Robert Chave

Robert Chave is a designer and engineer whose eclectic experience now spans several decades. Design studios such as Robert’s can function as effectively as small departments within a large organization because of the availability of public and free CAD libraries such as GrabCAD, open-source configurable components as provided by Misumi, and the open CAD libraries of just-in-time vendors like McMaster Carr. Moreover, the current revolution in open-source code and hardware for measuring shock, vibration, temperature, and motion has significantly reduced the cost of these measurements. In turn, the emergence of very inexpensive open-source metrology cuts the development time and cost for products and devices requiring the highest levels of performance and reliability.

Much of Robert’s work has been in the service of public science. His work, therefore, was “open source” long before the existence of ubiquitous computing made free and shared design libraries such a potent vehicle for transforming the effectiveness of small, agile design teams. Robert has an abiding interest in all phases of mechanical design, product design, fine mechanics, and rapid prototyping as well as the celebration of industrial craft generally. He has a Masters degree from Massachusetts Institute of Technology. For more information and contact see, Robert Chave net.