Massimo Menichinelli on the Ten Characteristics of FabLabs

Excerpted from Massimo Menichinelli:

01. A space about bits and atoms

“Though it may be also a space for developing prototypes or building final working products, the main goal for a FabLab is to be a space for experimenting at the intersection of bits and atoms, information and matter. It is not by accident that the concept has been developed at MIT at the Center for Bits and Atoms, not at the High-Low Tech research group.

That’s why there is a huge adoption of tools and components for working with electronics, for example. Basically, a FabLab gives you a space, tools, processes and knowledge for developing physical representations of digital data, and exporting digital data from physical contexts. It is therefore a space that’s perfect for experimenting how digital technologies can influence the development of physical objects, the use of open and big data, the development of solutions for Smart Cities, and so on. This means, ultimately, that prototypes and final products are developed usually within a FabLab, but with a focus on the digital processes (and their effects) rather than just focusing on manufacturing the object with only traditional processes (some of them can be used, but are not the major part). More than a space where you can do almost anything, at the moment I’d say is a place where you learn digital technologies at the interface with the physical reality.

02. Part of a network

Being a FabLab means being part of a global network of local nodes, and this aspect is very important, much more developed than in hackerspaces, makerspaces and TechShops. There is a videoconference system (at http://mcu.cba.mit.edu / 18.85.8.46) that links all the nodes, where question can be asked and projects and collaborations started.

This is also why nodes should share the same set of tools and processes (though local experimentations are welcome): in order to enable any project to be replicated in any node of the network.

03. A community

Every FabLab is part of two communities: the local community, and the global community of all the FabLab in the global network. On one side, a FabLab builds a local community of people interested in it with many different goals and purposes, fostering the collaboration among them and between them and the people working in the FabLab. On the other side, there is always an exchange of information and collaboration among all the FabLabs: it is always important to visit other FabLabs, meet other people in the yearly global meeting (that’s usually happening at the end of August: in 2013 it will be close to Tokyo, in 2014 it will be in Barcelona) and the emerging local meetings (like the conference at Artilect, Toulouse in France, or the many Fab* events). It is always very important to share knowledge in the community and propose new solutions at the meetings.

04. A set of tools

We may start from a space or from a community, but ultimately without a specific set of digital fabrication tools we don’t have a FabLab. Otherwise, it would be like a museum without anything exhibited or a restaurant without a kitchen: if you are developing a FabLab but are still in the first steps, without a space or machines, please always tell that you are in the planning phase: people expect to have access to tools and machines in a FabLab!

As stated before, FabLabs should share the same tools, in order to enable collaboration among the nodes. Generally speaking, when starting a FabLab you should follow the inventory mantained by the Center for Bits and Atoms: it is where all the tools, components and machines are listed. You can also test new machines, adopt machines that aren’t on the list, but don’t change things too much, and especially share your experience with the other FabLabs, maybe you can propose something new that nobody has discovered before! If you are not convinced with the inventory, do a trip to an established lab to see what you can learn from their experience with tools and machines!

05. A set of knowledge

Beside tools and machines, people expect also to have access to specific knowledge, experience and abilities in the FabLab, so who’s working in a FabLab should always check what people in other FabLab knows and should always study and research in order to maintain the lab up to date.

By the way, it is almost impossible that only one person could have all the knowledge needed in a FabLab: you should know how to operate the machines, the space and have knowledge of design (product, graphic, webdesign, …), mechanical design and engineering, electronics and electrical engineering, computer science and programming, business development and intellectual property strategies, and finally project management. That’s why also why there is always (and there should be) more than one person working in the lab, splitting if it’s possible the managing of the space and machines (lab technician) from the managing of the projects, development and business (lab project manager).

06. A set of processes

Beside sharing the same tools, machines, and expertise and knowledge, all the FabLabs should share most of their processes as well, in order to really enable people to work and collaborate in all the nodes of the network.

For example, when manufacturing a pcb, you should use an FR-1 pcb instead of the more common FR-4, and you should use a CNC milling machine instead of an etching process (otherwise, it would not be digital fabrication!). FR-1 pcb are preferred because they have a thin layer of copper over a paper epoxy, non-conductive layer which makes the dust non-toxic and the epoxy is soft enough that the bits last much longer.

07. A service

This may sound new or counterintuitive, but FabLabs are also services, and therefore also as services should be designed, using service design tools, methodologies and processes. A FabLab can have a community around it, but it is still managed by few people that offer some services to the community. Offering access to machines is a service, education is a service, consultancy is a service, fixing old objects is a service, and so on. This understanding is important in order to fully understand the next two points.

08. Not a franchising

FabLabs are not a franchising: there are no fees to be paid to MIT, the logo is not registered and can be used freely, and so on. The inventory is freely and publicly accessible, but there is no brand book or guidelines book to follow in order to set a FabLab franchise. This also means, as a consequence, that each FabLab is a bit different from all the other ones, specifically because it reflects the local conditions (and this is one of the strongest points for being a FabLab). It also means that there are many different formats and business models: being a FabLab does not mean adopting a strict organization and business model.

If you are looking for a franchising, probably TechShops are closer to that. You can also check and join this discussion about the (few) differences between FabLabs, Makerspaces/Hackerspaces and TechShops.

09. A business

Whether a FabLab starts from an existing institution (be it public or private) that funds it functioning, or it starts independently, it is always a business, in the sense that there are rents, expenses, wages to pay, fees to be collected, external suppliers and partners to be paid, partnership to be developed, and everything has to be developed at least to reach the break-even. Whether it takes money directly or indirectly through the institution, the FabLab must be financially sustainable in order to last. In the end, starting from an institution just means having somebody who invests the money for starting the business; it shouldn’t be thought as a requirement or a constriction.

There is still a lot of experimentation and work to do on developing proper business models for FabLabs (especially when started within an institution, there is the tendency to care less about the business model and the revenue), but this is a perspective that has to be adopted in order to develop a good FabLab.

10. A concept currently under development

FabLabs started to emerge 10 years ago, but the whole network emerged by serendipity rather than by design. When the first FabLab was started by MIT, there wasn’t a goal of establishing a global network, but the idea was just to democratize the access and the education of the digital fabrication technologies under development at the Center for Bits and Atoms (instead of waiting for the end of the research with the final and advanced technologies for digital fabrication, the idea was to start preparing people for what would come in the future).

Therefore, things have been evolving (rather than being designed) through the years, meaning that many details are still under development, stable business models have to be developed, improved processes and tools tested, and so on. Therefore, don’t expect FabLabs to be already a perfect model without flaws, but rather participate in the network for improving the weak details! This is also why there is no single book about starting a FabLab: there are many different local formats and differences, and many details are still under development.”

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