Commercial Makerspaces
To entrepreneurs, resources are limited. The cost of high-end tools and equipments such as a laser cutters and 3D printers are often expensive and out of reach. But they are essential elements for building prototypes and solving problems, such as creating inexpensive but custom-fit prosthetics for people so that they could get their startups off the ground. That’s why it’s becoming a new trend for entrepreneurs and innovators to turn to shared-spaces such as Techshop, Makeit-labs and NextFab. Apart from having the access to expensive equipments, softwares and other technology products, they can also network with and learn from other entrepreneurs in the space.
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TechShop | TechCrunch Makers - 5.25 minutes
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Techshop
Founded by: Jim Newton (2006) Membership fee: $150-200 monthly, depending on location TechShop is a chain of member-based workshops that provide a facilitative environment with over 80 different types of tools and different classes every day. Their makerspaces are supported by monthly fees from their members. According to their website, each location contains “over $1 million” worth of equipment. User access is controlled via keycard swipe points. |
Fab Lab
Created by Professor Neil Gershenfeld from MIT (2002) Fab Lab began as an outreach project at the Center for Bits and Atoms (CBA) in MITs Media Lab. Initially built for research in digital fabrication, Fab Lab now offers activities ranging from technological empowerment to peer-to-peer project-based technical training to local problem-solving to small-scale high-tech business incubation to grass-roots research. Projects being developed and produced in fab labs include solar and wind-powered turbines, thin-client computers and wireless data networks, analytical instrumentation for agriculture and healthcare, custom housing, and rapid-prototyping of rapid-prototyping machines. |
Neil Gershenfeld Unleash your creativity in a Fab Lab Talk Video TED com - 17.18 minutes
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