HOW TO START

A 3D PRINTING LAB
The special tips of
5 experts
 If you are thinking about opening a
3D printing lab...

INTRO
If you want to include 3D printing into
your workshop or your company...
If you’ve always been fascinated
with fablabs and want to know more
about them…

This is the ebook for you! Here you

DUC
will learn from five experts who run
fablabs or have opened a lab in their
company. They told us about how
their lab works and what they’ve
learnt from it, and gave tips for fu-
ture lab founders.

TION 2
3
 SCULPTEO’S INTERVIEWEES
Presenting: The fablab Techshop in Ivry, Paris and Lille
Position: Corporate sales and events manager
Background: Among others, worked for Sculpteo, and
MATHILDE BERCHON wrote a book about 3D printing
Lab created in: 2014
3D printers: 11
3D printing technologies: FDM
Purpose: To democratize digital manufacturing and
production tools

Presenting: The fablab WoMa in Paris

Position: Fabmanager
Lab created in: 2014
ALEXANDRE GUERGUADJ 3D printers: 3
3D printing technologies: FDM
Purpose: To democratize digital manufacturing and
production tools

4
 Presenting: The Carrefour Numérique2 fablab in Paris
Position: Head of department for Universcience
Lab created in: 2014
THIBAUD MENANTEAU 3D printers: 8
3D printing technologies: FDM
Purpose: To democratize digital manufacturing tools and use
them for mediation

Presenting: The Hudson Valley Advanced Manufacturing Center

(HVAMC), founded by the State University of New York
Position: Former Head Design Intern (now left the lab)
Lab created in: 2013
CARYN BYLLOTT 3D printers: 40
3D printing technologies: FDM, PolyJet
Purpose: To provide 3D printing services to students on campus,
businesses, entrepreneurs and schools

Presenting: The Google 3D printing lab in San Francisco

Position: Lead of the centralized 3D service bureau
Background: Mechanical engineering, manufacturing, and business
administration
CHAPMAN THOMPSON Lab created in: 2012
3D printers: 10
3D printing technologies: SLA, SLS, Polyjet, FDM, Binder jetting[2]
Purpose: To create rapid prototypes for Google projects.

5
 Contents

Introduction to 3D printing labs Page 76

Why open a 3D printing lab? Page )7
Page 15 Combining 3D printing with other technologies is always a good idea
Which material resources do you need to open a 3D printing lab? Page 10
Page 16 How to optimize the workflow?
How do you choose your 3D Printer? Page 14
Page 18 How much space? You don’t need a giant warehouse to create your lab

Employees and public Page 19

Who works in the lab? How should they be trained? Page 20
Page 25 How should people who use the lab be trained?
The users of a fablab? Everyone! Page 23

Economic model Page 26

How is a fablab funded? Page 27

Inside Wisdom Page 28

What did you learn since the lab opened? Page 29
 Introduction to
3D printing labs

Why open a 3D printing lab? Page )7

Page 15 Combining 3D printing with other technologies is always a good idea
Which material resources do you need to open a 3D printing lab? Page 10
Page 16 How to optimize the workflow?
How do you choose your 3D Printer? Page 14
Page 18 How much space? You don’t need a giant warehouse to create your lab

6
Why open a 3D
printing lab?

“
A 3D printing lab is a great asset for private companies:
Chapman Thompson told us that at Google, the 3D printing
lab provides faster rapid prototypes.

As for 3D printing labs open to the public, they can be,

like the Techshop and the WoMa, a place for makers and
professionals to produce everything from the prototype
“
I think any company that needs rapid
prototypes and is not satisfied with the
timing or quality that they get from ven-
dor-sourced parts would benefit from in-
to the finished product. They can also be, like Carrefour ternal 3D facilities.
Numérique2 a place to learn about digital manufacturing
and get familiar with its tools.

In the case of university labs like the HVAMC, they are a - Chapman Thompson
space that brings education and digital manufacturing to-
gether, where students and professionals can get real-life
experience with digital manufacturing.

