Equal Opportunity Manufacturing

1. Equal Opportunity Manufacturing Kamau Gachigi, Ph.D. Lecturer Department of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering University of Nairobi

2. OUTLINE • Current Mass Production Manufacturing Practice • Rapid Prototyping • Fab Labs: • Capabilities • Structure • Current status • Business Incubation – IDEA PLATFORM • The Future? • Printable electronics • DNA computing • ….?

3. CNC Machining • Computer Numerical Controlled machining • Refers specifically to the control of a machine for fabrication of materials into shapes using instructions executed via a computer programme called G-code

4. Rapid Prototyping using CNC machines Three basic types: • Subtractive • Additive • Equality

5. Rapid Prototyping: Subtractive • SUBTRACTION: How can you make a sculpture of a giraffe from a block of wood? Chip away everything that doesn’t look like a giraffe. • Advantages - speed

6. Rapid Prototyping: Subtractive • Example: Milling machines from Roland DG

7. Rapid Prototyping - Additive • ADDITION: Conversely, one can create a sculpture of the giraffe using clay by adding anatomically-accurate bits of clays to other anatomically-accurate bits of clays, producing an anatomically-accurate whole. • Advantages: • Intricate internal detail

8. Rapid Prototyping: Additive • Virtual designs created using CAD • Transforms them into cross sections, • Creates each cross section in physical space, one after the next until the model is finished. • WYSIWYG • LIMITATION: S-L-….O-W

9. Rapid Prototyping: Additive

10. Mass Production vs Rapid Prototyping • Additive processes are very slow – hours to days per item • Subtractive processes can achieve economically viable times

11. MIT’s Fab Labs • Fab Labs – Fabrication Laboratories or even “fabulous” laboratories • Born out of class: “How to Make (Almost) Anything”. Neil Gershenfeld, MIT Media Lab • Collection of RP machines with high capabilities

12. MIT’s Fab Labs • The Tower System - Bakhtiar Mikhak and the Grass Roots Invention Group at the MIT Media Lab

13. The MIT Tower System It is used for: • 2D and 3D mechanical design and modeling, • simulations, • data analysis, • design of various electronic and computational devices, • designing and laying out printed circuit boards, • programming, • interfacing with the fabrication tools, • internet access for communication and information retrieval purposes, and • documentation.

14. MIT’s Fab Labs – products? • bicycle • proximity warning device • diary security device • Scream absorber • milk tester, • diesel engine timing device • …

15. MIT’s Fab Labs – Status? Lyngen Alps, Norway Cartago, Costa Rica Pabal, India Boston, USA Takoradi, Ghana Pretoria, S. Africa Soshanguve, S. Afric

16. Fab Labs

17. MIT’s Fab Labs – Potential? • Ultimately, these machines can replicate themselves.

18. MIT’s Fab Labs – Limitations? • Maximising potential – adequate understanding of and training on equipment • Materials from which to make things

19. IDEA PLATFORMInnovative Development for Emerging Africa A local business incubator OBJECTIVES • People based – people targeted • Technology for utility • Understanding stuff – nuts and bolts to the ephemeral

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22. Business Incubation • Is an economic development organization designed to accelerate the growth and success of entrepreneurial companies through an array of business support resources and services that could include physical space, capital, coaching, common services, and networking connections.

23. Business Incubation in Kenya • JKUAT’s Center for Business Innovation (JKUAT-CBI), which has received US$100,000 seed money from InfoDev • ICTpark.com Incubator • Kenya Country Business Incubator (KeKoBI) Secretariat, and • the Africa Region Business Incubator Association, formed in Pretoria, South Africa in April 2005. • University of Nairobi, Back-office Business (BoB) - School of Computing and Informatics: intended for offsite delivery of a range of non-core service functions to companies worldwide. It is currently being established. • Centurion Systems

24. IDEA PLATFORM • Fab Lab set up – access by students • Ideas promoted into IDEA PLATFORM • Provide incubatees with assistance with: • ethnographic surveys • Business plan writing • Legal issues • tech development • Housing • Admin assistance • Source funding – FFF (family, friends and fools), VC, angel funds, micro-credit, banks, govt…. • IDEA PLATFORM will partner with incubatees so as to ensure sustainability of incubator

25. revenue Incubation Period Maturity Asset-based Financing Private Investors Venture Capital IPO, Acquisition Rapid growth and ramp-up Idea Start selling Venture Capital Start mfg. & selling Prototype R&D Private Investors Development Funds, Angels time

26. IDEA PLATFORM Selection process: • Number of people benefiting • Novelty • Potential for commercial success • Viability

27. IDEA PLATFORM– Some ideas already on-board • Manufacture of Light Aircraft • Microwave Processing of Minerals and Materials • Mobile Phone Charging • Wireless Device Programming

28. IDEA PLATFORM– Some ideas already on-board • 2D to 3D Imaging • A Simple Robot

29. Future Directions • Energy • Transport • Communications • Teaching • Information • M-Banking • Business • Entertainment

30. Energy • Generating energy on large scale • Oil& gas industry in Kenya? • Coal in Kitui? • Generating energy on small scale - Mobile energy • Fuel cells • Batteries

31. Fuel Cells • Adding hydrogen to atmospheric oxygen to make water and release energy

32. Batteries • Nickel metal hydride • Li batteries • New electrode materials • Nanotube batteries?

33. Human Energy?

34. Some Prototypes from MIT

35. Transport • Basic Utility Vehicle (BUV) • UoN has collaborating with Penn State and Moi University

36. BUV – Basic Utility Vehicle From this … to this!

37. Towards Smaller Mass

38. Trains • More rails - steel • Electric trains • Maglev train

39. Future of personal transport?The Airscooter