We recently attended the Midwest Fab Lab Network Symposium. It was awesome. <p><img src="http://www.mfln.org/images/Symposium%20Flier%20(2)_img_0.jpg" height=130></p> If you're not familliar, Fab Labs are a program that spun out of MIT's Center for Bits and Atoms. Neil Gershenfeld, the head of CBA, taught a class called "How to Make Almost Anything," and it was a huge success. So they replicated the workshop that the class used, and are now spreading the concept everywhere. It's really great; with a vinyl cutter, laser cutter, CNC machine, and a 3D printer, you really can make almost anything. The conference was well attended, almost every Fab Lab and most of the ones in development had at least one person there. It was really neat to see what other people are doing with fabrication equpiment. While the crowds we hang out in tend to be more job shops, industrial designers, and hobbyists, lots of the people there came from an educational background, as many Fab Labs are part of a college program. We all have different ways of achieving our goals, but we all have the same one in the end: bringing the excitement of building things to everyone. 2009-11-10T16:52:51Z 5 2009-11-10T16:52:51Z Well, last week was exciting! We just finished up the last few weeks of [AlphaLab](http://www.alphalab.org/). Demo Day was really exciting. We got to talk to a lot of cool people. It was a nice close to the program. If you're in Pittsburgh and are thinking about doing a web-based startup, you should apply. It's been a great experience. So, where do we go from here? Well, we're very happy with how things are going so far, and we'd love to hear your thoughts about it. We'll be sending out an email in a few to all of you with accounts, asking you how your experiences have been so far. We'd love to hear what you think! To those of you without accounts, we should be handing out a new batch very soon as well, so stick tight! In the meantime, no matter who you are, we'd love to hear what you have to say about digital fabrication, what gets you most excited about fabbing, something you'd like to see us do, or anything else. There's a bunch of different ways to give us a shout: * [Twitter](http://twitter.com/cloudfab) * [Email](mailto:info@cloudfab.com) * [Facebook](http://www.facebook.com/pages/CloudFab/168597564544) 2009-10-19T20:55:46Z 4 2009-10-19T20:55:46Z We'll be going to the Maker Faire this weekend in Rhode Island. We'll have some cool things to talk about and some beta invites to give away, so say hello if you happen to see us. We don't have a booth or anything, we're just going because it's awesome. Check it out [here](http://makerfaireri.com/). 2009-09-16T23:39:56Z 3 2009-09-16T23:42:54Z We're super excited to see prototyping getting cheaper and more proliferated every day. We remember Neil Gershenfeld writing about the “Coming Revolution on Your Desktop” in his book [Fab](http://www.amazon.com/FAB-Revolution-Desktop-Computers-Fabrication/dp/0465027458), and it's awesome to see the movement making so much progress. Both the big boys and the grassroots are driving this trend. In the big boys corner, they're trying to get machines onto the desks of industrial designers with the Stratasys [uPrint](http://www.dimensionprinting.com/3d-printers/3d-printing-uprint.aspx) and 3D Systems' [V-Flash](http://www.modelin3d.com/). These were a direct response to [Desktop Factory](http://www.desktopfactory.com/) – whose goal was to sell a system for $5K. Unfortunately, they ran into development trouble, and they were beat to the market by the incumbents. We're anxious to get our hands on one though. The grassroots side all started with the [RepRap project](http://reprap.org/bin/view/Main/WebHome) that made a cheap 3D printer, and Zach “Hoeken” Smith took it even further by forming the RepRap Research Foundation. Now, he and Make superstar [Bre Pettis](http://www.brepettis.com/) have moved to making “RepStraps” called the [MakerBot](http://www.makerbot.com/). As Zach says, “MakerBot is Ubuntu to RepRap's Debian”, and it's completely true. Before, we had to drive to [NYC Resistor](http://www.nycresistor.com/) or [HacDC](http://hacdc.org/) to get our print on - now [our friends](http://makergear.com) are making them. If we look at [how technology is advancing](http://singularity.com/charts/page50.html) in general, we see that the rate of invention adoption is accelerating. Bringing fabrication to the masses is going to open up a new dimension to this dynamic. By bringing the “means of production” down the ladder to the individual, we're going to speed the design to adoption lifecycle – making innovation fast and closer to our dreams. 2009-08-12T19:52:03Z 2 2009-09-11T15:32:29Z In the beginning, humans fashioned all their possessions with their own skills - ones they learned from their community. Over time certain members specialized in the art of making things - thus began the age of the artisan. Trade specialization increased to the point where each trade became a science. These tradesmen began to develop all kinds of tricks to make their tasks easier – the industrial revolution began. As they further automated their tasks they vastly increased the efficiency of production – thus began the age of mass production. This trend toward automation continues in our time, however there is a storm gathering in the distance. A storm that will wash away many of the paradigms of the past and bring us back to some of the roots of our humanity. Techniques that were once only available to a select few are coming within the reach of all of us. As technology becomes more ubiquitous, the ability to shape your own reality increases. This democratization of innovation allows nearly anyone with an idea to solve their own problems and realize their own dreams - thus begins the age of mass customization. These trends are all culminating to form the perfect storm of achieving these ends. A vast reservoir of spare capacity exists waiting to be tapped by latent demand. Digital fabrication techniques now allow us the standardization and consistency to remotely produce unique, high quality parts and devices. The internet allows us all to share files, tools, and techniques that foster innovation without requiring vast sums of money. All of this - and at the same time the population is growing tired of mass produced goods that only superficially connect with them and their lives. At CloudFab, we believe strongly in this movement, and so we've developed this platform to enable those with the fabrication equipment to share their machines with the greater public. We hope our service will be one step towards the goal of truly personal fabrication. Now the journey begins. 2009-08-11T20:51:24Z 1 2009-09-08T19:48:15Z