7
 A little bit more information on each of these fablabs:
- Techshop is a network of collaborative
fabrication spaces in Ivry (in the suburb of
Paris) and Lille. They just opened a new one
in Paris, in Xavier Niel’s new Station F, the big-
gest startup campus in the world. Mathilde
Berchon, who we interviewed, works in the
one that was opened first: the Ivry space, a
2000 square meters fablab equipped with
150 industrial or semi-industrial machines.
They welcome people with every level of ex-
pertise and every kind of manufacturing goal,
but mostly professionals and entrepreneurs.
They position themselves as “an open work-
shop where people can go from the concept,
to the realisation of their project”.
- The WoMa is a fablab which aims to “re-
integrate production in the heart of the city”
“participate in the life of the neighbour-
hood”, and democratise production tools and
digital manufacturing for private individuals
and entrepreneurs. They created a commu-
nity that shares knowledge, practices, experi-
ences and skills related to manufacturing.
- Carrefour Numérique2 is more orient-
ed towards education and mediation. The
6000 people who visit every year are mostly
there to learn about digital manufacturing,
although some come with a prototyping proj-
ect. In very rare cases, they produce small
series. Their goal is to “breach the gap that
exists between young people and the world
of sciences and technologies”, and to “em-
power users regarding their ability to realise
objects by themselves.”
- The HVAMC lab is a public entity. It was
one of the first university 3D printing lab
when it opened in 2013. It provides expert
advice on 3D printing processes and materials
and designing for additive manufacturing to
students and to the SUNY New Paltz and the
Hudson Valley business community.
8
 “
“
Faster rapid
prototyping “Breaching the gap that exists be-
tween young people and the world
of sciences and technologies”

“Empowering users regarding their ability to

realise objects by themselves”
“
“
“Reintegrate production
in the heart of the city”
An open workshop where people can
go from the concept, to the realisa-
tion of their project

9
Which material resources
do you need to open a 3D
printing lab? One of the first questions you might have when
thinking about opening a lab is: what kind of re-
sources do I need? Here are our experts’ tips on
the amount and types of 3D printers, the other
digital manufacturing technologies to combine
with 3D printing, the necessary space and the
complementary software.

10
The lab experts we interviewed have between 3 and
40 machines in their machine pool. They mostly use
fused deposition modelling (FDM). At the Google lab,
they also have SLS (selective laser sintering), SLA (ste-
reolithography), Polyjet, and Binder jetting 3D printers.
The HVMAC uses Polyjet. And at the Techshop, even
though they only provided access to FDM machines in
their 2 first labs, they added industrial printers to their
newly-open lab in Paris, in particular SLA and SLS ma-
chines, which open the possibility (among many oth-
ers) to 3D print molds.
steps of project conception. But if you wish to create
a platform where your clients will go from conception
to production, more advanced 3D printing technologies
(like SLA and SLS) might be advised.
The same reflexion goes for companies that wish to add
3D printing into their company’s creation process. At
the Google lab, for example, polyjet is heavily used due
to size, speed, and appearance quality.

They all pointed out that FDM is a must-have: it is easier

to use, more affordable, and is suitable for the creation
of simple objects and prototypes. But you should adapt
to your target users. If you imagine a wide public of ea-
ger learners and makers, perhaps FDM will be enough.
It will be a great tool for rapid prototyping and the first

11
Which 3D printing technologies should you include?

10 Machines 11 Machines 8 Machines 11 Machines 40 Machines

SLA, SLS, FDM,

Polyjet, FDM FDM FDM, SLA, SLS FDM, Polyjet
Blinderjet

12
“ply need an FDM printer? The machine pool should allow the new users to project
“
What’s the point of buying in advance water jet cutters, or shopbots, if the users sim-

themselves into the space, to imagine taking part in it. Very often, an FDM printer, a
plotter, a vinyl cutter, and a small laser cutter or engraver do the job very well.

- Thibaud Menanteau

13
How do you choose
your 3D Printer?
For Mathilde Berchon, you should look for machines Which software to optimise 3D designs?
that are solid and easy to repair: it’s going to be used
by many people, and very regularly. She told us that
they chose a BP3DP, a boxed machine that is complete- Mathilde Thibaud Alexandre Caryn
ly closed and equipped with a coal filter. Berchon Menanteau Guarguadj Byllott
Netfabb Blender Rhino Rhino
The filter is an added value considering that a fablab, “each user OpenSCAD Grasshopper
in which a wide range of different materials (wood for has their
favorite Fusion 360
example) are cut and moved, is probably going to be software”
often filled with dust. The Techshop is also equipped
with an Ultimaker, a Delta and a Makerbot Z18 (which
is the most reliable).

