Fab Labs

A Fab Lab (digital fabrication laboratory) has just opened near where I live in the UK. It was an idea conceived by an MIT professor to enable people to get cheap fabrication of parts and own designs using advanced digital manufacturing technology such as CNC machining and 3D printing. Apparently there are now 150 or so around the world. Anyone used them and what is the low down before I pay them a visit? I have no idea about the costs involved or whether the services are open to amateur experimenters.

In the US they are called a maker space or maker shop. Most are smaller and many of those are not for profit orgs/clubs or affliliated with schools. There are probably more than 150 in the US alone. We have one here in town that is a not for profit club called Syn Shop. There is one commercial chain in the US called TechShop. We do our prototyping at TechShop in Silcon Valley (SF and San Jose) and short run fabrication at TechShop at Chandler AZ outside of Phoenix. It costs US$125/month for membership that includes use of the tools and space. For each tool or group of tools a class is required and once you attend that class you are cleared to operate those machines. We use many of the tools including the waterjet, CNC mill, CNC router, laser cutters, powder coat and the metal and wood shops. We still do most of out fab and aseembly at our shop in Vegas but using TechShop has enabled us to grow and not have to invest in new equipment or increase the shop size while the company grows.

The shops are also a great place to network and also do more artistic crafts like wearables, art and textiles. The textiles shop is off the hook in terms of equipment and it's not uncommon to see many around making quilts, and such.

[techshop.ws]

The local maker/hacker space

[synshop.org]

Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 04/13/2014 11:00PM by vegasloki.

Thanks vegasloki. It sounds a great idea for small startup businesses. However the monthly membership fee makes it too expensive for individuals I think. Maybe joining a 3D printer club that has membership of the workshop is the answer.
I like the idea of training classes before being let loose on the equipment.

The club level hacker spaces are less, many around $40-50 a month but most of them don't have the tool assortment TechShop does. It might be more expensive than some have means or are willing to pay but for the amount of tools and space even for a hobby maker it's a good value. There are well over a million dollars worth of tools at your disposal. You can also do single month membership for US$175. You can't rent most of those tools for that price even if they are available to rent. If you are going to use just the 3D printer it's not going to be worth it. But those who want access to a fully equipped metal, wood, electronics, plastic and textile shop it's an attractive price. During the day the shops are full of companies but late afternoon through evening the crowd changes to more makers and hobbyists. While many are company members, most of the members are those with other jobs that just want to have some shop space and be part of the maker scene.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/16/2014 01:32AM by vegasloki.