Written by Join us for a latest GIG community Call exploring how open hardware designs can be connected to the people and places that can actually make them. Discover how open standards and distributed manufacturing infrastructure can strengthen local production ecosystems, humanitarian response, and community resilience.
GIG is pleased to welcome back Nathan Parker, a long-time GIG member reconnecting with the community to share the latest developments from Open Hardware Manager (OHM), a project he has been developing over the last few years.
Details:
Wednesday, 22 July 2026, 17:00 CEST
About Open Hardware Manager (OHM):
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the open hardware community showed how distributed makerspaces, fab labs, and local workshops could respond rapidly when global supply chains failed. Open designs for face shields, ventilator components, and medical equipment were shared around the world, but connecting those designs with the people and places that could actually manufacture them remained a major challenge.
OHM was developed to address exactly this problem. Built on the Internet of Production Alliance’s OpenKnowHow (OKH) and OpenKnowWhere (OKW) standards, OHM helps match open hardware designs with real manufacturing capabilities. It can identify suitable production facilities, generate practical manufacturing plans, support repair and remanufacturing workflows, and operate even in low-connectivity, crisis-response environments. Explore the project and platform on GitHub.
What we’ll explore:
- An introduction to Open Hardware Manager and the challenges it addresses
- Practical demonstrations of how OHM connects designs with manufacturing capabilities
- Open discussion on distributed manufacturing, humanitarian response, and open hardware ecosystems
- The practical challenges of scaling open hardware, from documenting designs to mobilising local production networks
Whether you work with open hardware, makerspaces, humanitarian innovation, distributed manufacturing, or are simply curious about how communities can build more resilient production networks, you are very welcome to join.
Join us to be part of this conversation!