14
 Combining 3D printing with other
technologies is always a good idea
The Techshop offers access to 150 different machines:
they conceived their space as a complete production
workshop. Users of this lab have access to industrial Which complementary technologies? A few examples:
machines to create with metal, wood, fabric, electron- Laser cutting and water jet cutting, vinyl cutting
ics, paint, etc. 3D printing is not the most used technol-
CNC, milling machines
ogy, but it’s in the top 3. The most used is laser cutting,
but every technology is used very regularly. 2D printing, and other tools to create with paper

Tools to create with fabric (sewing machine, embroiderer…)

You don’t need to necessarily have as many machines
Tools to create with wood, metal, paint
as a Techshop, but giving options to your lab’s users
is always a good idea. The types and numbers of ma- Powertools (drills, sanders…)

chines depends on your target public, and what you Arduino and tools for electronics
want them to be able to do.

For Thibaud Menanteau, “it’s important to let the pub-

lic know that 3D printing doesn’t only allow to produce
an object: it can also be one step of a longer workflow
(creating molds for example).”

15
At the Carrefour Numérique2, they have laser cut-
ters/engravers, CNC, vinyl cutters, printers, a sewing
machine, a digital embroidery machine, power tools
(drills, sanders, etc …), electronic tools (soldering iron,
Arduino, etc…).
At the WoMa, 3D printers are combined with a laser
cutter, two milling machines, one 6axis robot. Alexan-
dre Guerguadj told us that 3D printing doesn’t always
need to be combined with other digital manufacturing
technologies, but might: “it depends on the project”.
At the HVMAC, there are 3D printers and 3D scanners,
but other kinds of machines are available in other de-
partments of the university.
As for company labs, 3D printing might be sufficient.
Chapman Thompson tells us that Google has a ma-
chine shop within their larger organization in case they
need to do post-finishing, but that it’s fairly rare that
they need to.
“I do not think you need to com-
bine 3D printing with other technol-
ogies however, the inclusion of oth-
er technologies can enhance the
production of projects. Using other
technologies in conjunction with
3D printing broadens the utility of
the 3D printer. For example, in our
lab we use 3D scanners for projects.
The object can be digitally modi-
fied or repaired, and printed to pro-
duce, for example, replacements
parts.”
- Caryn Byllott
16
How to optimize the
workflow?
A workflow management software is useful
when you’re expecting a large production. It
will help optimise your workflow, send the
3D printing job to the right printer, and make
the whole production process smoother.
According to Chapman Thompson, a good
workflow optimizer gives “the status of re-
quest, which printer the job will go to, the
estimated completion time, the material
consumption, and the priority”.
For the WoMa and Carrefour Numérique2,
the workflow manager isn’t necessary be-
cause they don’t aim towards serial produc-
tion.
Mathilde Berchon from the Techshop told us
they don’t use a workflow optimizer because
too many different people use each machine
for their specific application. Each machine is
independent, and everyone uploads their 3D
file to the printer directly from an SD card or
an associated computer. Each person choos-
es their machine and uses it when they need
it, instead of planning several jobs that will
then be distributed.
17
How much space? You don’t need a giant ware-
house to create your lab
According to Thibaud Menanteau, opening a lab re-
quires very little space. “Some start with 50 square
meters, others with 800.” “At the beginning, space
counts much less than the investment of the users’’.
They are the main factor that will impact whether the
lab needs more space or not.”
Even Mathilde Berchon, who works in a 2000 square
meters lab (21528 square ft.), told us that you can start
with 20 square meters (215 square ft). A 3D printer and
a laser cutter can be enough at the beginning. Then,
you choose the space according to how diversified you
want your offer to be. However, she also stressed that
it is essential to plan for enough storage space.
At the Techshop, they underestimated the need for
storage space, for the tools and raw material brought
by users, their unfinished projects, etc…
Caryn Byllott added that the lab needs to be big enough
to allow space between the machines, and between
the machines and the walls, because 3D printers heat
up easily. She pointed out that the environment of the
machines needs to be controlled, as changes in tem-
perature and moisture affect the quality of the prints.
In a company lab, you should be just as cautious of how
you imagine space. Chapman Thompson told us:
“I thought we’d have more room
to add additional printers, but
space fills up very quickly with
both printers and post-processing
equipment.”
18
 Employees and public

Who works in the lab? How should they be trained? Page 20

Page 25 How should people who use the lab be trained?
The users of a fablab? Everyone! Page 23

