3D Printing Network - effort to combine 3D printer and printing development [supported by Free Software Foundation Europe]

[Jarkko Moilanen]

Hi,

A new effort to unite scattered 3D printing development under one
brand has been established under the wings of Free Software Foundation
Europe.

The 3D Printing Network (3DPN) is a neutral, non-partisan, public
network of 3D printing professionals facilitated by FSFE. 3DPN is an
open source driven network, which enables co-operation among multiple
companies and a volunteer community. One goal is to develop future 3D
printing related solutions such as a 3D Printing management platform.

3DPN aims to engage all existing 3D printer manufacturers and software
developers in the project, both open and closed source, and gather the
broad 3D printing open source community under one brand.

The network will reside within the Free Software Foundation Europe and
will be governed by a Technical Steering Group. The Technical Steering
Group is the primary decision-making body for the open source project,
with a focus on platform development and delivery, along with the
formation of working groups to support different 3D manufacturing
devices and software.

PURPOSE

The 3D Printing Network has been formed to guide the industry role of
3D printing, including gathering of requirements, identification and
facilitation of service models, and overall industry marketing and
education. The platform will provide a robust and flexible environment
to utilize 3D printing in variable environments and to fit different
needs such as product development and prototyping, unique model
manufacturing, and other industries. The platform integrates several
different 3D printers from various vendors.

JOIN THE NETWORK

Persons wishing to join the The 3D Printing Network are encouraged to
subscribe to the network mailing list (see below) and participate in
local network
meet-ups and other activities. Company participation is also welcome
and further discussion regarding membership should be done with the
coordinator.

- Join mailing list here: https://lists.fsfe.org/mailman/listinfo/3d-printing
- For more instant discussion try IRC channel: #3d-printing (freenode)

FUTURE?
Rest is up to the community. The more activity we have, the more
credibility we have, the more support we get. The roadmap for future
is not carved in stone. There are some major items that are intended
to become real in near future. Here’ a few of those:

- Intention is to invite all major players in 3D printing to
participate in the network (such as printing service providers,
printer manufacturers, software companies).
- Invite all existing open source communities working around 3D
printing to participate.
- Start local groups around the world. They can start for example
inside existing groups and networks and ‘grow up’ later.
- Organize international 2-day conference around Jan/Feb 2013.
- The next thing to do is have discussion in mailing list about what
we do, how we do it and when.

I have written something about the future project in my blog:

- http://blog.ossoil.com/2012/04/26/3d-printing-network-bringing-people-together/
(pretty much the same as in this message)
- http://blog.ossoil.com/2011/12/02/3d-cups-printer-job-management-needed/
- http://blog.ossoil.com/2012/04/12/growing-3d-printing-ecosystem/

Current homepage: http://wiki.fsfe.org/3d-printing

Feel free to spread the word around,

Cheers,

3DPN Coordinator,
Jarkko Moilanen
Email: jarkko(at)fsfe.org