LibrelloChallenges in Sustainability2297-64772120141212Reversing the Trend of Large Scale and Centralization in Manufacturing: The Case of Distributed Manufacturing of Customizable 3-D-Printable Self-Adjustable Glasses304010.12924/cis2014.02010030ENJephiasGwamuriThe Michigan Tech Open Sustainability Technology (MOST) Laboratory 601 M&M Building 1400 Townsend Drive Houghton, MI 49931-1295, United States, Department of Materials Science & Engineering Michigan Technological University 601 M&M Building 1400 Townsend Drive Houghton, MI 49931-1295, United States. jgwamuri@mtu.eduBenT.WittbrodtThe Michigan Tech Open Sustainability Technology (MOST) Laboratory 601 M&M Building 1400 Townsend Drive Houghton, MI 49931-1295, United States, Department of Materials Science & Engineering Michigan Technological University 601 M&M Building 1400 Townsend Drive Houghton, MI 49931-1295, United States. btwittbr@mtu.eduNickC.AnzaloneThe Michigan Tech Open Sustainability Technology (MOST) Laboratory 601 M&M Building 1400 Townsend Drive Houghton, MI 49931-1295, United States. nick@anzalonemail.comJoshuaM.PearceThe Michigan Tech Open Sustainability Technology (MOST) Laboratory 601 M&M Building 1400 Townsend Drive Houghton, MI 49931-1295, United States\\ Department of Materials Science & Engineering Michigan Technological University 601 M&M Building 1400 Townsend Drive Houghton, MI 49931-1295, United States\\ Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering Michigan Technological University 601 M&M Building 1400 Townsend Drive Houghton, MI 49931-1295, United States. pearce@mtu.educis-2-1-30201405292014102220140828Although the trend in manufacturing has been towards centralization to leverage economies of scale, the recent rapid technical development of open-source 3-D printers enables low-cost distributed bespoke production. This paper explores the potential advantages of a distributed manufacturing model of high-value products by investigating the application of 3-D printing to self-refraction eyeglasses. A series of parametric 3-D printable designs is developed, fabricated and tested to overcome limitations identified with mass-manufactured self-correcting eyeglasses designed for the developing world's poor. By utilizing 3-D printable self-adjustable glasses, communities not only gain access to far more diversity in product design, as the glasses can be customized for the individual, but 3-D printing also offers the potential for significant cost reductions. The results show that distributed manufacturing with open-source 3-D printing can empower developing world communities through the ability to print less expensive and customized self-adjusting eyeglasses. This offers the potential to displace both centrally manufactured conventional and self-adjusting glasses while completely eliminating the costs of the conventional optics correction experience, including those of highly-trained optometrists and ophthalmologists and their associated equipment. Although, this study only analyzed a single product, it is clear that other products would benefit from the same approach in isolated regions of the developing world.