Pragmatic minds, building what matters.
Design Molecule works at the intersection of engineering rigor, creative thinking and strategic clarity. This is its open lab: garage-buildable hardware concepts that take a real problem, break it into measurable requirements, and work it through to a documented proof of concept that anyone can inspect, build on or challenge.
Each card links to the repository, with its drawings, calculations, bill of materials and a downloadable design pack.
 WasteWise Scan handheld near-infrared resin scanner |
 WasteWise-ml open image model that sorts waste by material class and grade |
 ReflowEconomy open playbook for local material recovery micro-factories |
 CellCheck bench grader for salvaged lithium cells |
 FieldNode solar-powered outdoor sensor node core |
 SwapCell swappable e-bike battery pack and wall charging dock |
 CellGuard open battery management board for small LiFePO4 packs |
 MotionCore drive controller and safety module with e-stop and reference hub motor |
 ThermaCart swappable phase-change thermal storage cartridge |
 H2Guard hydrogen leak detector and ventilation interlock |
 H2Bench hydrogen teaching bench from water to electricity and back |
 PotPress hand-pumped hydraulic press for ceramic pot water filters |
- One problem, one repository. Every design has its own repo with the same layout: problem, requirements, design precis, calculations, CAD, bill of materials and review notes.
- Maturity stated honestly. Each project carries a Technology Readiness Level (TRL) badge backed by evidence in the repo. Work moves one level at a time, and every step ends with a written review.
- Numbers before hardware. Designs are sized by calculation, with every requirement marked met, not met or at risk. Where the numbers do not hold, the docs say so.
- Parametric and reproducible. Models are written in code (build123d), so dimensions, drawings, STEP files and renders all come from one source.
- Designed with the people who use it. Projects for communities the lab is not part of start from a co-design checklist and a local partner, not from assumptions.
- Open by default. Hardware under CERN-OHL-S v2, software under MIT, with versioned documents and revision history.
Design Molecule's applied research areas, and the open projects that currently put each one into practice.
| Focus area | What it means here | Projects |
|---|---|---|
| Clean tech | Store and use renewable energy locally; cut waste heat and fuel | ThermaBrick, PicoFlow, HelioLite, CharCube, DustRunner, PowerBox, PVTrace, ThermaCart, CellGuard |
| Food and water security | Make, clean, monitor and keep water and food where supply is fragile | StillStack, DewDrive, PotPress, WaterWatch, LumaFlow, ZeerBox, GrainGuard, SeedLine, RootMesh, SteamRoot, WellSense, LeakListen |
| Circular economic models | Sort, recover and remanufacture materials locally; design for repair | WasteWise-ml, WasteWise Scan, ReflowEconomy, SwapCell, CellCheck, MicroMold, BinLevel |
| Automation | Take the heaviest and most repetitive work off people | PalletPilot, StepClimber, DustRunner, CulvertCrawl, MotionCore, MachinePulse |
| Autonomous and assisted mobility | Electric assist and shared battery packs for everyday transport and logistics | SwapCell, SunSpoke, CargoMule, FlatTrike, StepGen, WaterWalker, GrowRider, MotionCore, DockHub |
| Advanced manufacturing and design | Low-cost production methods, printable parts and parametric design | PotPress, SnapFrame, MicroMold, GridBench, CalRig |
| Sustainable housing | Safer, more resilient and more efficient homes and shelters | SnapFrame, EmberGuard, HelioLite, ThermaBrick, EarthPress, BreatheBox |
| Mining | Safer, cleaner small-scale and artisanal mining | GravitySort (mercury-free gold recovery), DustBadge (silica dust exposure), SlopeWatch (slope and tailings movement) |
| Hydrogen economy | Learn and work with hydrogen safely, from first principles | H2Guard (leak detection and ventilation interlock), H2Bench (teaching electrolyzer and fuel cell bench) |
| Digital twins | Tie each design's model and calculations to live data | TwinKit (open gateway and twin starter kit), CityTwin, MachinePulse |
| Smart and resilient cities | Street-level sensing and services that respect privacy: counts and levels, never images or audio | CurbCount, CrossSafe, PotholeLog, DockHub, LoadZone, HeatMap Node, FloodGauge, AirStreet, NoiseMap, CoolShade, LeakListen, BinLevel, LampNode, BridgePulse, CityTwin |
| Open engineering | Shared methods, modular frameworks and collaborative problem-solving | ReadyKit (the lab's documentation and readiness kit as an open tool), FieldNode, CalRig, and the portfolio method itself |
| Technology transfer | Move ideas from paper toward adoption, with the barriers named | TRL gating, co-design checklists and costed bills of materials in every repo |
Field and health hardware sits alongside these: FieldCell, ConePro, CulvertCrawl and EmberGuard for field and emergency work, and TremorTrace, StepCue, FlexHand, ColdPod and SunClave as research and educational prototypes (not medical devices).
Several projects are components that others build on, so a fix in one reaches all of them: FieldNode (solar sensor node with power, enclosure and radio), CellGuard (LiFePO4 battery management), MotionCore (motor, controller and safety chain), ThermaCart (swappable phase-change thermal cartridge), TwinKit (model-to-live-data gateway) and CalRig (calibration for low-cost sensors).
Every repository opens with the same four sections: the concept rationale, the burning platform it addresses (with cited figures), where it could be used by industry and by country or region, and what sparked the idea.
Every project has reached TRL 3: proof of concept on paper, with sizing calculations, a parametric model, a general arrangement drawing and a priced bill of materials. Physical prototyping (TRL 4) is deliberately on hold until each design's review is complete.
For collaboration, advisory or co-design partnerships, email lab@designmolecule.com.