FabLab Airedale: Introductory Offer and Visit

FabLab Airedale is open at last. We had been looking forward to it for months just as children look forward to Father Christmas (see "A FabLab for Keighley" 9 Nov 2011 and "FabLabs for Yorkshire: Progress Report" 16 Jan 2012).  Now I have actually seen it.   I visited it on 20 April 2012 and was given a grand tour by the manager, James Kitson (see my report "Keighley FabLab opens for Business" in my Inventors Club blog of 1 May 2012).

I also met Jane Bilous, the Masterplan Delivery Officer of the Airedale Partnership, while I was there and Jane, James and I discussed a number of ways in which we could co-operate.   The first of these will be a visit by the Leeds Inventors Group on 16 May 2012 between 18:00 and 19:45 (see "16th May Leeds Inventors Group -visit to Fablab Airedale" in the Leeds Inventors Group blog of 30 April 2012).   As there will not be a meeting of the Sheffield Inventors Group in May because the first Monday falls on a public holiday, inventors from Sheffield are also invited.   It will be the first opportunity for members of the two Yorkshire clubs to meet.  Places however are limited so you must call Ged or Stef of Leeds Central Library on 0113 247 8266 to book your place.

Other projects that we discussed were an introductory seminar on IP like the ones we gave to FabLab Manchester on 12 Oct 2011 (see "FabLab Manchester: Introduction to Intellectual Property" IP North West 8 Nov 2012) and Freerange Artists in Carlisle on 8 March 2012 (see "Introducing IP to Freerange Artists in Carlisle" IP North West 10 March 2012), a funding workshop with business angels, bankers, community development finance institutions and venture capitalists and maybe an inventors' academy in conjunction with the Manchester FabLab, Carlisle's Freerange and the Sheffield Refab Space.

For a limited period, businesses in the metropolitan district of Bradford can receive up to one day's free machinery time and technical support from the FabLab staff which could include rapid prototyping, 3D printing or other consultancy. Since commercial design agencies charge a lot of money for those services, this could be quite a saving.   Call 01535 606703 or email info@fablabairedale.org  to register your interest.

If anybody has any questions or comments about this post or FabLabs generally, he or she can contact me through my contact form,, Facebook, Linkedin, Xing or twitter or call me on 0113 320 3232 .

"Refab - a fabrication laboratory for Sheffield"

Last week I reported Integreatplus's "Learning Lunch" at the Electric Works in Sheffield.  One of the two star speakers was James Wallbank of Access Space.  Access Space has recently been listed as number 2 in The Guardian and Nesta's pantheon on Britain's 50 New Radicals. So James is something of a celebrity.

Sheffield Inventors Group is delighted to welcome him as guest speaker on Monday, 5 March 2012 at 18:00.   

The title of his talk will be on "Refab - a fablab for Sheffield".  He will talk about Refab-Space and what it can do for inventors, craftsmen and women, artists, designers and entrepreneurs in South Yorkshire.   Since some of those bods will set up businesses that will require professional services and investment, this talk should also appeal to patent and trade mark agents, design consultants, angles and banks in the county.

The meeting will take place at

Sheffield Central Library, 

Surrey Street,
Sheffield
S1 1XZ.

Admission is free but you are strongly advised to book your place in advance.   Call or email Lynne Hichcliffe on 0114 273 4736 to let her know you are coming.   The last Sheffield Inventors Club meeting was packed.  Standing room only.

Integreatplus's Learning Lunch: Refab Space and FabLab

There was definitely a touch of Spring in the air today as I followed the Don to Sheffield. According to my car's thermometer the temperature hit 18 degrees Celsius at one point which is almost unheard of for February in Yorkshire.

The early taste of Spring was a good backdrop for Integreat Plus's Learning Lunch which was the reason for my journey. The topic was "What are these Fablabs". The speakers were James Wallbank, chief executive officer of Access Space, and the Manufacturing Institute's Eddie Kirkby.  They had a good audience which included academics like Prof. Paul Atkinson of Sheffield Hallam University, product designers like Dan Taylor of Click Industrial Design, architects from SKINN (Shalesmoor, Kelham Island and Neepsend Network) not to mention a respectable delegation from the local authority.

