Design Sharing Platforms
From Free Knowledge Free Technology Wiki
We refer to online platforms where users share designs of physical objects (hardware). There is a growing number of them and some encourage free hardware, while others help users keep their work non-free and exchange them for money. Some offer various CAD and/or CAM software capabilities or connect users with printing or machining facilities. Some platforms are controlled by one or more companies while others are governed as a commons. These aspects enhance or limit the users' freedoms. In this page we seek to help users choose the platform that aligns best with ethical values and maximises user freedom. Therefore we build a list of the current platforms and indicate their main aspects.
Variables
- Name
- URL
- Slogan
- Ownership: private, commons
- Business model: membership, freemium services,
- Platform software: Name & URL
- Platform software license
- Technical features:
- Allowed CAD formats: STL, Gcode, ...
- online rendering
- social: enables users to become friends/followers/contacts: yes/no
- social: allow users to create groups/teams: yes/no
- version history: yes/no
- Encourages sharing:
- Default license:
- Most used license:
- Donate to contributors
- added value:
- machining services: 3D print, lasercut, CNC, ...
- marketplace
- Comments
Platforms
| Online platforms for sharing designs | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Slogan | Ownership | Bus. model | Software | Software license | Technical features | Encourage sharing | Added value | Comments | ||||||||
| formats | rendering | version history | friending | other features | default license | most used license | donations to users | reputation features | machining service | market place | |||||||
| Ohanda | 4x Freedoms = Unlimited & Unconditional | Informal Community | Voluntary/Donations | Unknown | - | HTML | no | no | no | no | "4 Freedoms" | - | no | producer page | no | no | trademark protection |
| Shapeways | Shop Design Sell | Company: Shapeways BV | Charges for 3D printing | Unknown | Proprietary | STL, OBJ, X3D, DAE, Collada or VRML97/2 (WRL)[1] | no | follow | no sharing | proprietary | - | Twitter, FB | Many materials | Users can have their shop | Not focused at sharing designs but selling products | ||
| Thingiverse | Digital Designs for Physical Objects | MakerBot Industries, LLC | Sell MakerBot printers | Unknown | Unknown | stl, obj, thing, scad, amf, dae, 3ds, x3d, blend, ply, dxf, ai, svg, cdr, ps, eps, epsi, sch, brd | yes | no | follow | collections, customizer, apps, API | CC BY-SA | no | user profile, likes, made one, watch, remix | - | - | Shout out QR tag | |
| Openbuilds | Dream it - Build it - Share it | OpenBuilds Part Store | Margins on parts sales | Unknown | Unknown | SketchUp, gCode, STL, dwg, obj, jpg, doc, , etc | No | No | follow | forums | CC BY | no | Ratings, likes, views, user profile | Share a part | OpenBuilds Store incl FairShare program | ||
| Ponoko | |||||||||||||||||
| Youmagine Ponoko | |||||||||||||||||
| Open Hardware Repository | |||||||||||||||||
| Threeding | |||||||||||||||||
To be added:
