Reindustrializing America will necessitate efforts from not just enterprises but also a fresh wave of individuals possessing the expertise, experience, and ambition to create. While various initiatives in this domain have concentrated on top-down education and production strategies, a natural, grassroots movement has been igniting a new generation of creators throughout America for the past two decades.
The inaugural fab lab was established in 2002 by MIT’s Center for Bits and Atoms (CBA). To equip students to utilize the digital fabrication research facility, CBA’s leaders initiated a rapid-prototyping course named MAS.863 (How To Make (almost) Anything). In response to a surging demand, CBA joined forces with civil rights advocate and MIT adjunct lecturer Mel King to develop a community-oriented version of the lab, integrating tools for 3D printing and scanning, laser cutting, precision and large-format machining, molding and casting, and surface-mount electronics, along with design software.
This seemed to be the conclusion of the story; they did not foresee a maker movement. Soon after, another community reached out seeking assistance in establishing their own fab lab. Then another. Presently, there are hundreds of fab labs across the U.S., in nearly every state, located in places ranging from community college campuses to Main Streets. These fab labs provide open access to tools and software, alongside education, training, and community to individuals from diverse backgrounds.
“In the fab labs you can create nearly anything,” remarks Professor and CBA Director Neil Gershenfeld. “That doesn’t imply everyone will create every single item, but they can fabricate things for themselves and their communities. The prosperity of the fab labs indicates that the true method to revitalize manufacturing in America differs from the past. This represents a new conception of agile, just-in-time production that is personalized, decentralized, and lacks a stark divide between producer and consumer.”
Communities of creators
A fab lab was inaugurated at Florida A&M University approximately a year ago, yet it didn’t take long for faculty and staff to observe its influence on their students. Denaria Pringley, an elementary education instructor lacking any background in STEM, first entered the lab as part of a course requirement. It was there she recognized she could construct her own guitar. In a pattern repeated nationwide, Pringley began frequenting the lab during evenings and weekends, 3D-printing the guitar body, assembling the neck, sanding and polishing the finish, laser engraving pick guards, and stringing everything together. Currently, she works in the fab lab and is proficient in operating every machine available in the space.
“Her entire outlook transformed through the fab lab,” states FAMU Dean of Education Sarah Price. “Every day, students create something novel. There’s such a surge of creativity in the lab it amazes me.”
Gershenfeld explains that depicting how the fab labs operate is akin to explaining how the internet functions. At a fundamental level, fab labs serve as spaces for experimentation, creation, learning, mentorship, and invention. As they began to proliferate, Gershenfeld and his colleague Sherry Lassiter founded the Fab Foundation, a nonprofit that offers operational, technical, and logistical support to labs. Last year, The Boston Globe labeled the worldwide network of thousands of fab labs as one of MIT’s most significant contributions of the past 25 years.
Some fab labs are located within colleges. Others are financed by local governments, businesses, or through donations. Even fab labs partly run by colleges can be accessible to anyone, and many of those labs collaborate with nearby K-12 schools and continuing education initiatives.
Increasingly, corporate social responsibility initiatives are investing in fab labs, providing their communities with spaces for STEM education, workforce development, and economic growth. For example, Chevron funded the establishment of the fab lab at FAMU. Lassiter, the president of the Fab Foundation, observes, “Fab labs have evolved into community pillar organizations, fostering strong social ties and resilience in addition to honing technical skills and granting public access to manufacturing resources.”
“We’re a community asset,” states Eric Saliim, who serves as a program manager at the fab lab situated in North Carolina Central University. “We place no limitations on how you can utilize our fab lab. Individuals create everything from art to automotive components, home products, fashion items, you name it.”
Numerous fab lab instructors assert that the labs are a potent means to render abstract ideas tangible and ignite student enthusiasm for STEM subjects.
“More educational institutions should be employing fab labs to engage children in computer science and coding,” asserts Scott Simenson, former director of the fab lab at Century College in Minnesota. “This world is about to become much more digitally advanced, and we require a workforce that is not only highly skilled but also knowledgeable about subjects like computer science and artificial intelligence.”
Minnesota’s Century College inaugurated its fab lab in 2004 amidst plummeting enrollment in its engineering and design programs.
“It serves as an excellent link between theoretical knowledge and practical application,” explains Simenson. “Honestly, it has aided many engineering students who felt frustrated due to a lack of hands-on experience.”
Since then, the fab lab has contributed to the development of Century College programs in digital and additive manufacturing, welding, and bioprinting.
“Engaging in fab labs cultivates a growth mindset for our community and our students,” states Kelly Zelesnik, the dean of Lorain County Community College in Ohio. “Students are often so pressured to achieve the correct result and the grade that they overlook the learning process. Yet, when they are in the fab lab, they are iterating, for nothing ever functions perfectly on the first attempt.”
Alongside providing accessibility to equipment and education, fab labs promote learning, mentorship, and innovation. Companies frequently utilize local fab labs to create prototypes or experiment with new products. Students have initiated businesses surrounding their art and fashion creations.
Rick Pollack was a software entrepreneur and a frequent patron of the fab lab at Lorain County Community College. Pollack developed a fascination with 3D printers and eventually launched the additive manufacturing firm MakerGear after months of experimenting with the machines in the lab in 2009. MakerGear swiftly became one of the leading manufacturers of 3D printers in the nation.
“Everyone wants to discuss innovation in STEM education and business development,” Gershenfeld expresses. “This is achieving that by addressing the missing scaffolding: the means of production.”
Manufacturing redefined
Many fab labs commence in small spaces tucked away in neglected areas of buildings and campuses. Gradually, they attract a diverse mix of individuals who have often faced challenges in organized, hierarchical educational environments. Eventually, they evolve into centers for all individuals motivated by creation.
“Fab labs supply access to tools, but what truly propels their success is the culture of peer-to-peer, project-oriented learning and production,” Gershenfeld states. “Fab labs do not fragment basic and applied work, short- and long-range objectives, play and problem-solving. The labs exemplify a profoundly grassroots distribution of the culture at MIT.”
While the local maker movement may not supplant mass manufacturing, Gershenfeld argues that mass manufacturing produces items for consumers who all seek the same products, whereas local production can create more personalized and varied goods for individuals.
Furthermore, Gershenfeld contends that one cannot gauge the influence of fab labs merely by assessing the items created.
“A substantial portion of the benefits of these labs resides in the act of creation itself,” he asserts. “For instance, a fab lab in Detroit led by Blair Evans collaborated with at-risk youth, yielding better life outcomes than standard social services. These labs generate interest and subsequently cultivate skills and communities, and so, alongside the products made, the community-building, the knowledge, and the connections are equally as crucial as the immediate economic implications.”