Amsterdam,February2013

TheFabLabAmsterdamusers: asurveyontheirprofileandactivity.
Author:IreneMaldini.EmbeddedresearcherofVUUniversityAmsterdamatWaagSociety. Collaboration:BasvanAbel,AlexSchaubandFrankKresin. Supervision:JavierGimenoMartinez

ABOUTTHISREPORT ThisreportpresentsthefindingsofasurveydistributedamongtheFabLab AmsterdamusersduringthemonthofNovember2012.Thesurveywashosted onlineandcountedwith190fullresponsesfromthecommunity. ThisstudyhasbeendevelopedwithinabroaderresearchprojectcalledObject userrelationshipsinopendesigndynamics,a9monthscollaborationoftheVU UniversityAmsterdamandWaagSocietywithintheprogramEmbedded ResearchersintheCreativeIndustry,promotedbytheVrijeUniversiteitandthe UniversiteitvanAmsterdam(September152012June152013).Inthiscontext, themainpurposeofthesurveywastoselectrelevantusersoftheFabLab Amsterdamandlaterexaminetheirattachmenttoobjectscreatedthrough participatorydesignandselfmanufacturing.Thataside,thisdocumentmakesthe outcomesofthesurveypublictoencouragefurtheranalysesofitsresults. THEFABLABAMSTERDAM TheFabLabAmsterdamwasestablishedin2007byWaagSociety,instituteforart, scienceandtechnology.ItwasfirstlocatedinParkhuisdeZwijgerandinJune 2010itmovedtoNieuwmarkt,intheoldestsecularbuildingofAmsterdam,where itfunctionsuntiltoday.1

1A.Schaub,interviewwiththeauthor,Amsterdam,20November2011.

 Fig.1.Interiorofthe
FabLabAmsterdam

FabLabAmsterdam
Fig.2.Exteriorofthe

In2007WaagSocietywasparticipatingintheboardofFablab.nl,agroup promotingtheFabLabconceptintheNetherlands.Inparallel,WaagSocietywas turningfromalabworkingontheinternettoalabworkingmuchmoreonphysical productsandprototyping.TheconceptoftheFabLabwasverymuchinthelineof WaagSocietysvisionofmakingtechnologyaccessible,sothesemotivationswere combinedtosetuptheirownprototypinglaboratoryandopenitasaFabLab.2 FabLabsareworkshopsofdigitalfabrication,accordingtotheirinitiatorFabLab canmeanalabforfabricationorsimplyafabulouslaboratory.3ThefirstFabLab wascreatedinthecontextoftheCenterforBitsandAtoms(CBA),headedbyProf. Dr.NeilGershenfeldoftheMassachusettsInstituteofTechnology(MIT),asa meanstostudythecomputationalcapacitiesthatareinherenttophysicalsystems. TheCBAhassupportedthesettingupabroadofasmallnumberofsimilarFab Labs,tobeabletodofurtherresearchintotheeffectsandpossibilitiesofmaking accessiblethecomputationalcapabilitiesofthephysicallayer.TheFabLabconcept quicklybecamepopularamongusersoutsidetheresearchdomain,andan internationalnetworkofsimilarFabLabscameintobeing.4Nowadays(November 2012)therearearound150FabLabsworldwideand9intheNetherlands.5The FabLabAmsterdamhasaparticularreputationintheworldwidecommunity, positionedasaworkingspacemorerelatedtoartanddesignthantotechnology andengineering,aprofileclosertootherFabLabs.AmsterdamandBarcelonahave servedasexamplestootherinnovationcentersbeingsetuparoundtheglobe.6 Nowadays,thespaceinNieuwmarktcountswiththefollowingequipmentfor prototypinganddigitalfabrication: Lasercutter Bigmillingmachine Smallmillingmachine
2B.VanAbel,interviewwiththeauthor,Amsterdam,21November2011;A.Schaub,interviewwith 3N.Gershenfeld,Fab.TheComingRevolutiononYourDesktopFromPersonalComputerstoPersonal

theauthor,Amsterdam,20November2011.

Fabrication,NewYork(BasicBooks)2005,p.12. 4WebsiteoftheInternationalFabLabassociation:<http://fablabinternational.org/fablab/where doesitcomefrom>[16November2012] 5<http://wiki.fablab.is/wiki/Portal:Labs>[16November2012] 6A.Schaub,interviewwiththeauthor,Amsterdam,20November2011.