19
 Who works in the lab?
How should they be trained?
A 3D printing lab can benefit most of the In fablabs, the question is different: who
departments of a company: it enhances cre- should you hire to help your customers use
ativity, and makes the production process the machines?
faster and more concrete. Holding a proto-
type in your hands is always more stimulat- Once again, the answer depends on your
ing than watching a 3D model on a screen. application. At the Techshop, since the
But the question is: who uses the machines, public is often professional, the employees
and who runs the lab? At Google, they de- are trained to use every machine. They are
cided to have a small staff that does all the all professionals in their field: product de-
printing and processing of internal requests sign, industrial or material engineering. To
for prints. complete their team, they are looking for
experts in electronics, programming and
robotics. New training programs are devel-
They invite people who send them a first
oping specially for future fablab employees:
request to tour their lab so they can show
FacLab created a fablab manager diploma,
them the different technologies and ma-
for example.
terials and discuss the specificities of their
applications. Chapman Thompson recom-
mends taking a dedicated training course in
CAD, either online or trough a local school.
either online or through a local school.

20

“What’s most important is
polyvalence. Employees
of a fablab need to be
curious, to enjoy learning
about new techniques
and machines, to love
technics and manufactur-
ing.
They also need to be so-
ciable and humble: to
make everyone, no matter
their project or level, feel
welcome. To help every-
one without judgement”
- Mathilde Berchon
For Thibaud Menanteau, the team needs to In a fablab, it’s best to have staff that is pas-
be able to guide the users toward the right sionate about the whole process, and will
platform, where they will find the informa- practice outside of work, on personal proj-
tion they need. When a new machine is in- ects.
stalled, the manufacturer trains one or two
people who will be in charge of transmitting Everyone doesn’t necessarily need to be
the knowledge to the rest of the team. trained to CAD design: according to Alexan-
dre Guergadj, “you can know how to han-
dle a 3D printer, repair it and generate a
Caryn Byllott adds that staff needs to know
how to clean and upkeep the machines,
G-Code adapted to the geometry without
knowing how to 3D design”.
and how to do basic machine troubleshoot-
ing in case, for example, of filament jams,
temperature changes that result in bad
extrusion, etc. She recommends that staff
take courses online or in person, and give
each other one on one tutoring. They don’t
need to be proficient in all the technologies:
“the lab ran quite efficiently with special-
ized teams working in the different depart-
ments of the lab (i.e machine upkeep, de-
sign work, post production, etc.)”
21
“
“
I prefer a centralized model (specialized team) where there are dedicat-
ed full-time personnel that run the printers. I’ve seen other groups purchase
printers with the expectation that anyone in their group can use it. In my ex-
perience, this model doesn’t work well because the printers are not properly
maintained after each job and overtime.
maintained after each job and overtime.

- Chapman Thompson

22
The users of a fablab?
Everyone!
For fablabs, another question needs to be asked: “3D printing creates many opportuni-
who is your target public? The fablab experts we
interviewed told us their target is “everyone”. They ties for ordinary people. It’s an acces-
wish to welcome people who have a digital manu- sible technology, that enables anyone
facturing project, as well as people who are simply
curious.
to become artisans 2.0 and get into en-
trepreneurship without going through
Carrefour Numérique2, as a public lab with a me- long studies. It allows people to realize
diation mission, welcomes mostly people who wish
to discover and learn about digital manufacturing, they can be actors of the object’s pro-
and only a few with a prototyping project. They tar- duction, not only consumers. It chang-
get families, geeks, schools and students, entrepre-
neurs, people in rehabilitation, workers, seniors,
es the relation one has with an object.
etc. Fun fact: Mathilde Berchon told us that sev- It gives access to objects that either
eral people who are regulars at the Techshop ac- haven’t been created by the market,
tually discovered digital manufacturing at Carrefour
Numérique2. or are usually unaffordable.”

At the WoMa, Alexandre Guerguadj tells us the - Thibaud Menanteau

mains goal is to welcome people from the neigh-
bourhood and entrepreneurs who want to create
prototypes. Some come only once, and others are
there several days a week.

