Both Allan at Thingiverse and the team at Makerbot have been blogging most prolifically and interestingly on all things open design, including:

1. What the implications are for standards – will we be able to update mechanical standards like snapfits and screwcaps with simply a software update or patch?

2. Re-using CNC or laser cut offcuts – Get your screenprinter pal round for a drink and subtly direct him towards those annoyingly surplus squares of technoply.

Makerbot's offcut screenprints. Image via Makerbot's Flickrstream

Now, I know what you’re saying: “I’m not cool enough to be friends with a screenprinter, or indeed someone who does screenprinting!”. Well, maybe you could work some patterns or artwork into the waste areas of your lasercutting file as a starter, using a Creative Commons image search as a starter, or perhaps using Context Free you could make variable design for each batch..

3. The natural link between personal fabrication and Long Tail economics:

“The argument that personal fabrication cannot compete with big production hinges on the notion that most people don’t need low-volume objects … But really, practically everyone does.” blogs Allan Ecker

I don’t think the significance of this idea can be under emphasised: Design is both a personal and subjective thing, and an objective thing. Personal fabrication serves our desire for the perfect products for us as individuals, and I don’t mean simply that it allows us to design our own objects: It opens up markets for designers to design for the small, niche areas, the long tails. And together with open design, we can share the objective elements of a design, such as the standard snap fits for example. We can have our (cup)cake and eat it!

Alan at Thingiverse is particularly adept at this kind of divergent thinking, categorising such posts under the title Future Watch, including musings on the potential of 3D printed Poly-lactic Acid for implantable devices. Loving it.