3Dprinter Vinylcutter Embroiderymachine Moldingandcastingstation Electronicworkspace7 Thelasercutteristhemostpopularequipment,followedbythebigmilling machine;theyoftenhavetobebookedmonthsbeforebeingused.Otherfacilities liketheelectronicworkspaceormoldingandcastingstationareused spontaneouslyanddontrequirereservation.8 ThefacilitiesareopentothepublicfromMondaytoFriday(10:0018:00), TuesdaysandThursdaysaretheopendays,whenthespacecanbeusedfreeof charge.ReservationisrequiredandcanbedonethroughtheFabLabwebsite (http://fablab.waag.org/);however,alotofuserscomespontaneouslytomakeuse oftheavailablefacilitiesatthemoment.Mondays,WednesdaysandFridaysareto beusedbyWaagSocietysprojectsororganizations/individualswillingtopayfor theuseoftheequipment.Theymaychoosetousethefacilitiesthesedaysbasedon immediateavailability(opendaysaregenerallybookedinadvance)orforprofit drivenuseofthelab.Besidesthemanagerofthelab,itsstaffisbasedoninterns andvolunteers.Internsaregenerallyinternationalstudentswillingtolearnabout digitalfabrication.9Theyassistusersintheirprojectsandhelpintheorganization ofthelab. Havingintroduceditsfacilitiesorworkingdynamics,itisimportanttonotethat thisreportfocusesonthecharacteristicsoftheFabLabcommunity.Thefollowing sectionsgiveanaccountofthemethodologyandoutcomesofaconsultation distributedamongitsmembersinNovember2012.

7WebsiteoftheFabLabAmsterdam<http://fablab.waag.org/machines>[21November2012] 8Ibidem. 9Ibidem.

A.Schaub,interviewwiththeauthor,Amsterdam,20November2011.

METHOD ThesurveypresentedhereaimedtocollectgeneralinformationabouttheFabLab usersandtheoutcomesoftheirwork.Consideringtheinternationaland technologicallyorientedcharacteristicsoftheFabLabthesurveywaswrittenin English,itwashostedonlineanditsdistributionwasinternetbasedaswell. InvitationstoparticipatewereplacedinthehomeoftheFabLabwebsite,onthe walloftheFabLabsfacebookandsentbyemailtoallmembersofthecommunity. TheiremailswerecollectedfromtheprofilesintheFabLabwebsite:aprofileis neededtoreservetheuseofmachinesormaketheresultsofonesworkpublic.10 InvitationsweresentfromtheemailaddressoftheFabLabmanager;they includedanestimationofthetimeneededtofillinallthequestions(lessthanfive minutes)andannouncedthepossibilityofwinningonedayofworkattheFabLab toallrespondentsfinishingthesurvey.Wereceived190completedresponses.An introductiontothesurveyinitsfirstpageincludedtheinstitutionalcontextofthe researchandtheobjectivesoftheconsultation,whichconsistedin12compulsory and8optional/dependentquestionsthatcanbefoundinAppendix1. Thequestionswereorganizedinthreesectionsnamed:yourprofile,youractivity intheFabLabandresults,combiningclosedquestionswithpreselectedanswers andafewopenquestions.Thesecondandthirdsectionallowedsimultaneous multipleanswers;thereforeresultsexpressedinpercentagevaluesarenot necessarilycomplementary.Anotherreservationhastobeconsideredwhile analyzingtheseresults:theonlinesurveywasdirectedtoFabLabusers;however atleast24respondentshadntuseditsfacilities,theyhadrathervisitedtheFabLab withotherpurposesorwereonlypartofitsonlinecommunity(seeAppendix2, question7.a).

10Therewerearound1500profilesattheendofOctober2012.However,someindividualshad

morethanoneprofileandseveralprofileswereautomaticallygeneratedorfake.Therefore,itwas impossibletodeterminetherealamountofmembersinthecommunity. 6

RESULTS Basedontheresultsofthissurveywecanconcludethatusersaremainlyyoung adults;agedistributionisrepresentedinFig3.Responsesintermsofgendershow aslightmajorityofmaleusers;however,42%offemalescanbeconsideredahigh rateinthecontextofuseoftechnologyanddigitalfabrication(Fig.4).11This relationshipchangesamongvisitorswhohaveworkedmorethanfivetimesinthe lab;twothirdsofthemaremales.Mostofthosewhoconsiderthemselvesexpert usersindigitalfabricationarealsomen(9from10expertusers). Theprofessionalbackgroundofrespondentsmaybesurprisingforsupportersof FabLabsasplatformsturningconsumersintomakers.1254%mentioneddesignor designeramongthekeywordsdefiningtheirprofessionalbackground;22% mentionedart/artist,11%mentionedarchitect/ureand8%engineer/ing.Only 12%ofrespondents(23individuals)dontseemtobeprofessionallyrelatedto digitalfabrication,oratleastarenotlinkedtoart/design/IT(Fig.5).Manager, administrator,therapist,chauffeurandbankeraresomeoftheprofessions mentionedbythem. Withintheartanddesigncommunity,severalusersseemnottoberestrictedto traditionalspecializations(product/graphic/fashiondesign,visual/performing arts,etc);theyratherusedgenericorseveraltermstodescribetheirprofession andareasofactivity(seeAppendix2,question4).Thecharacteristicsofthe runningprojectsintheFabLabsuggestthatdigitalfabricationtoolsareblurring theboundariesbetweenhard/soft,2D/3D,lowtech/hightechproduction,and contributingtothisgenericprofessionalapproach.