23
In a university lab like the HVMAC, pub-
lics are particularly mixed, since students
work side by side with business owners
and entrepreneurs. Students print models
found on Thingiverse, but also personal
projects and school projects. In particular,
SUNY New Paltz recently created a new
Digital Fabrication minor which increases
the investment with the 3D printing space.
“We wish for the lab to be both a place
to stimulate innovation and a place for
people living nearby to create what they
imagine (everyday objects or eccentric
ideas).”
- Alexandre Guerguadj
For Mathilde Berchon, “the diversity of
the users is what makes our experience
so rich”. Most of their 400 members are
professionals, but makers and hobbyists
are also part of the adventure, and all
have very diverse backgrounds, technical
knowledge and manufacturing preferenc-
es. Because they pay quite an expensive
subscription, the group is constituted of
people who really want to join the lab, and
be part of its dynamic. What’s important is
to create a community:
“What we want is for the lab to become
their workshop, a part of their everyday
life.”
- Mathilde Berchon
A lot of the Techshop’s clients come ev-
ery day, and they really feel at home. And
for the people who work in the lab, the
sense of community is also an immense
added value: they get to follow tens of
entrepreneurship projects, built from the
ground. They accompany the growing
thirst for discovery of their users, and see
them create real objects, products that
can have a major utility for them or for
the larger public.
For Mathilde Berchon, the availability of
spaces like these make invention more
widely accessible, and helps people real-
ize they can take the plunge.
24
 How should people who use the lab be trained?
In a company lab or a fablab, you make ex-
pensive and complex machines available
to people who are not experts in their util-
isation. How should they be trained before
accessing those machines?
In Google’s company lab they solved the
question by limiting the access to a small
team, responsible of the machines.
The fablab experts told us about the train-
ing that is mandatory before people use
the machines, and the complementary
trainings they offer.
At the WoMa, before one gets access to
the machines, they have to go through a an
hour and a half training session: they learn
how to change the coil, how to recognise
a flawed 3D model, how to generate a cor-
rect G-code, and how to recognize basic
mistakes. They can then be autonomous
on the machines. Staff members are al-
ways here to answer additional questions.
Carrefour Numérique2 offers a 4-day training to
initiate the users to the lab’s tools. Users can fol-
low this training at any time.
At the Techshop, everyone follows a mandatory
training on how to use the machines safely and
autonomously. They also have to learn about the
“house rules”, the way maintenance is done, and
how to work with the team. For example, it is
forbidden to use several machines at a time, be-
cause you can’t block too much of the resources
to the other users.
The Techshop offers 38 additional trainings re-
lated to the machines and software know-hows.
Practical workshops, given by freelance trainers,
to groups of about 6 people. They can learn how
to create an object. Techshop chooses among
about 40 freelance trainers, that they know well,
and who teach about their field of expertise.
It is also possible to choose that the public
doesn’t access the machines. It’s the case at the
HVMAC: all the 3D designs are processed and
printed by the staff.
25
Economic model

Page 27 How is a fablab funded?

26
 How is a fablab funded?
At the WoMa, workshops and trainings for private indi-
viduals, schools (high schools, architecture and design
schools) or companies provide the funds needed to run
the lab.
At Carrefour Numérique², public funding helps for hu-
man resources, and there is a subscription system for
some of the machines (laser cutting, and vinyl printers/
cutters). They provide services on demand, rent their
space, and answer specific calls for projects. This allows
them to maintain a free and open access to their lab,
and reach the largest public possible:
“We want to encourage experimentation and seren-
dipity”, said Thibaud Menanteau. In particular, this free
status means they can accompany groups of young peo-
ple in reinsertion, brought to the lab by relay structures.
At the Techshop, users choose between subscriptions
that go from one day to 12 months. They can have an un-
limited access, or choose to get access to the workshop
in the evenings, during the day, or during the weekends.
For companies, the subscription is the same, but with
additional offers of team building sessions, and more
advanced support. The Techshop can also offer addition-
al trainings, and extra storage room. Their strategy is to
create a community, a place where people feel so good
they’ll want to recommend it.
At the HVMAC, the public pays for material cost, and can
also purchase design services. Students only pay 25% of
the full price.
27
Inside Wisdom

Page 29 What did you learn since the lab opened?