James's presentation was particularly timely as Access Space had been listed as number 2 in NESTA and The Guardian's list of 50 New Radicals (see Geoff Mulgan's article in The Guardian on 18 Feb 2012). James spoke about the work of Access Space which brings together learners from all kinds of backgrounds and gives them hands on experience of computing through working on recycled hardware and open source software. The project has inspired similar centres around the world and there are now 100 across Europe and Latin America.   Access Space's latest project is the Refab-Space which will be a fabrication laboratory for Sheffield.

Manchester, of course, already has a FabLab and Eddie Kirkby is one of its prime movers.  I first met him at the breakfast meeting in Daresbury and was bowled over by the project (see "FabLab Manchester" in my IP North-West blog of 18 July 2011).  The two things that appeal to me about FabLab are that it places an important new technology within reach of ordinary people and its technologies bring manufacturing back to Britain.  Eddie gave some heartening news about the success of FabLab. It had attracted twice as many users as it had expected and it was paying its way commercially. More FabLabs were on the way.   Keighley in Spring 2012.  Northern Ireland some time later this year.  West of Scotland shortly after that and another centre in the North West.

The commercial success of FabLab prompted me to ask a question that had been discussed in a number of forums as to whether FabLab was taking bread out of product design and development consultants' mouths.   "Too bad if it is" was the general view, "They have to develop new business models or take the consequences."  Eddie pointed out it was too late to do anything about it because open source design software was already available.  Professor Atkinson recalled that graphic designers made similar objections to desk top publishing 20 years ago but it did not hurt them in the end as they simply changed their business models.  The product designers in the audience agreed.  The ghost of Ned Ludd was well and truly laid to rest.

For those who missed the presentations, there will be an opportunity to catch James Wallbank at Sheffield Inventors Group on 5 March 2012 at 18:00.  He will be the guest speaker at the Group's next meeting at Sheffield Central Library, Surrey Street, S1 1XZ.  He will talk about how the Refab Space can help inventors.  The talk is free but let Lynne Hichcliffe know that you are coming because it is likely to be popular.  The last meeting was packed.  Email her or give her a tinkle on 0114 273 4736.

 If you fancy a jaunt across the Pennines, Haydn Insley of the Manchester FabLab will be guest speaker at Liverpool Inventors Club next Monday (see "Liverpool Inventors Club Re-launch - Fabulous FabLab" Inventors Club 28 Jan 2012).  The meeting will take place on Monday, 27 Feb 2012 at 18:00 at the offices of QualitySolicitors Jackson & Canter at 88 Church Street, Liverpool L1 3AY.

If anybody has any questions or comments, he or she can contact me through my contact form,, Facebook, Linkedin, Xing or twitter or call me on 0113 320 3232.

FabLabs for Yorkshire: IntegreatPlus Learning Lunch

Following on from my progress report on FabLabs for Yorkshire which I published on 16 Jan 2012, I have just been reminded  of IntegreatPlus's Learning Lunch: What are these FabLabs? Personalised Manufacturing in Sheffield on 23 Feb 2012 at 12:30.

The speakers will be Eddie Kirkby of the Manufacturing Institute and James Wallbank of Access Space Network. I have heard Eddie at Daresbury and he speaks very well.


The lunch will take place at

Creative Sheffield

First Floor

The Fountain Precinct

Balm Green

Sheffield

S1 2JA

The event is free thanks to sponsorship from the Institute for Economic Development and Creative Sheffield but space is limited. To reserve your space contact rob.cullen@integreatplus.com.

FabLabs for Yokshire: Progress Report

On 9 Nov 2011 I reported that plans were in hand for a FabLab in Keighley (see "A FabLab for Keighley"). The consortium behind the project has just published a website at  http://www.fablabairedale.org so we now know a little more about it.

According to the "About Us" page:

"Fab Lab is the first stage of an ambitious project to create a Centre of Manufacturing Excellence within Airedale serving Bradford District and the surrounding parts of the Leeds City Region. Fab Lab Airedale is a collaborative venture between the Airedale Partnership, Bradford Council and Leeds City College, with support from The Manufacturing Institute. The Fab Lab Airedale will operate as a not for profit company limited by guarantee. Any profits generated through the running of the Fab Lab will be reinvested in the aims of the project which are to promote innovation and excellence within the local manufacturing and related sectors."

