3D Printing for Development in the Global South The 3D4D Challenge

by Birtchnell, Thomas; Hoyle, William

• ISBN13: 9781137365651
• ISBN10: 113736565X
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2014-10-17
• Publisher: Palgrave Pivot

Summary

Will 3D printers become as commonplace as mobile phones in the megacities or the backwaters of the Global South? Thomas Birtchnell and William Hoyle assess the development potential of this new technique for producing three-dimensional objects, which resembles the way a paper printer produces pages of text. Will 3D printing for development become a key strategy for community action against enduring material poverty? Birtchnell and Hoyle consider this question through a centrepiece case study on the UK charity techfortrade's 3D4D Challenge.

Author Biography

Thomas Birtchnell is Lecturer in the Department of Geography and Sustainable Communities at the University of Wollongong, Australia. Previously he was Research Associate at the Centre for Mobilities Research (CeMoRe), Lancaster University, UK. He is the author of Indovation: Innovation and a Global Knowledge Economy in India (2013).

William Hoyle is the founding CEO of UK charity Techfortrade. Prior to this he spent seven years as chief executive of Charity Technology Trust (CTT), a UK based social enterprise. In 2013 he launched the Ethical Filament Foundation and is currently chair of trustees of Business Launchpad, a London youth enterprise charity.

Table of Contents

Introduction
3DP in the Developing World
Development at the Press of a Button
Disruptive Innovations
The 3DP Ecosystem
The Argument of 3D4D

1. The 3D4D Challenge
Beginnings
Spreading the Word
Building Momentum and Ideas
The Competition
The Final and the Fallout

2. What is 3D Printing?
Wealth Without Money
3D Printing Evangelism
The Next Spinning Jenny
The Next Print Revolution
The 3D4D Goldilocks Zone
Benchmarking 3DP

3. What Does 3D Printing Change?
How the Other Half Makes
The Division of Labour
Global Production Networks
Post-Fordism
Prosumerism
First World Problems

4. What Does 3D Printing Change About Development?
Top-Down Development
The Inclusivity Challenge
Bottom-Up Grassroots Innovation
A 3D4D Wishlist

5. The 3D4D Elements
Scoping 3D4D
Community Printers
Open Repositories
Recycled Materials
3DP Infrastructure

6. 3D4D Indicators and Forerunners
The 3DP 'Go-To-Guy'
Turning Grit into Gold
Demystifying Design
Rabodé: Making it Work
From Landfill to Filament
3DP Dreams
Conclusion