Mapping the OSH Manufacturing Landscape: Facilitative Models for Open Source Hardware in Europe and Beyond

In-person talk given at the Open Technology Research Symposium at 11:45—12:15 UTC+1 on 26 October 2026 at the University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Abstract Open source hardware is a key but underexplored aspect in open technology ecosystems. In contrast with open source software which receives substantial attention, the dissemination and manufacturing of open source hardware beyond a research institution remains to be better understood. As European policy increasingly foregrounds strategic autonomy and local production capacity, understanding how open source hardware moves from prototype to a reproducible, distributed, and marketable product is a research gap and policy priority. This research focuses on open science hardware (OScH), i.e., open source hardware for scientific research. Access to scientific instruments (i.e., hardware), and the ability to adapt them, shape who can participate in research and how. OScH seeks to widen these possibilities by sharing instrument designs for others to build, modify, and use. Making these tools available beyond their original research settings, however, requires adaptations and intermediation models for manufacturing, distribution, and support. This paper examines how such arrangements shape the promises, practical benefits, and sustainability of openness. Drawing on nine qualitative interviews with developers, manufacturers and coordinators, including participants in the Open Science Shop network, we explore how they organise production, finance their work, and share responsibilities. The accounts reveal overlapping priorities even when project strategies diverge, including local adaptation, user independence and dependable instrument provision. They also show that distributed manufacturing can leave unpaid development expertise and support concentrated with developers. Income from selling OScH does not necessarily sustain the shared designs and community building on which production depends. We argue that realising the promises of open source requires attention to how capabilities, responsibilities, and resources are distributed across organisations. The findings suggest that institutional support should encompass the relationships and continuing work needed to keep open source hardware available, adaptable, and usable. We situate this finding within the need for scientific reproducibility and local production capacity in Europe and beyond, suggesting support mechanisms to further enable OScH as a strategic pillar of open source technology policy.