We also know that the FabLab will be located at Dalton Mills. I drove past the site on Saturday and was very impressed.

We still don't know when the Airedale FabLab will open. Early 2012 according to the website.   I called the number on the website this morning and was put through to a lady at the city council.  She could tell me nothing more than that it would be soon.

The next FabLab in Yorkshire is likely to be in Sheffield. A meeting took place in Sheffield in July 2009 at which Eddie Kirby of the Manufacturing Institute announced plans for a chain of FabLabs around the UK and this was confirmed by Professor Gerschenfeld himself when he was interviewed on BBC Radio on 14 Nov 2011. There was a vigorous debate on a FabLab for South Yorkshire in the Sheffield City Region Linkedin group before Christmas.  

Elsewhere in the country there appear to be plans for FabLabs in Brighton and Troon. All these projects are supported by a group of enthusiasts known as "FabLabsUK" who have set up a website and Meetup group.

As always, If anybody has any questions or comments, he or she can contact me through my contact form, Facebook, Linkedin, Xing or twitter or call me on 0113 320 3232 .

A FabLab for Keighley?

"FabLab" is an abbreviation for fabrication laboratory. It is described in Wikipedia as "a small-scale workshop offering (personal) digital fabrication." It is typically equipped with a range of computer controlled tools that cover several different length scales and various materials, with the aim of making "almost anything". There are FabLabs across the world from Southern Ghana to Northern Norway including one in Manchester that I mentioned in my IP North West blog yesterday ("FabLab Manchester: Introduction to Intellectual Property" IP North West 8 Nov 2011).

Jane Keats gave a presentation that focused on FabLabs entitled "Factories of the Future" to Leeds and Sheffield inventors clubs on 21 Sept and 3 Oct 2011 (see "Jane Keats on 'Factories of the Future'" in my Inventors Club blog of 7 Nov 2011 and "LIG 21st Sept 11 Fablabs - Factories of the Future? Jane Keats" in the Leeds inventors Group blog). Also, the Keighley News reported that a mobile FabLab would be set up in Keighley on 8 Sept 2011 to coincide with the British Science Festival (see "Chance to go and explore Universe", Keighley News 8 Sept 2011).

In her talk Jane mentioned the possibility of a permanent FabLab in Keighley there are at last signs that that may be happening. Much of the equipment for the Keighley site was purchased some months ago and is now being stored at FabLab Manchester. Now the post of CEO for the "Centre for Manufacturing Excellence" at an annual salary of £45,000. The job advertisement notes that:

"The CME will also operate a Fab Lab. A Fab Lab is a digital fabrication laboratory, originating from MIT in the States around ten years ago to “empower individuals rather than institutions to be able to make almost anything”.Fab Labs are a facility for rapid prototyping and assistance with product development. Labs also provide educational and training workshops for schools, colleges and open access to the community.


The CEO on appointment will initially establish a smooth and effectively operating Fab Lab, exploiting different markets to generate revenue to sustain the Fab Lab operations.The Fab Lab will attract commercial clients, sole inventors, schools, colleges and a diverse community."

I drew these developments to the attention of Councillor Mehboob Khan, leader of Kirklees metropolitan borough council and deputy chair of the Leeds City Region local enterprise partnership at the LEP Summit in September. Councillor David Ridgway, another Kirklees Councillor has also offered his support.

The job description for the Keighley FabLab stipulates that the successful candidate will have "an understanding of intellectual property rights". That is to be welcomed though he or she and the interview panel should be aware that additive manufacturing technologies present particularly complex. As a starter, however, they would do worse than begin with the presentations that patent agent Tom Hutchinson, specialist solicitor Michael Sandys and I gave to FabLab Manchester on 12 Oct 2011.

If anybody has any questions or comments, he or she can contact me through my contact form, Facebook, Linkedin, Xing or twitter or call me on 0113 320 3232.