# Open Source Manufacturing, Web APIs, and 3-D Printing

**Author:** kinlane  
**Canonical:** https://apievangelist.com/2011/04/11/open-source-manufacturing-web-apis-and-3d-printing/

I just finished reading, [Will 3-D Printing End Mass Manufacturing](http://mashable.com/2011/04/10/3d-printing-pics/ "Will 3-D Printing End Mass Manufacturing"), on Mashable.

I also had a link to an [open source manufacturing](http://p2pfoundation.net/Open_Source_Manufacturing_Tools "open source manufacturing") site bookmarked from a couple months ago.

And of course I live and breathe [Web APIs](http://apievangelist.com/ "Web APIs") on a daily basis.

So after reading all this, my mind starts thinking about open source manufacturing processes bundled with open web APIs, and the future of 3-D printing and / or manufacturing.

*   **[Open Source Manufacturing](http://p2pfoundation.net/Open_Source_Manufacturing_Tools "Open Source Manufacturing")** - Open source manufacturing lets you download hardware, blue-prints, and instructions for any potential manufacturing process.
*   **[Web-APIs](http://apievangelist.com "Web APIs")** - An interface that allows application developers to build on top of data or another application.
*   **[3-D Printing](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/3D_printing "3-D Printing")** -3D printing is a form of additive manufacturing technology where a three dimensional object is created by laying down successive layers of material.

When you start thinking of this in terms of local, cottage style manufacturing, I can see lots ofpossibilities.

Imagine, a group of people in a small town, research a need for a component or product. Buy a 3-D Printer, register it with a open API manufacturing network (say based on [Google Cloud Print](http://code.google.com/apis/cloudprint/docs/proxyinterfaces.html "Google Cloud Print")). Now they can take orders in real-time over the Internet.

An open source manufacturing network that uses web APIs to receive jobs in real-time and builds products using 3-D printers.