lekernel’s scrapbook

What is a fablab? It’s a workshop where a collection of computer-controlled machines enable people to build “almost anything” automatically. Fablab Aachen is such a place, and is part of RWTH Aachen (one of the biggest universities in Germany), from which it gets most of its funding. Indeed, the tools in this place really are expensive toys.

The place itself is only a small room in the “Informatik-Zentrum” of the RWTH, but it’s packed with tools. Among the most prominent ones are a laser cutter, a professional 3D printing machine and a CNC milling machine.

The 3D printer produces object of outstanding quality. It uses regular plastic wire (the same as in Reprap), however, the manufacturer is trying to make sure that only their wire (that they sell with a large profit margin) is being used in the machine. The wire cartridges come with a chip that prevents them from being refilled with inexpensive plastic wire. Unfortunately, the fablab people did not even try to hack the system for fear of breaking the machine. Come on!

The milling machine is mostly used to manufacture printed circuit boards. The only advantage over the traditional chemistry-based method seems to be that it’s fully automatic, which, for me at least, does not really justify the much increased cost and the relatively poorly cut copper (though this particular one produces a pretty good result). But it probably fits better in the “full automation” spirit of the fablab.

Anyone can use the fablab, including for commercial projects. The only two conditions are to cover the cost of the materials and to release the design files of your project under a free license such as Creative Commons.