The FabMake in Nantes: open but not so easy to access
Located at the heart of the Technocampus, huge industrial complex dedicated to research in Nantes, the new FabMake should bring together researchers and industry.
(Nantes, special envoy)
Airbus, Daher, Centrale or even l’École des Mines… A number of fairies have bent over the cradle of the FabMake, new fablab located at the Nantes Technocampus, which opened on September 30th. The project emerged from a common initiative from the Jules Verne Institute of Technological Research (IRT) and the EMC2 competitive cluster. It immediately aroused the interest of university lecturers and industrial members of this R&D complex, thrilled to host a fablab where their engineers could come and prototype at leisure.
“The fablab is open to all, but our objective is mainly to bring together researchers and engineers present on the Technocampus with entrepreneurial project leaders and start-ups.” Olivier Daïrien, fabmanager
Winner of the 2013 Fablabs call for projects launched by the ministry for Productive Recovery, the FabMake benefits right off the bat from a substantial investment budget of 500,000 euros (200,000 € of which are a state donation and 300,000 € direct financing from the Jules Verne IRT). As a result, the FabMake, operational since September 8th, is already ultra-equipped.
“In order to set up the fablab machinery we called upon the Fabshop because we needed expertise on the subject” says Olivier Daïrien, 25, hired in April and who has since converted the 400 square metres into several areas of fabrication, design, storage…and rest.
With immediate neighbours (under huge 2000 m2 warehouses) such as the CEA (Atomic Energy Commission) and the IRT robotics workshop, the positioning of the fablab is already found. “We are going to focus on robotics prototyping, including novices, with workshops led by researchers” continues Olivier Daïrien.
The fablab is nevertheless officially open to the general public that has to prove its credentials in order to enter this protected site. A single fee of 35 euros per month (with a discount for job-seekers and students) includes 6 hours of training on the machine of your choice and allows you to access it with no time limit. “The objective here is to link users in a community spirit and for entrepreneurial project leaders to find investors, distribution channels, and future clients on the spot.”
In short, a “pro” orientated fablab that distinguishes itself from Plateforme C, the other fablab in Nantes, more open to DIY, that led the Documentation & Fablab workshop of the Nantes Digital Week (Makery reported on it here). “Due to our positioning linked to research and industry, our place is slightly isolated in the local ecosystem. But our actions are complementary of those of Plateforme C and I hope that eventually we can work on joint projects”, adds Olivier Daïrien.
Interview of Olivier Daïrien, fabmanager of the FabMake (in French):
Latest news from the Nantes FabMake on its Facebook page.
The website of the Jules Verne IRT that is supporting the project.
The website of the EMC2 Technocampus that hosts it.