My name is Robert Warren, inventor of Snploc®, a fitting device for joining pipes and rods. I am a student of Natural Capitalism, a climber, hiker, nature lover who is keen on developing Snploc® using a recycling manufacturing process,
inspired by the Precious Plastics business model developed by Dave Hakken. This model will be used as a community Maker-Space and the Space will be expanded to include PVC recycling, and precision manufacturing or Production-Space.
BUSINESS PITCH I invented Snploc® while building my home. When it came to plumbing, I imagined a better way to fit pipes together; the result is Snploc®. To develop this product, manufacture, and market it, I will use a modified Precious Plastics, http://www.preciousplastic.com business model. Snploc® fittings can be made from PVC by melting and injection molding. PVC is not currently recycled. This contributes to long lasting environmental disaster. This plan will divert PVC wastes into a long lasting, high value, plumbing fittings. Recycling and manufacture will be accomplished in the Maker-Production-Space, based on Precious Plastic open source business model. This space is a general plastic recycling, community Maker-Space to create a vast array of items. It is a community resource where artists, teens, entrepreneurs, organizations can remake the waste stream into long lasting products. It is also a PVC recycling, Production-Space for manufacturing Snploc®. The Production-Space supports business to business (b2b) sales of engineering, design, parts, equipment and product. It sells services to the Maker-Space community such as administration, equipment maintenance, and waste collection. The two halves strengthen one another. The Maker-Space benefits individuals and organizations in the community who support plastic recycling, creativity, and Maker activity. This kind of community involvement is necessary for a crowd sourced funding campaign and is the means to raise capital. It begins with community buy-in, a team, social networking, a crowd sourced funding campaign and then it unfolds by building the facility, equipment, and services. Many types of equipment are part of this Space and are all built using parts created by the precision, CNC mill. The mill produces precision parts to build out the equipment using scrap material if available. This includes grinders, washers, injectors, extruders, and more. It can produce parts to reproduce itself. The equipment is based on both open source designs and patents. The milled parts are assembled into both the Maker and precision Production equipment. To create additional income, these parts and equipment are sold into external markets. The completed Maker-Space will enable community members to make anything imaginable from plastic and the Production-Space will mass produce injection molded plumbing fittings. The Production-Space uses the mill to cut precision molds for both manufacturing and for sale. Mold design and engineering will be disseminated throughout the network electronically enabling coordinated mass production over the entire network. Snploc® is an important innovation for plumbing, construction, remodeling, and repair, that saves time and money by addressing a number of problems that exist in plumbing of unthreaded pipes with fittings. For example, initially mating the fitting and pipe, can be accomplished by pushing the small female fitting over the long male pipe. As plumbing and constructing progresses, pipes and fittings become fixed within building structures, and connecting parts can only be accomplished with movement along the pipe’s longitudinal axis. This presents significant challenges for the plumbing, constructing, and repair process. Difficulties increase with diameter and rigidity of the pipe. These problems include, but aren’t limited to, cutting into the building structure, which increases costs and slows the process. Similar or related difficulties occur in the repair process, constructing complex 3 dimensional geometries, dry fitting, and in the repair of conduit containing an existing wire. Snploc®, addresses these difficulties with an innovation that is snapped around the pipe with a lateral movement and holds the pipe in the proper orientation. Next a lock collar snaps into place, fixing and sealing the pipe connection. This simpler way of connecting pipes and fittings using a lateral movement can be applied to any kind or size of pipe.
MARKET NEED The market need for Snploc® is addressed above. The plumbing fitting marketplace represents a world wide, multi-billion dollar industry that is essential for modern civilization. This product will save time, and money in all kinds of plumbing projects. In addition, the production model for creating Snploc® addresses the disposal of plastics and in particular PVC plastics, which introduce toxins into the water and air and eventually creates persistent and pernicious solid wastes. Currently, PVC is not recycled. Chemically breaking it down to its constituents releases toxic chlorine gas, dioxins and generally corrodes equipment making it un-economic to recycle. Small amounts of PVC in the plastic waste stream render that waste stream useless for production feed stock. This plan will recycle PVC using only physical processes making these difficult problems more manageable. This plan will develop waste collection strategies that create sorted pure streams of plastics so that only physical processes are used in the Maker-Production-Space after, and in conjunction with Precious Plastics’ global plastics recycling effort. These strategies will leverage the community involvement in the Maker-Space and seek to make changes in behaviors, building codes, and local ordinances to facilitate sorted collection. Makers will develop and sell products that range from one-off art designs to mass produced consumer items. The versatility and human scale of the Maker-Space will facilitate creativity to identify and test niche markets. Successful products can then be mass produced using the precision Production-Space when appropriate.
MARKET IMPACT These Maker-Production-Spaces will be located in small to medium rural economies everywhere. They will provide high value experiences and opportunities for interested community members and can engage through existing organizations like schools, activity centers, and Makers. Economic impact will include opportunities for entrepreneurs, engineers, designers, production workers, and more. The plastic waste stream in each of these communities will be transformed into long lasting products. The recycling efforts will be local affecting the community in which it is located but have but have an impact over the entire network. Consider this story. Two Ridgway seventh-graders Maizy Gordon and Indigo Krois organized “Carry On!” to promote the use of reusable shopping bags here in Ridgway. Their year long effort has resulted in a new city ordinance that bans single use plastic bags. They have led the charge and there is a consensus throughout the community that “now is the time to do something about plastic waste.” There has not been any opposition to this ordinance change. Now, imagine that these girls, their friends and school mates decided they wanted a plastic recycling Maker-Space for their school, and teen center. A place where they could let their imaginations run wild, gain job experience, and make products to sell. By putting their social media networking to work, a successful crowd sourced funding initiative would result in the capital necessary to build this pilot project and lay the groundwork for other communities to duplicate it.
FINANCIAL VIABILITY – Multiple Income Streams – Products, equipment, parts, and services will be sold to consumers and businesses.Resource Efficiency – Snploc will lower resource, capital and operating costs by:1. Co-production and co-operation including:1. joint Maker-Production-Space2. joint waste collection and product sales,3. parts, equipment and product manufacturing,2. using the plastic waste stream as raw material, and3. operating locally, saving transportation and energy.Networking – Snploc will lower capital costs, build creativity, resiliency, and capacity by:4. franchising technology, equipment, intellectual property and sales,5. produce, sell, and distribute equipment and products throughout the network,6. expand production and sales with low risk through network expansion.Creating Income through Service – This plan seeks to create service income streams for:7. waste collection,8. administration, maintenance, and plastic inputs for the Maker-Space,9. engineering, design, and intellectual property services. Investment in Natural Capital – This plan reduces reduces the plastic waste stream and investing its value back into economic opportunities.To complete the proof of concept in Ridgway, the present project will seek to secure $100,000 in start up grants, self funding, and crowd funding to establish the core team, suite of equipment, intellectual property, and establish the multiple income streams outlined.
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