Professor 
“Frankly, I was a little shocked with the results when I made the calculation on even our relatively simple 
These are not numbers thrown around randomly: all are supported by specific formulas based on mostly readily available data on the pump’s downloads from Thingiverse (114) and 
While one might erroneously think that reducing investments would take away jobs from the medical manufacturing sector, it appears clear from the research that it is not so. Investing in FOSH would accelerate scientific research and allow a university to invest more in expanding its programs, while the money saved by using FOSH tools can be invested in hiring and financing more researchers, thus effectively creating more jobs, along with value.
“The benefit for science and medical funding agencies to support open hardware development was clear to us – but many funding agencies now even ask specifically for a return on investment calculation (see for example the latest America Makes CFI). How to make an ROI calculation for conventional businesses is clear — I wanted to make it just as clear for those working in open hardware development,” concluded Professor Pearce. It seems that the process of open source implementation in medical and scientific research is unstoppable. Perhaps these hard numbers can further accelerate it.
We are already not far from the day when every experimental lab either has a 3D printer or has access to one within the organization. Soon it will simply be commonplace to downloaded vetted and tested designs for what historically was extremely expensive equipment.
