Top Stories | New Equipment Digest: Nowadays, you don't need to work in a manufacturing facility to manufacture things.
You can just hop on over to one of a growing number of manufacturing and prototyping shops that are popping up throughout the country – the latest of which is General Electric Co.'s "GE Garages" in Chicago.
GE describes the facility as "an advanced-manufacturing fab lab for technologists, entrepreneurs and makers."
5 comments:
Another cool article out of Chicago, my home town. This is a really cool concept that seems to be growing and for a good reason. I can only imagine how many great inventions never happened because the inventor didn't have access to the tools or machines he/she needed to make it real. This is such a great opportunity for those creative minds who just don't normally have access to this kind of equipment. My only question is whether this is just a temporary thing or a permanent facility. The article makes it sound like it will only be open for a month. I would understand if they started charging some kind of fee to use the equipment after the first free month but to just close it seems strange. Other than that it's a really cool idea and I would be interested in seeing some of the projects that come out of it.
This is a great idea and a wonderful way for people who would not normally have access to high-tech tools to get some experience with them. This could be a great way for people who are just starting out as entrepreneurs or who hope to get jobs in manufacturing and innovation. I thought that one of the most important things was the workshops and guest speakers- that this endeavor is not just making the technology available, it is also going to teach people with little to no experience useful things. I hope a permanent version of this is established, although it seems like it would be very expensive to maintain if it remained free.
We have seen maker collectives forming throughout the country and it is interesting that GE has funded a version of that maker culture. I wonder what strings come with the technology and materials. It is really cool that a company is bringing a commercial version of these fabrication facilities but I wonder what effect that will have on the independent maker shops. The addition of injection molding machines are also a nice touch. It is cool but I think that there is something sinister behind GE creating these places. I don't trust them.
This seems like an awesome idea! Just the fact that GE is giving people the chance to make their ideas become real who may have not had the resources otherwise, is really cool. But in addition to supplying the technology to help people create things, they are also offering workshops and other educational resources, which is amazing. Giving more people the chance to make their new ideas real is so important because that is where some of the best ideas come from. We need to help people help us solve problems. We have no idea what kinds of innovative ideas are out there unless we help people get them out. And this is why the educational aspect is so great too, because some people may have great ideas but no idea where to begin. This is just really one of the best ideas I've ever heard of.
What is interesting about this is that not only do they have the basics, they also have the more advanced fabrication tools. What I find weird about UPS is that they started getting into 3D prating, but why not laser cutting? GE has it all, but I have always talked about laser cutting shops with people. So many more individuals use laser cutters. I think if UPS or FedEx wanted to get into the fabrication industry more, they should go to laser cutters.
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