Deusto gets hooked on industry 4.0

Laying of the first stone of DeustoFabLab with the presence of the Mayor of Bilbao[ /caption]

On March 27, the first stone of the laboratory was laid digital manufacturing Deusto FabLab sponsored by the University of Deusto and the Bizkaia Provincial Council to promote creativity, innovation and design in the development of new products, services and experiences.

DeustoFabLab is a multidisciplinary space open to society and belongs to the global network led by the MIT -Massachusetts Institute of Technology-, a nexus for thousands of researchers of new production models at all levels of design, architecture and engineering. The University of Deusto thus makes its own contribution to the transformation process of the Basque economy towards industry 4.0.

Fab labs are spaces for experimentation in the field of production that are integrated into the local contexts where they are located. Therefore, there is a great diversity between the objectives, projects and achievements, business models and local articulations according to each Fab lab. Some are explicitly directed at artists and cross digital fabrication to the experiences and environments of hackerspaces, while others are oriented to the solution of social and health problems; some are publicly funded, others seek business models that will sustain them. The projects that have been developed in the Fab labs include solar and hydraulic turbines, computers and wireless data networks (thin client), analysis instruments for agriculture and health, personalized houses, rapid prototyping machines and many others.

The Fab lab concept appears at the beginning of the 2000s at the Center for Bits and Atoms (CBA) of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) whose director was already at that timeNeil Gershenfeld. It was born from a collaboration, within the Media Lab of MIT, between the Grassroots Invention Group and the CBA, whose research revolves around the relationship between information content and its physical representation and the empowerment of communities thanks to basic technology. Within the framework of the development of its research, the CBA receives funding

Mission. FabLabs are a global network of local laboratories that enable access to manufacturing equipment promoting creation.n of the National Science Foundation (NSF) to acquire machines capable of “building almost everything”.^{1 The Fab lab was born as a way to justify this funding, “doing what was done at MIT, instead of just talking about it”.2 In 2002, the first Fab labs emerged in India, Costa Rica, < a title="Norway" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norway">Norway, Boston and Ghana, being a local-scale production unit .}

Current equipment.

• CO2 laser cutting machine for 2D and 3D structures, engraving and/or cutting materials; a vinyl cutting machine for signage, textile customization, cutting copper sheets for antennas and flexible circuits;
• High precision milling machine for printed circuit boards and precision parts; a large milling machine for furniture and coverings;
• 3D printers for rapid prototyping of almost anything and a wide range of electronic components and programming for rapid prototyping of electronic circuits.

Access. FabLabs have digital manufacturing machines capable of manufacturing almost anything, anything that does not harm anyone.

Education. Operational, educational and technical assistance in FabLabs is personalized and professional.

Users. Open to students, the university community and the general public, as long as they respect the Fab Charter.

Responsibilities.

• Safety – knowing how to work with equipment without harming people or machines.
• Operations – assist with cleaning, maintenance and improvement of the laboratory.
• Knowledge – provide documentation, files and instructions for each project developed.

Copyright. Designs and processes developed in the FabLab must be kept available for use by individuals, although intellectual property may be protected or sold by its developer.

Business. Commercial activities can be carried out within a FabLab, but these activities must not conflict with other users, nor with development processes, nor with accessibility hours.

Origin. FabLabs were born as an outreach project of MIT in Boston in 2004. Hundreds of FabLabs have since opened around the world, forming the global network of FabLabs, called the Fab Network. As of today, the worldwide Fab Network is made up of more than 400 individual local laboratories connected globally.