11ADIYcommunitysurveypublishedin2012,forexample,indicatesaresponseof82,6%males

and17,4%females<http://surveys.peerproduction.net/2012/07/mappinghackersdiy communitysurvey2012results/2/>[22January2013] 12Seeforexample,thebeautifulvideoFullPrinted<http://vimeo.com/12768578>[16November 2012] 7

Fig.3.Age ofrespondents.

Fig. 4.Genderofrespondents.

Fig. 5.Background/Areas ofactivityofrespondents.

Note:thecontentofthisgraphic isbasedontheanalysisof descriptivedata.SeeAppendix2 forrawdata.

ThegreatmajorityofparticipantsareusersoftheFabLab(84%),while5% considerthemselvesexpertusersindigitalfabrication.TheFabLabfunctions basedontheworkofinternsandvolunteers,whichsummed7%ofrespondents (Fig.6).Asfig.7shows,mostofrespondentshavebeenoccasionalvisitors;62% haveworkedfrom1to3timesinthelab.Theirmainreasontoattendhasbeento workforaparticularproject(75%),followedbytheinterestoflearningabout digitalfabrication(Fig.8).Opendayshavebeensignificanttoprovideaccessto users:83%haveusedthelabduringthatperiod,while27%havebeentherein reserved(paid)days(Fig.9).Respondentswerealsoaskedhowtheyknewabout theFabLabAmsterdam;answerspointoutthatinformalcommunicationwith peershasbeenofgreatimportance(Fig.10).Thismayexplaintheart/design profileofuserspresentedinFig.5anddiscussedabove.

Fig.6.Roleofrespondentsinthe FabLabAmsterdam

Fig.7.VisitsofrespondentstotheFabLab.

Fig.8.Motivationtousethelab.

Fig.9.Whenhaveusersworked?

Fig.10.Howdidusers knowabouttheFabLab Amsterdam?

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Thisstudythrowssomelightonthecircuitofdesignandcreationofobjectsas well.Thedataimplythatmostoftheusersofthelabarebothcreatorsand manufacturesoftheirobjects,andthatcocreationofblueprintsisnotsignificant amongFabLabAmsterdamusers(Fig.11).Thisfindingcanbeinfluencedbythe possibleanswersprovidedforthisquestion,whichcouldhaveledrespondents adaptingblueprintscreatedbyothers(orcocreatedblueprints)tochoosethe optioncreatedbyyouratherthancreatedbysomeoneyouknoworcreatedby someoneyoudontknow.However,theoptionotherwasprovidedforthese cases,selectedby13%ofrespondents.Clarificationforthisoptionwasrequired andonlytworespondentsmentionedcollaborativeprocesses.13Thataside,25%of respondentsusedblueprintsdonebyothersduringtheirworkatthelab(either blueprintsprovidedbytheFabLab,blueprintsdonebysomeonetheyknowor someonetheydontknow);suggestingthatcollaborationwithintheFabLab communityisafrequentphenomenon. Themainoutcomeofusersworkatthelabarefunctionalordecorativeobjects (59%)although31%ofrespondentscreatedpiecesofartand25%mockups(Fig. 12).Thisrelationchangesamongexpertusers,whohaveproducedpiecesofart, objectsandmockupsinasimilarproportion(6,5and5responsesrespectively). Inanycase,thepurposesofobjectsareasmuchexperimentalasfunctional(Fig. 13).Moreover,alotofthemareconsideredprototypesortryoutsbytheir creators.

13ThesetwomembersmentionedwebuildtheideastogetherandthenFablabmakesitinto

realityandbothviaopensourcesonlineandinvertedbyworkshopsparticipants.

