RIGHT TO REPAIR
A big fight is happening world-wide to push governments to ensure people can repair the products they own.
“The right to repair refers to proposed government legislation to forbid manufacturers from imposing barriers that deny consumers the ability to repair and modify their own consumer products.” | Wikipedia
This is happening because of:
- Planned Obsolescence: companies are purposely building their products to break faster, so you have to pay to replace them sooner.
- Unfixable Products: some products will have their components soldered, glued, or riveted, to stop people from being able to repair.
- Brand-Specific Parts: These parts may cost more than buying a new product. As well as that, some companies refuse to let independent repair technicians purchase their parts to try and force costumers to only use the product company for repairs.
- Restrictive Programing. For these, the programs refuse to let you fix your own products (a large example of this happens to farm equipment, where farmers have to hack their own equipment if they want to repair on their own).
More Info:
REPAIR CAFES
Repair cafes are typically community-run events where volunteers gather to fix the broken items of strangers for free. My town started doing it a long time ago, and it was so popular that it now happens several times a year.
People bring in stand mixers, vacuums, computers, items that need sewing repairs, and more. Often, the person is very willing to explain the repairs as they do them.
In other places, repair cafes have become more permanent. For example, in Austria, the government started paying those who repair.
Repair cafes not only save people money, but they also can greatly reduce the amount of waste produced by saving those repaired items from the landfill.
More Info on Repair Cafes:
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It would be great to have a list of these in the states. It’s so backwards here.
I found this map, but there ain’t many of them that side of the pond.
Or like an osm-based map that shows them then you could easily take it international
It always blows my mind that we’re such a car centric hellhole but when I was in college living in an apartment I’d have to sneak to work on my car because there wasn’t any DIY garages and it was against lease terms to work on cars on the property.
I’d have to wait until 5/6 at night right before it got dark and rush to change my oil or brakes before it got too dark to see.
These days I give my younger coworkers the pin and 24/7 access to my garages if they want to work on their cars or any projects really.
You are a rare breed, the world needs more people like you.
It looks like there are some! https://www.repaircafe.org/en/visit/
Thanks, I’ll take a peek around.
How do the repair cafes know what spare parts to have? Does your local area have a discussion about what items might be there beforehand?
They go off of who volunteers. For example, if a person who specializes in fixing stand mixers volunteers, that will be one of the tables people can visit. That repair person brings the parts (for example, there are a few parts in stand mixers that tend to break, so the repair person would know to bring fixes for those). I have also heard of repair cafe’s elsewhere even bringing in 3D printers to help with part replacement.
Here is the text from a recent one in my town:
Items that are accepted at Repair Café events:
- Electronics such as gaming consoles, CD player, DVD player, camera, adaptor cord, etc.
- Small appliances such as toasters, coffee makers, lamps, waffle makers…you get the idea!
- Smaller pieces of furniture such as small wooden furniture pieces, a clock, or a plastic item that needs some crazy glue.
- Toys! Whether it needs glue or some wire soldering, we can try to repair it!
- Clothing or housewares (clean please!) that need mending. Full alterations will not be done.
Items not allowed:
- Microwaves
Very cool, thanks for clarifying
@aviation_hydrated @Blair I imagine it depends on the repair cafe. But where I go we just have generic consumables, e.g fabric, thread, solder, glue, batteries (most volunteer provided, some in common). No so much specific parts - fixers will help determine what part is needed and where it can be found, if possible and feasible.
Very cool, thanks for clarifying
I just learned about these so don’t really know how they do it, but you can cannibalize some of the broken ones for spare parts. Also for what I understand many are periodic or even stable so people who need a part can get it and come back another day. I’ve seen one looking around done in a place where they have a 3d printer.
With cleaning and lubing; screws, bolts, nuts; cables and contacts you can resuscitate a lot of appliances and domestic machines. If you can also 3d print the shitty small plastic parts that break, even for a sturdier one if possible, that could save people a lot of money and tons of waste.
Very cool. Can 3d printing be that quick of a turn around with design? Is there a reputable place for parts designs?
I’ve never used a 3d printer so take this with a grain of salt, but I have made a few simple parts in freecad and autocad (without any experience or formal education with them, and without a physical part as reference) and it didn’t take much time, I guess someone who knows what they’re doing having the broken part to just copy it could do it in minutes.
As far as I know (I have never 3D printed), yes. I vaguely remember a guy who tows around a 3D printer on his bike into parks, and prints parts for people. It wouldn’t be instant(I’m guessing they tell the person to come back later), but it is possible. I’ll try to find the video haha.
Keeping in mind I’ve never 3D printed, here are some sites that look promising.
https://www.traceparts.com/en https://grabcad.com/library
Also, I’ve seen tutorials for 3D printing on Instructables, and people sometimes give download files in the instructions.
@Blair Never thought about that! I run a cafe and I’m adding repair events to the list of things I’d like to host.
This site might help with planning!
Anyone know of a map of repair cafes?
This one doesn’t list all of them, but it has some: https://www.repaircafe.org/en/visit/
Has not heard of this, very heartwarming news!
Great news! Thanks for sharing these! I’m sure [email protected] would also be a good fit if someone would like to cross post.
Its been awhile since I’ve lived in the city, and even longer since I’ve visited these folks’ place, but if you’re in the Portland, OR area Free Geek is definitely worth checking out!
Copy paste from their “about” section:
We are a non-profit organization with a mission: to repurpose technology and discover sustainable solutions while providing educational resources. Our ultimate aim is to foster a vibrant community where individuals are empowered to unlock their full potential. Through our dedicated efforts, we strive to transform the world by leveraging technology, sustainability, and education to create a brighter, more inclusive future, where every individual has the opportunity to thrive and make a meaningful impact…
Free Geek’s goal is to divert technology that would otherwise be recycled or thrown away, refurbish it, and give it back to our community at no or low cost.
