Open Labware: 3-D Printing Your Own Lab Equipment

The introduction of affordable, consumer-oriented 3-D printers is a milestone in the current “maker movement,” which has been heralded as the next industrial revolution. Combined with free and open sharing of detailed design blueprints and accessible development tools, rapid prototypes of complex products can now be assembled in one’s own garage—a game-changer reminiscent of the early days of personal computing. At the same time, 3-D printing has also allowed the scientific and engineering community to build the “little things” that help a lab get up and running much faster and easier than ever before.

Clearly, the use and design of Open Labware designs can be a powerful ingredient to foster scientific research, education, and public science engagement. Their evolution spans several disciplines, from computer sciences and mechanical engineering to electronics and biology—thus connecting experts and the wider public across fields and sparking creativity in people of all ages. Their low cost, adaptability and robustness renders designs suitable for a broad range of applications in both teaching and research. Below we present some suggestions for policy implementations to optimize available possibilities.

1. Integrate more aspects of design and use of Open Labware into traditional science curricula, ideally at an early age.
2. Establish more hands-on training courses in basic hardware design and programming skills for established scientists and educators.
3. Establish infrastructural support to afford more students and educators easy and direct access to 3-D printing and related technologies. With 3-D printers starting at a few hundred dollars and their price steadily falling, schools and university departments should not be barred from investing in their own model because of economic reasons.
4. Provide incentives for companies to invest in an open model of product design. This move promises to spark a new generation of open companies in more direct dialogue with the end user, towards better, individually tailored, and more affordable product design.