The booklet supplements The Makers Gigamap developed during our course project for systems design at National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad.
The maker booklet.
The booklet supplements The Makers Gigamap developed during our course project for systems design at National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad.
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When we started we said that systems are complex is the biggest understatement. We thought that how complex they can be!
But once we started compiling our experiences, learning and ideas we came to know that mapping of these things could be complex and what all things are connected. The final outcome of all the mapping we did is called "The Makers Gigamap". It maps the intention behind making, the impact of the maker movement, the stakeholders involved, what could be some of the models which could be adopted to bring community and resources together. There are some questions which we pondered upon. What could be the future of Making in India? What all will we make? Can fabrication be done on the go? The mapping might not be over yet. It will evolve and transcend into something else in the coming years. We created a route map which we followed to source and make stuff. Some of the detailed routes are:
Then we went to Gandhi Road to buy components like LED and other electrical components. Our last stop was Fablab in CEPT where we lasercut them.
Then we went to Gheekanta to get leather. Next stop was Roopkala to buy supplies like mill board, needle, thread, glue etc. We set up the manufacturing facility in Product Design Studio, NID. You can use our map to find other resources and facilities and create your own route map for things you want to make. When we think and search on maker culture, we come across open source, maker faire, arduino etc. These things are only the tip of the iceberg which have been promoted and caught attention of people. But when you think about maker culture the impact runs deeper. It has impacts in areas like education, society and economy. We tried to come up with some of the impacts and area of interventions within these areas. Some of these interventions are connected to each other and some might later grow and overlap others.
The points that triggered us to choose the topic of Propagation of Maker Culture in India.
- Consumerism to Constructivism - Mindset towards products - Changing Business Models - Decreased Socialization - No more hand me downs They say , "A mans greed knows no end " , and its precisely this truth that hurls us towards ever increasing consumerism. With increase in standards of living this greed is further drilled deeper into our lives. We no longer wish to give our kids toys used by their older siblings. A phone with cracked screen is rendered useless and disposed off without a second thought. Buy the latest model. Use and throw is the mantra that mass producing corporations are driving us by. Midst this chaos of "using" we have lost our touch with our innate longing to "create". Wahid Luhar or Chacha is a magician who works with sheet metal. He has been working with his father since he was a teenager. He is one of the most talented fabricator in ahmedabad. He is not one of those fabricators who have access to all the fancy fabrication equipment, he doesn't even have an english wheel. He does all the work with his hands and a hammer. People come to him from other states to get there fabrication work done.
When you go to his shop you'll see a lot of bare bikes on which he is working simultaneously. When we went to his shop he welcomed us so nicely and arranged some chairs for us to sit. He was working on a Royal Enfield Thunderbird at that time. Though he was busy in work, he would answer whatever we were asking. Then after sometime he stopped working on the bike and started showing us some one off parts which he had made which no one else would put hands on. He told us to visit his shop any time we wish to and learn whatever we can from him. The document contains a list of tools and consumables required for setting up a makerspace in a school, college or a community. We have put the tools according to the priority level for people who'll be using the makerspace. These tools and consumables are just a list which we felt would be nice to start a space. Anything can be added or dropped from the list. You can download the file as well from the link provided under.
Ajay Khandre is a Mechanical Engineer who left this job and is pursuing his passion of bike building. He is building his dream machine using Royal Enfield Thuderbird. Though he has no prior experience in bike building, his enthusiasm is unmatched. Being a mechanical engineer he is comfortable with CAD softwares. He makes 3D parts in Solidworks to see how they look and then he gets those 3D renders to Wahid Chacha who in turn brings them to life using metal.
Ajay has been building this bike for the past one year and has spent roughly around 2 lakh on till now. The bike is 70% done, so we couldn’t take a picture of work in progress. All we can tell about the bike is that it’s a chopper with single side swing arm custom made by Wahid Chacha. Salim Bhai as he is called by people around, has been working on bikes for the past 30 years. His shop is a motorbike spare part heaven. You ask for any part and you'll get it.
He has parts ranging from engines to crankshaft, front fender to swingarms, fuel tank to headlight. If one plans to build a bike then Salim bhai can help you with getting all the parts. You can buy a standalone engine or the whole bike. The time we visited him he had a Bajaj Puslar 220 engine and chassis, some Yamaha Fz-16 engines. We intend to build one bike in holidays with Salim bhais' help. Carcasses of ancient dilapidated automobiles line the facades of these two storey shops , in a tight , surrealy knitted pattern of metal , grease , some plastic and more metal.
The entire basti almost seems like a transformers dream catcher. The shops have any organ that your car , or bike , or earth-mover would need. The entire place reeks of metal and grease and when you look at the creased and soiled hands of the workers , you know they hold a lifetime of experience and expertise in them along with the grease. If you are looking to make your own Mecha this is the place to be. Let the Mecha rise. |
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