11

Fig.11.Originoftheblueprintsused

Fig.12.Results

Fig.13.Purposeoftheresultantpieces

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ANALYSIS Asstatedintheintroductionofthisreport,theaimofthisdocumentistoprovide rawdataandencouragefurtheranalysesontheuseoftheFabLab(seeAppendix 2).However,abriefexaminationoftheinformationgatheredispresentedbelow. ThedatacollectedinthissurveyindicatesthattheusersoftheFabLabAmsterdam aremostlycreativeprofessionalsinterestedinexperimentingwithdigital fabrication.Membersseemtobeawareofitsprofile,theystatethatFabLabisvery importantfordesignersandartistsanditisfantasticthattheFabLabcanbeused forexperimenting.Theopendaysmakethatpossible,especiallyconsideringthat visitstothelabareforthemonemoreactivityofthecreativeprocessandonly sometimesafinalstepformaterializingtheirideas.AssistancefromFabLabstaffis highlyneededandappreciatedforthesamereason.Respondentsmentionedtheir experienceworkingwiththeFabLabstaffmorethanwiththeequipmentorother usersofthelab.Themajorityofrespondentswereverysatisfiedwiththeworking dynamics:Iamveryhappyaboutthefablabanditsopenstructure,itreally stimulatesthecreativeprocessandmakespossibleformeasacreativetodevelop fluentlymyideas;however,twoofthemseemedconfusedbytheirroleinthe workingspace:
TomeworkingatFablabfeltabitawkward.Whatismyrelationtothelab:guest, client,colleague?ThismademeabituncertainaboutwhatIcouldandcouldnotdo.I thinkthisisbecauseFablabintroducesanewkindofworkrelation.Iwonderifitwould beinterestingtofocusondevelopingthatfeelmoreexplicitly...maybeitcouldenhance itsfunctioning.

Usersseemtofeelpartofthisfacilityanditsrelatedcommunity;61%ofthe surveyrespondentsexpressedtheirinterestinreceivingtheconsultationresults. ThefactthattheoutcomeissignificantforthemajorityofFabLabusersshows involvementwiththeprofileofthelab.Manyrespondentsusedtheopenfieldin theconsultationtoexpresstheirenthusiasticopinionontheFabLabconceptand facilities:Ilovetheideaofhavingafablabinthearea,Ithinkitsupports innovationinaveryaccessibleway,keepongoingwithfablab,itsgreat!,thank youfortheopportunitytoworkintheFabLab!,etc.Judgingbyothercomments,it

13

isevidentthatdemandtousethefacilitiesexceedsavailability,especiallyforthe lasercutter:onlyfragmentedworkispossible,evenafterphoningtheFabLab, therewasnowaytofinishtheexperimentIwasworkingon. FabLabsingeneralhavebeenlinkedtodifferentphenomena.Thedatacollected throughthissurvey,combinedwithobservationofdailyactivityinthelaband contactwithsomeparticipantstoclarifytheirresponses,giveustheopportunity toevaluatetowhatextentistheactualpracticewithintheFabLabAmsterdam relatedtotheseassociations: FabLabsasenhancersofinnovation: FabLabsareperceivedascentersforgrassrootsinnovationandthereforemanyof themhavebeensupportedbylocalpublicfunds.14Peerproductionresearcher PeterTroxler,forexample,hasclaimedthatwithintheFabLabcommunitya privatecollectiveinnovationecologyisdevelopinganddistinguishesbetweenlabs providingproductionfacilitiesandlabsprovidinginnovationsupport.Healso notesthaturbanFabLabsinindustrializedcountriesenvisagetheirclienteletobe distributedamongstudents,researchers,companiesandthegeneralpublicand acknowledgetheircontributionineducation,research,developmentand prototyping.15 TheactivityandprofileoftheFabLabAmsterdamarealignedwiththisvision,the labisprovidinginnovationsupporttoitsusersinanumberofways:encouraging handsonlearningandexperimenting,keepingexamplesofpreviousexperiences toshowtootherusers,facilitatingconnectionswithotherrelevantmembersofthe localandinternationalFabLabcommunityandsupervisingthewholecreative processifnecessary,includingthecreationofblueprints.TheFabLabcharter makesclearthatcommercialactivitiescanbeprototypedandincubatedina FabLab,buttheymustnotconflictwithotheruses,theyshouldgrowbeyond ratherthanwithinthelab,andtheyareexpectedtobenefittheinventors,labs,and

P.Troxler,Commonbasedpeerproductionofphysicalgoods:isthereroomforahybridinnovation ecology?,in3rdFreeCultureResearchConference,Berlin,2010,p.7. 15P.Troxler,op.cit.(note14),pp.89.

