Remember last month when Rohan was coming up with new 3-D printed fin box bases you could build your own fin on…?
Well now someone’s selling his idea for $25 each.
Not sure how to view this, but it doesn’t seem like such a bad thing to me, at first glance. The price is not unreasonable in comparison with the cost of having them printed, is it? It give an option to make an offer, so sounds like there is a bit of flexibility on price. And it may be worthwhile for someone without access to a 3d printer, so this might be a good thing for those people.
Rohan didn’t specifically direct or request that the design not be used in any commercial way, did he? Just asking 'cause I don’t recall. I think he should be proud, he made a good design, its getting out there to the surfing world in general now, this will likely become a staple for do it yourselfers in the surfing world. How does Rohan feel about it?
Looks to me like a small time operator, just making a few and selling them for a small profit, different than if it were a big corporation trying to claim ownership. Or like guys who get ideas or refine ideas on swaylocks, then patent them and threaten anyone who uses the information they got freely.
http://www.swaylocks.com/forums/universal-fin-system?page=3
http://www.swaylocks.com/forums/build-your-own-fin-3d-printable-single-fin-base
It is funny for me to see an idea that I may have proposed first and stylishly drawn by Rohan on Ebay from a third party. What does Rohan think?
I am glad the community thinks the idea has merit, glad to give a little back after all the advice and tradecraft people have shared here.
I might have to sell the wooden/FR4 ones for like 18$ and totally undercut this guy…kidding…actually I need some people to try the wooden/FR4 ones to fully prove them out. Send me a PM if interested.
-J
I’ve mailed Rohan to find out what he knows but it might have been nice to at least contact Rohan first or acknowledge that they are his intellectual property.
I’m sure Rohan will be cool with it but a nod to the creator would be nice while this guy is making a dollar out of it.
I’m happy for anyone to take any of the designs and use them as they want. If someone can make a dollar out of it, that’s fine by me. Although I doubt that anyone will be retiring from the proceeds any time soon. As J said, these designs were a bit of a collaborative effort anyway.
Rohan
post anything on the internet and it become free game
especially good ideas…
The guy seems to be keen to sell a good idea that he found on the net so good luck to his business.
Here’s some other 3-D printed surf products from thingiverse.
If you want to make heaps of money in the surfboard game you need to sell blanks…thousands of them.
Buying half of Brookvale from the 1960’s onwards helps too.
What seems to have occurred here, is exactly the reason why I’ve not yet revealed what is referred to as my ‘‘secret fin foil.’’ Perhaps, some day.
When I posted these designs on “thingiverse” I was fully prepared for them to be taken and used by anyone for whatever purpose they wanted - personal or business.
I don’t want any money for their use or claim any intellectual property rights. They are owned by the public domain now as far as I’m concerned and am happy for this to be the case.
Cheers
Rohan
Around two or more years ago, I saw a similar device, at Bird’s Surf Shed. It would accept FCS fins, and fit the Fins Unlimited box. When I decided to buy one, some time later, I was told they were discontinued. Speculation was, that it cut into FCS plug sales. Or it was believed that it would. I think one could easily be made by laminating some G-10 panel stock, or fiberglass panel stock together. Drill a few holes, tap in some threads for grub screws, and you’d be in business.
"When I posted these designs on “thingiverse” I was fully prepared for them to be taken and used by anyone for whatever purpose they wanted - personal or business.
I don’t want any money for their use or claim any intellectual property rights. They are owned by the public domain now as far as I’m concerned and am happy for this to be the case."
I’m glad that’s your outlook on it. If these had been made to “make a buck on” they likely would’ve never seen the light of day. It’s a different mindset that is hard to grasp sometimes, but makes a lot of cool products happen that otherwise would’ve never seen the light of day.
I see a lot of people on here get so attached to the value of their “ideas” that they never actually follow through with them or build them and put them out there. Ideas are worthless, no one buys ideas. Execution matters. Build it, refine it, ride it. Prove it works, only then does that “idea” actually have any value.
@RDM,
That is the correct reaction!
After all, isn’t this like what all other professional swaylocks members are doing? Using ideas from swaylocks in their products.
This is what swaylocks and other open-source sharing platforms are about, sometimes you give, other times you take.
Of course you can always put a license on you design (choose one here: https://creativecommons.org/choose/) , with one of these you can force the copycat to slightly modify your product before selling (at least if he lives in the western world).
**Edit: **Some licenses can force the seller to mention your name if they make a copy or adapt the design. You would be surprised about how willing chinese manufacturers are to do this if you tell them that it is ok to copy it, but that they should mention your name.
Okay I’m gonna break this entire thing down to one simple lesson here:
If you come up with something new and potentionally revolutionary, and want to post it on the internet, file a patent/trademark first… Putting things unprotected on the internet is like hanging a sign on your front door that says “Door unlocked, nobody home, HDTV inside” - you’re just asking to have it stolen
unless you want to share your idea… in which case, good on you! Just make sure you still patent the design, even if you want to make it open-source… that way you can keep another company from patenting your design, making money off it and preventing others from using it as you originally intended - you just get an open source license instead of a traditional patent
When 3D printings potential is fully realised in the years to come and the technology becomes all pervasive, I think that the holders of patented designs might be in for a bit of a shock.
They may be able to stop other commercial businesses from profiting from their ideas and designs, but preventing individuals from copying and printing these designs for their own personal use, I’m guessing, will be nigh on impossible.
Oh my gosh!
He’s gonna make a Crap-load of money with those.
Not.
We all know that there is maybe a couple dozen fin makers out there.
World-wide.
Most of them are here on Swaylocks.
I can’t wait to watch some rookies fin snap off the base and watch him cry as his fin he spent so much time building and posting pictures of sink to the bottom of the ocean.
Good times.
3D will become a game changer beyond anything before it
whatever exisists can and will be copied…and cheaply
the current 3D world market is monetized at around 4 Billion dollars, and is expected to double in several more years, then triple in two, then…
it’s going to shake up the money tree like nothing before it
no need to maintain manufacturing offshore where the labor is cheap
because the current labor requirements to manufacturer will evaporate
skeptics say yea, right, sure…
well, pull that smart phone out of your pocket
did you have one 10 years ago? did you think you would now?
just wait