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Tech-inzichten door Niek de Greef. Reflecties op technologie, software development en de impact van digitale innovaties op cultuur en maatschappij.

How Fablabs Revolutionize Personal Manufacturing

Bericht gepubliceerd op:07/12/2024

Based on “How to make (almost) everything” by Neil Gershenfeld (MIT).

I came across the article “How to make (almost) everything” via waag.org, written by MIT professor Neil Gershenfeld. Gershenfeld is the originator of the Fablab concept.

From Personal Computing to Personal Manufacturing
Gershenfeld draws a parallel with the computer industry. First, there were large, expensive mainframes for organizations. The rise of the personal computer brought computing power to individuals. A similar shift is now occurring with manufacturing.

New technologies enable additive manufacturing, such as 3D printing. Here, material is added layer by layer, rather than subtracted as in milling. These machines have become more affordable. Fablabs, global networks of makerspaces, make them accessible as a shared platform.

From Mass Production to Production for One
This changes a fundamental principle. Previously, mass production was necessary to keep costs low. Now, production for a market of one is possible. Individuals can make products they would otherwise buy, customize them to their own needs, or have them produced locally. This shift from consumer to maker is something I’ve also explored in my hands-on project to repair a classic Sony Walkman.”

Community, Open Source, and Challenges
Gershenfeld also discusses the next phase: digital assemblers at the nano-scale. Furthermore, he points to potential dangers, such as the fabrication of weapons and issues with intellectual property.

His approach to the latter is open source. In Fablabs, as in software, open source has become the norm. Communities, supported by digital communication, can thus respond to local demand. Gershenfeld emphasizes the innovation potential: communities that question existing assumptions drive innovation.

Conclusion
The development of Fablabs turns an existing logic on its head. It makes advanced manufacturing accessible and enables communities to innovate locally. The question of how to deal with the risks of the technology remains complex, as with much technological progress.

Inside a Fablab at Waag in Amsterdam showing various 3D printers and tools for personal manufacturing — Fablab at Waag, Amsterdam

The article (paywalled).

https://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/2012-09-27/how-make-almost-anything

The article (non-paywalled)

http://www.cba.mit.edu/docs/papers/12.09.FA.pdf

Reviving a Classic: Repairing the Sony WM-EX112 Walkman for Mixtapes

Bericht gepubliceerd op:28/11/2024

When I stumbled upon a broken Sony WM EX112 Walkman, I couldn’t resist bringing it back to life. In a world where everything is disposable, repairing vintage tech feels like a small act of rebellion. Here’s how I fixed my Walkman and why you might want to try it too.

Cassettes are back

Cassettes are back on the scene. Analog is in. I want to make mixtapes again, after Austin Kleon’s example.

My brother and I used to spend hours crafting mixtapes of our favorite radio pop shows. We would painstakingly hit record and pause to avoid the DJ’s chatter, creating our own uninterrupted music experience.

I found a Sony Walkman WM EX112 for a bargain. I couldn’t wait to use it again.

Repairing the walkman

The spindle didn’t run. That meant the drive belt was probably stretched or decayed. So I looked for a replacement belt on the Internet. To my surprise, you can find a belt for almost any old cassette player. I found mine on fixyouraudio.com. I believe they are based in the Czech Republic; anyway, the belt will arrive within 2 days.

Not sure if it was luck as well to very quickly find a real service manual for this Sony Walkman. This was a rare gem in a world where everything is designed to be replaced, not repaired. By the way, if you ever retrieved such an old manual, save it immediately in your archive, an archive folder, or a tool like Evernote. You never know if this website will still exist the next time you need the manual.

Replacement belt for Sony WM-EX112 from FixYourAudio

Opening the walkman for repair is a small challenge. There are no screws, unfortunately, but you have to open some clips. That could be more convenient. This video explains how to do it. In the service manual are more details. First, press the clips under the lid with a screwdriver so that the top of the plastic case comes loose. Then, carefully follow the numbering and open the other clips in circles. Carefully, although it requires a fair amount of force.

Opening the Sony WM-EX112 Walkman for belt replacement

Once you have it open, replacing the string is a straightforward process. You’ll notice the string wrapped around the spindle. Carefully remove the old string. Then, take the new string and wrap it around the spindle in the same way as the old one. If the string has popped off, cleaning the wheels from the rubber cake is a good idea. In my case, they were still clean, and the problem was just that the string had become very limp.

Fixyouraudio includes a nice checklist for cassette-repair enthusiasts.

Handy Kindle annotations tool to avoid Amazon’s notes trap

Bericht gepubliceerd op:27/10/2024

I read a lot on my Kindle and like to make highlights and notes while reading. You can read your annotations at https://read.amazon.com. However, Amazon only synchronizes the annotations for the books you have purchased through Amazon. I am unsure whether that is because of copyright issues or because Amazon does not want to help you with books purchased elsewhere. Both are equally probable. But annoying it is. (Even more so because I think Amazon is an unsympathetic company, and I prefer to use their offerings as little as possible. For stories about Amazon practices, read Cory Doctorow’s story, but a quick search on the internet will surface many more typical monopolist practices.)

Fortunately, the annotations are stored locally on the Kindle in a file called My Clippings.txt. When you connect the Kindle to your computer, you can browse the file structure on the Kindle and find this file.

I created a small Python program to read this file’s somewhat cryptic format and convert it to a human-readable format. You can find it in a Gitlab repository here. The program currently requires some computer and Python literacy. When time allows, I will make it more user-friendly.