Calling all makers, designers and folk who share open source hardware projects - how have you specified the materials, off-the-shelf parts, components, substrates etc. for your design?
- Do you reference industry standards or use colloquial terms?
- What details do you include in your BoM, such as for sheet material?
- Do you typically include links to suppliers where you can source from, such as links to Amazon etc.?
- What format do you share materials and components details, such as in a .ods spreadsheet?
- Do you use consistent quantity measurements, or vary units depending on the material type? Eg. All metric units or mix and match based on common usage?
As part of my research into materials and components standards and how an open standard may be developed, I’m looking to discover more about the usage and current application of materials specification in projects by makers and stakeholders. If you have a project that uses a range of different materials, such as 3D printer filaments, plywood and fixings, comment below on how you communicate these details in your project. If you’re free for a call, I’d love to speak with you also to get your perspective as a maker.
Feel free to share this post with makers and designers who have with various materials and substrates to their projects and have to communicate those details openly.
Cheers,
Alex