28
What did you learn since the
lab opened?
Mathilde Berchon from Techshop warned that
people often underestimate the need for stor-
age: it’s easy to forget everything that goes be-
yond the machines (raw materials, extra tools,
etc.).
“Without sufficient storage room, it
can quickly become chaotic.”
She also pointed out that it’s most important to
create a place where it feels good to work, since
you want people to feel like the lab is an exten-
sion of their personal workplace. Finally, she ad-
vised against the lack for basic reflexes in terms
of safety and machine protection, that can easily
be overlooked when you open a lab. For exam-
ple, a 3D printer is better off with a filter and a
case when it’s in a place that fills up with dust
quite rapidly.
Alexandre Guerguadj from the WoMa: “One of
our mistakes was not offering a machine train-
ing right away. We only had a global training
on all our equipments, which was too expen-
sive for private individuals. We failed to target
the common folk, people of the neighborhood.
Since then, we’ve created much more affordable
on-demand training for each machine.”
Thibaud Maneteau from Carrefour Numérique2:
“3D printing has a strong symbolic value in the
collective psyche, and it sparks copious amounts
of fantasies. You need to know how to give it its
rightful place: it’s simply an additional tool for
people who wish to solve problematics. We need
to distance ourselves from the idea that technol-
ogy can solve everything. There is a lot of talk
about technological innovation, but we choose
to emphasize social innovation projects, and the
reappropriation of production means.”
29
Chapman Thompson: “Fortunately or un-
fortunately, the lessons were learned af-
ter opening the lab! We’ve added printers
more quickly than I anticipated and there-
fore we are limited by space.” Because of
confusions with the architects, they had
to add connections after the printers were
positioned: “We mostly followed the min-
imum access area requirements for the
printers however we found that in some
cases we were able to reduce the manu-
facturers’ distance specifications slightly.”
“We specified an epoxy floor with some
texture however the floor can still get slip-
pery, especially in SLS areas and post-pro-
cessing areas. I’d recommend adding a grit
to the floor paint.”
“Depending on what technologies are in
use, there needs to be a large area dedi-
cated for the containers that are used to
collect waste (support material, uncured
resin, caustic chemicals, etc.)”

“Some equipment we have installed since

the lab, was built out had to be installed
through windows because the internal
doors weren’t tall enough for the fork
lift. The lesson here is to pay close atten-
tion when designing door heights, ceiling
heights, and other access features.”

30
 5 Tips from Caryn Byllott
experiences at HVMAC
Caryn Byllott from HVMAC: “the hardest thing is to make the first investment. Make connections, find people who are wanting to in-
vest in what you’re doing.”

1 2 3 4 5
From working in the lab, ‘‘3D printing tech- ‘‘Creating a team ‘‘Partaking in Com- ‘‘Holding various ‘‘Having a variety
she learned that: nology does not of individuals who munity outreach events at HVAMC of 3D printers that
serve one particu- come from a vari- has not only taught was a good way to print in different
lar community of ety of backgrounds the community introduce the tech- materials did not
people.’’ at the company (Vi- about this technol- nology to the com- only increase pro-
sual Art, Science, ogy but has also munity, get people duction but also
Tech, Engineering) enhanced the lab’s interested in using broadened the
has strengthened ability to educate our resources, and types of projects
our company’s abil- the public about popularize the the lab could man-
ity to partner and 3D printing in a lab.’’ ufacture.’’
collaborate with manner that is ac-
businesses and en- cessible and stimu-
trepreneurs of all lating.’’
types. It also allows
for coworkers to
collaborate, grow
and learn with and
from one another.’’

31
SUM
MA
Machines:
Buy resistant 3D printers:
they will be handled by
many people, more or less
experienced.
Combining 3D printing with
RY
other digital manufacturing
technologies enhances its
potential.
Staff:
A diverse, passionate staff
makes your lab richer. Make
sure they love communicat-
ing, and are able to assist
all kinds of projects, either
personal or business ones.
Train your staff so they
know how to handle the
machines, and to pass that
knowledge on. CAD knowl-
edge is a plus, but isn’t nec-
essary.
Space:
Make sure you have enough
storage room, and room for
waste disposal.
Space your machines so
they don’t heat each other
up too much.
Think ahead about which
machines you might add to
your lab. Plan the door sizes
and ceiling heights accord-
ingly.
32
SUM
MA
Public: Economic model:
There is no target public for 3D printing: it can ben- You can create different subscription systems ac-
efit everyone. Because your potential public is so cording to the needs of your public.
diverse, make sure you adapt your offers to individ-
uals, schools, entrepreneurs, etc. It is also possible to offer additional services: de-
sign, project support, additional trainings, etc.
Training required for the public depends on their

RY
needs: you can train them simply to evolve in the
space and use the machines properly, or help them
develop their possibilities (for example in design or
rapid prototyping)

Creating a community is one of the great strengths

of fablabs: create a space where it’s pleasant to
make and learn.

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FRANCE U.S
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94800 Villejuif - France San Francisco, CA
+33 1 83 64 11 22 94103