3D printing is amazing but hasn’t fulfilled its potential. We keep talking about a sustainable circular economy (reduce, repair, recycle) but we’re stuck in a throwaway, extractive economy fueled by perpetual growth. Our current ways are a smokescreen that hide the real cost e.g. landfill, wasted resources, exploitation of poor countries, etc. This creates a destructive race to the bottom where nothing matters but price.

So, when a little tab breaks off your big plastic thing, there’s no economy in fixing it, only throwing it away and getting a new one.What a waste!

We call the community Everything is Broken after the Bob Dylan song.

Intro – “Broken lines, broken strings, Broken threads, broken springs

Broken idols, broken heads People sleeping in broken beds

Ain’t no use jiving Ain’t no use joking Everything is broken “

Verse 1 –“Broken bottles, broken plates Broken switches, broken gates. Broken dishes, broken parts, Streets are filled with broken hearts. Broken words never meant to be spoken. Everything is broken“

“Seem like every time you stop and turn around, Something else just hit the ground”

Verse 2 – “Broken cutters, broken saws. Broken buckles, broken laws. Broken bodies, broken bones, Broken voices on broken phones. Take a deep breath, feel like you’re choking, Everything is broken”

So… It’s about systematizing production of 3D replacement parts, which so far has been haphazard and incomplete. Replacement parts exist for some things but not others AND they are hard to find – never mind matching them to your broken item.

Its about… hyper-localizing manufacturing to increase efficiency, personalization, and decreasing carbon footprints.

Its about… bringing craftsmanship back to the neighborhood.

The Everything is Broken catalog will put specs and measurements first with online tools to capture your needs and either match it to a stock part or produce a semi-custom product.

Customers can order either the finished product or a CAD drawing to print themselves. Customers can be consumers, or repair shops.

Initially, the concept was to appeal to our ideals (be less wasteful and more environmentally conscious), interest (3D printing is cool), and effectiveness (the attention to specs saves you time) more than cost. But in many cases now, the economics have shifted in favor of repairing, as external factors emerge from under a rug – e.g. higher taxes for disposal, environmental fees, pushback from developing countries, etc.