Unit 7 Regional Company Fablab ETHAN MCLAUGHLIN Overview

Unit 7: Regional Company Fablab ETHAN MCLAUGHLIN

Overview Fab. Lab is a company that supply's people and entrepreneurs advanced digital manufacturing technology that will turn their ideas into new products and prototypes. They want to “provide the environment, skills, advanced materials and technology to make things cheaply and quickly anywhere in the world, and to make this available on a local basis to entrepreneurs, students, artists, small businesses and in fact, anyone who wants to create something new. ” There are over 150 Fab. Labs in the world, with 2 in Northern Ireland, one in Belfast and one here in Derry

Sector The equipment in Fab. Labs help develop products that are used in various different sectors, including the film and television sectors, developing new and interesting technology. They aren’t limited to the media sector as they also help make things for the medical, architecture and art sectors.

Structure and Ownership Fablab is an independent company and they operate outside a bigger company or corporation This company receives is funding through various forms of government funding support and partnerships with education - such as the Department for the Economy, and projects from the EU such as the European Peace Fund, the European Social Fund Programme and EU Creative Europe Programme.

Product diversity The products that Fablab have helped create are very diverse including: A House Robotic Arm Digital Paintings Laser Engraved Sketches T shirt printing And much more

Fab. Lab inventions Designs and processes developed in fab labs can be protected and sold however an inventor chooses, but should remain available for individuals to use and learn from

Profitability of product range As Fab. Labs are run by no profit organizations there is usually no profit to be made

Competitors As Fablab is very unique it doesn’t have many comeptitors, the only thing I would consider a competitor would be other companies that provide the same technology that Fab. Lab does, like 3 D printing studios. But here in Northern Ireland there is nothing else like it.

Rating as a career choice Although I don’t consider Fab. Lab as a career choice, I do think that the technology they provide is very interesting and I would like to do some type of work with it.