Current thinking and comment

By Anne Dornan, on 23 March 2010

It was fantastic to see the UK’s first Fab Lab open in Manchester today at the Chips Building in New Islington. This new hi-tech community fabrication laboratory was buzzing with people from all walks of life, and across the age spectrum, making a whole host of things. The Fab Lab will bring innovation to the people right in the heart of the city’s historic industrial manufacturing area of Ancoats.

This remarkable place contains all the design, engineering and digital manufacturing equipment necessary for anyone to progress their ideas from inception all the way through to prototyping.

The Innovation Manchester teams supported the Manufacturing Institute in piloting the UK Fab Lab model in Manchester (naturally!)and joining the network of Fab Lab sites across the globe. Fab Labs from inner-city Boston to rural India are connected via a live video link network enabling ideas, designs and knowledge to be shared globally.

Manchester’s budding innovators have already made a ‘Sky Baby’ folding travel carry cot, a ‘Crackit Bat’ ultra-light beach cricket bat and model wind turbines. And a group of young carers from Manchester Young Inventors Group are working towards creations that will help make their caring duties easier.

You can see the nation’s first Fab Labbers in action here