IF WE GIVE ACCESS TO DIGITAL FABRICATION, CAN EVERYONE BE A MAKER?
We can see all around us that world is changing fast and the entry barrier is reducing, machines are getting more affordable. Those were only for professionals are now more accessible to all with Cloud software. Our audience is then extending from professionals to amateurs, the world of makers (DIY).
Dassault Systèmes is supporting this Fablab and Makerspace movement. These are spaces for learning. More and more universities are practicing “learning by doing” but this is also a space for anyone to DIY, means most of the time repair things. We believe that these spaces are a good start for entrepreneurship project.
The key is Human, be social!
This FabLab is an opportunity to meet people to learn, to share, to create together. More enabling the physical collaboration is key to extend and growth the community virtually. This is why an online digital platform is essential to interact, socialize, collaborate, better work together and to extend the reach of the community outside the physical space, ultimately to connect those Fablabs on a worldwide stand point.
In those Fablabs we observe 2 main meet-ups:
- Young talents want to reveal themselves and connect with seniors who share their knowledge and transfer know-how. Generation gap will now more & more be reduced.
- Amateurs meets professionals. As most of the professionals are our users, we do believe we are legitimate to empower these communities of makers and accompany them up to their entrepreneurship activities.
Not only people would design, simulate and prototype in the Fablab, but also access to online services such manufacturing offered through the marketplace! This connects designers to factories to prototype and produce parts with industrial machines.
This Fab Lab at Boston is a 3100 sq. feet of fluid co-working space has been set up in collaboration with MIT's Center for Bits and Atoms. The lab is connected to over 1000 other maker spaces through the Fab Foundation network.
Services and Solutions
At the center of Fab Lab Boston's operations is the Mentor-Fabber Collaboration Model. To be a Mentor and get full access to all the tools and facilities of the lab, a Fabber (user) has to invest a total of 20 hours in mentor-assisted training across Laser, CNC Milling, Router, Vinyl and Precision Milling machines. Anyone can be a fibber, as long as they are collaborative, experimental and ready to learn new skills. Based on who is using the lab, we have the following modes of engagement:
Bring Your Own Projects (BYOP): Fabbers and Mentors from the Dassault Systemes community can work on their own personal projects, be it a special purpose drone, a better designed bookshelf with smart lighting fixtures or a light-weight laptop accessory for everyday use.
Fab Lab Startup Kit: We have a ready repository of individual and collaborative projects, indexed from simple to complex, that a new fabber can immediately start working on with his mentors.
Work on an in-house project: Fab Lab has a number of longer term projects that a fabber or mentor can be part of and enhance her/ his skills in the process. These can range from collaborative projects with MIT or other partners, proof-of-concept prototypes with local startups or exchange projects with other Fab Labs from across the world.
Bootcamps and Hackathons: We welcome project and activity-based collaborations with external agencies such as STEM organizations, local schools and universities across themes of Education, Engineering and Entrepreneurship. These agencies can use the Fab Lab facility to host events that foster collaboration, creativity and aim to push the envelope of maker movement.
We would like to thank our hardware partners, Dell Computers and Wacom, for the support extended to the 3DEXPERIENCE Lab Boston and to the community of makers and entrepreneurs.
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