14

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networksthatcontributetotheirsuccess.16TheFabLabAmsterdamisinfact supportingtheseactivitiesandpromotingthedevelopmentofthesmallscale creativeindustryinthelocalcontext. FabLabsasplatformsforcocreationandopendesign: Togetherwithdomestictoolsfordigitalfabrication,FabLabshavebeenconsidered theplatformthroughwhichthevirtualprocessesofopendesignbecomes physical.17CodesignresearcherMassimoMenichinellihasclaimedthat(t)hemain

importanceofFabLabs(andhackerspacesandsoon)isthattheyareenablersofOpen andCollaborativeprojects.18TheFabLabcharterstatesthatdesignsandprocesses

developedinFabLabscanbeprotectedandsoldhoweveraninventorchooses,but shouldremainavailableforindividualstouseandlearnfrom.19Infact,thestaffof theFabLabAmsterdamencouragesuserstopublishthefailuresandsuccessesof theirworkonlineandtosharetheblueprintsused,sothatotherscanreuseor adaptthemaccordingtotheirownneeds.However,usersoftenfailtosharethe resultsoftheirworkonlineandFig.11suggeststhatthegreatmajorityofthe creativeprocessesareindividual. CollaborativecreativeprocessesdontseemacommonpracticewithintheFabLab Amsterdam,presumablybecauseoftheprofileofitsusers.Professionalartistsand designerscometotheFabLabwiththeirownoriginalideasandwanttoputthem inpracticethroughdigitalfabrication.20Helpandtechnicalknowledgefromother usersconcerningtheuseofmachinesisadailypracticeandhighlyappreciated; however,thiscollaborationdoesntseemtobereflectedinthecreativeprocess itself.

17SeeforexampleJ.ThackaraIntotheopen,p.44andM.AvitalThegenerativebedrockofopen

16<http://fab.cba.mit.edu/about/charter/>[30January2013]

design,p.52,in:B.VanAbel,etal.(eds.),OpenDesignNow,whydesigncannotremainexclusive, Amsterdam(CreativeCommonsNetherlands,PremselaandWaagSociety)2011. 18M.Menichinelli,BussinessmodelsforFabLabs,postedin23March2011, <http://www.openp2pdesign.org/2011/fabbing/businessmodelsforfablabs/>[30January 2013] 19<http://fab.cba.mit.edu/about/charter/>[30January2013] 20MushonZerAvivhaspointedoutthatdesignersandartistsfocusinindividualoriginality,in detrimentofcollaborativeprocesses.M.ZerAviv,p.72inop.cit.(note17). 15

FabLabsasspacesforamateurDIY,followingtheprincipleofusersas designers. Inlinewiththeconceptofopendesignanddomesticdigitalfabricationtools, FabLabsareseenasdemocraticspacesforamateurempowerment.21Aclear exampleofthisvisionisthevideoFullPrinted,ashortanimationfilmscreened duringtheexhibitionFabricationLaboratoryintheHUBDesignMuseumin Barcelona(2010).22Inthevideo,auserdecidestocreatehisownpersonalizedcup toreplacehismassproducedbrokenone.Withthispurpose,hesearchesfora3D blueprintcreatedbyanotheruseronline,adaptsthisdesigntohispersonalneeds andtransformstheresultinaphysicalobjectinthenearestFabLab.Finally,the maincharacterlooksathisobjectwithanexpressionofprideandpersonal achievement. WithintheFabLabAmsterdam,thesekindofamateurDIYpracticesarepossible; however,theyarenot(yet)usual.Someusersareawareofthisfactandconsider thatitshouldchange:theFablabcouldbeusedbymorepeople;itnowlookslikea workspacefor(art)academies.Othersseethecurrentsituationasanecessary steptowardsanewscenario,wheredigitalfabricationwouldgivesupporttoDIY amateurpracticesanddemocratizemanufacturing:keeptheprofessionalsas targetgroup;tooearlyfortheconsumer.Infact,theprofessionalcommunityis curiousandwantstolearnandexperimentwithplentyofnewpossibilitiesthatare offeredbydigitalfabrication;theFabLabAmsterdamisprovidingaplatformfor thistohappen.Meanwhile,theknowledgeofcreativeprofessionalsonthese processesandtheirpotentialisgrowing,andtechnologyisbeingimprovedtosuit theneedsofamateurs.Basedonthepresentpicture,avisionoftheFabLabasa supportiveplatformforamateurDIYseemsfeasible;however,practiceisstillina preliminarystage.
21SeeforexampleM.AvitalThegenerativebedrockofopendesign,p.57;B.PettisMadeinmy backyard,p.79andB.MulderOpendesignforgovernment,p.181inop.cit.(note17). 22<http://vimeo.com/12768578>[16November2012]

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