldgblog.blogspot.com/
* Apartment Therapy – http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/
* Inhabitat – http://www.inhabitat.com/
* Dezeen – http://www.dezeen.com/
* Design.nl – http://design.nl/
* NotCot – http://www.notcot.org/
* Design Zen – http://designzen.wordpress.com/
* MocoLoco – http://mocoloco.com/
* Treehugger – http://www.treehugger.com/index.php
* Metaefficient – http://www.metaefficient.com/
* Eco-Geek – http://www.ecogeek.org/
* Life @ Arcsanti – http://arcosanti.wordpress.com/
* KurzweilAI.net – http://www.kurzweilai.net/
* Technovelgy – http://www.technovelgy.com/