Anyone who deals with 3D printing, CNC milling and laser cutting may already have come across the term “FabLab”. FabLabs, and so Starship Factory too, are makerspaces built on the basic idea that people there can make just about anything themselves. To achieve this, FabLabs rely essentially on three processes: 3D printing, laser cutting and CNC milling.
At Starship Factory we already have two 3D printers and are planning to acquire a laser cutter and a CNC mill. In addition to the FabLab idea we also provide other machines, such as a textile press for printing T-shirts, a soldering corner or a sewing machine. Which machines get bought depends on what our plenary of all members, organised by direct democracy, decides.
Private individuals and companies get access to a FabLab’s machines in return for a contribution towards costs and an introduction to their use. FabLabs have to be open to non-members for at least part of the time. That openness matters a great deal to us and is therefore written into our statutes.
Beyond access to machines, FabLabs offer more. Alongside the exchange with like-minded people you can, for example, attend workshops or run them yourself. The exchange between specialists, beginners and the curious gives everyone a chance to learn together and grow through each other.
Peaceful coexistence is governed by the FabLab charter, which hangs in every FabLab. Besides the FabLab charter, Starship Factory has drawn up further rules which in particular set out respectful conduct and include an anti-harassment policy, so that everyone using the FabLab can feel comfortable here.
Since FabLabs are not about everyone reinventing the wheel for themselves but about being allowed to learn from one another, FabLabs aspire to document what is made there openly and accessibly. That way people can learn from each other not only on site but worldwide. To this end FabLabs are networked internationally through the umbrella organisation International FabLab Association, founded on 4 July 2011 in Switzerland.
Hundreds of FabLabs now exist in cities all over the world. In Switzerland, besides Starship Factory in Basel, there are for example FabLab Zürich and FabLab Luzern. Because the available machines and projects share a common basis, moving house makes switching to another FabLab relatively painless. How well a FabLab is equipped, and how far it has realised the principles, can be seen from the ranking, which corresponds to a FabLab’s own self-assessment.
We are not yet officially registered as a FabLab. But as soon as we have finished setting ourselves up, we will add ourselves to the list of this planet’s FabLabs as well.