Open collaborative design/Intro

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Open collaborative design involves applying the highly successful free and open-source software methodology to the design of machines and systems in the physical world.

The designs are licensed using a principle called copyleft that makes them freely available for anyone else use or build upon and any derivations also inherit the copyleft license effectively meaning the design is gifted to humanity. New generations of free and open-source CAD programs will allow people to easily build designs from scratch, or choose from vast libraries of previously created components, assemblies or complete artefacts and evolve them further or customise them for their own use.

These design principles can apply to the simplest things that can be made by individuals and groups, all the way up to large-scale and complex systems of national and global infrastructure. Because the designs are not closed and proprietary people will be encouraged to contribute knowing their involvement not only benefits themselves but anyone else who chooses to use the results of their efforts.

There will be many high speed methods to then have the design created physically ranging from getting your own hands dirty in addition to using off-the-shelf components to having the CAD files sent to rapid prototyping and CNC machines or if enough people with shared parts get together they could be made by contract manufacturing companies.

The open design world will be like an internet for physical objects.

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