Crowd funding? Use CrowdSupply!

http://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2015/07/founder-of-gnu-bestows-blessing-upon-open-source-crowdfunding-site/

Hmm, I wonder if I could fund an upgrade design project using that.

Jebba: I tried to read the article that you posted, but I couldn’t because I was distracted by how damn sexy Richard Stallman is amirite
christophe-ducamp_cc-by.jpg

Only one way to find out!!

So far they haven’t got back to me. It is kind of a weird one. I’m not trying to sell a product. I’m trying to give away a product but get other people to pay for the hardware required to develop said product if they want to contribute towards it and make it occur faster than it would otherwise. Various different projects I work on, chances are they are going to eventually occur one way or another, but things like the Openrail Y axis project, the main delay on it was funding the parts. It would be nice to have a mechanism where if people wanted to see a particular upgrade happen sooner, they could contribute towards it, without feeling necessarily obligated to do so or anything like that.

I’m planning on working on the following TAZ modification packages in the very near future as funds permit:

  1. Adding filament width, feed, and outage sensors to the TAZ - (Half the parts are here, waiting on funding and availability for the last one)
  2. Adding an openrail Z axis with Belt Driven Z motion and Axis counterweight to a Taz (not even started thinking about which parts are necessary for this one, won’t be until after I get the X and Y openrail pieces finished)
  3. Adding Z probe leveling, but there are plenty of existing projects for that (parts are here, waiting on X openrail installation since that’s what my bracket fits)
  4. Refining the Dual hobbed bolt belt driven extruder of doom (which is top secret, so shhh!)
  5. Y axis structural changes to accommodate a power supply mounted underneath the bed plate
  6. Magnetic side plates and lightweight “pup tent” enclosure thingy off the frame
  7. Other moderately insane tinkering ideas as they occur.

Bummer. Do they have to? It’s not just a webform type thing to get a product on their page? Maybe you need a certain je ne sais quoi to make the cut.

That kinda sounds like… Employment. Right? Your’e not selling anything. Other people (your company) pays for the hardware, b/c they want to develop their product. They are not obligated in an at-will employment arrangement.

Those sound like fun projects. Good luck and god speed.

I have a good job as a Server and Network administrator. It has nothing to do with 3d printing though. Thats just a hobby for me and I fund any projects I put together out of my own pocket. My thought though is it would be neat if there was a way for other people who want the same type of project designed to be able to help speed it along by throwing money at it along with me, if it were a project they were interested in, and if they felt that whoever was designing that project had the skills and likely followthrough ability to get it done. Basically crowdfunding new hardware design capacity to speed up new projects rather than as a source of income. I dunno, maybe its a very fine line distinction.

Yeah, I guess you don’t get to choose what you work on when you are employed by someone else, whereas when It’s a hobby, you call all the shots.

If it is something that we would roll into future versions, we could probably pop for some funds to get parts.

If you see one that will work, feel free to use any of my parts, or propose ideas for parts that don’t exist that you would like to see exist in any TAZ release

ok, i know that they’re very very busy. two things that are very very important:

(1) be absolutely clear about what it is that you want to achieve.

(2) be absolutely 100% confident that you can achieve it.

now, (2) can be in the form of 100% having a working hardware prototype, or it can be in the form of having a 98% completed prototype where you are 100% confident that the remaining 2% can be 100% solved and ready for production.

the reason for having a 100% working hardware prototype is so that you’ve actually gone to the trouble of sourcing and assembling all the parts, at least once. there was some stupid, stupid guys on indiegogo who were ONE HUNDRED PERCENT funded for a head-wearable device… who had never even bothered to source a battery. so when they said “we’re using a high-end Cortex A15 from TI, we need a battery that completely violates the laws of physics” the suppliers had to say “i’m sorry but you’re going to have to tell your customers they will need to strap a small brick to the sides of their heads to support that kind of battery life”.

solve these kinds of things in advance, and crowdsupply will be much more willing to talk to you.

the only other thing i can think of: it really really helps to have a well-established mailing list or forum where there are people who like the idea and are either willing to help promote it or actually back it or both. use them as your sounding-board for the development of the idea before production. because, if they don’t like it, why would they help you to promote it? :slight_smile:

It really a good link you’ve shared here.well done.