Take your project from idea to concept. Work with your team and ours to set the specification for your project and bring it to life in the computer or on paper.
Pretty drawings are nice, but what you really want is the real thing. At FabLab.blue, you can make just about anything using the tools and techniques of digital fabrication. Come learn the skills, use the tools and make your design a reality.
The FabLab.blue is all about enabling the SpoyLand community to effect the changes that we need to develop the local economy while conserving and restoring the local ecosystem.
The University opened its Cleves campus in 2012. The focus was always on practical education and team skills. As the first professors began to set up their labs, they started recruiting student teams to participate in international competitions. The beer brewing team was the first to achieve intercollegiate success in Germany, and soon after that, the HSRW Submarine Team broke onto the scene internationally.
Building on the early cross-faculty successes of the submarine team, the students started creating new teams focused on electric racing cars, robotic ships, biomechanics, robot gardening and finally, a new project to focus on monitoring and cleaning up the Spoy Canal. The teams needed space and technical support, and so ENSPIRE was born. One of the student teams that came out of ENSPIRE the M-Team, all about making machines to support the other teams. That seed found fertile ground and good water!
The University is home already to two other FabLabs at its campus in Kamp-Lintfort. We've long been thinking that we'd like to duplicate the success in Cleves as well. The journey is a long one, but thanks to the amazing support of the Uni's other FabLabs, we've been making good progress getting the team assembled and trained, lining up the machines and identifying the space, and now finally we've got a bit of funding to get us to the starting line.
Our application was formally approved by the reviewers and we've been listed as an official FabLab at FabLabs.io! We're now part of a network of over 2000 FabLabs worldwide. We're looking forward now to working with the worldwide community and especially with the other HSRW FabLabs to get our space organised, processes set, and doors open to the public. There is still lots to do, but step by step we'll get there!
In collaboration with the Ho Technical University in Ghana, we created the first FabLab 2.0. Three of the five key machines for FabLab HTU were designed and built at FabLab.blue, then shipped to Ghana in spring 2022. Our team went to Ho in summer 2022 to set up the lab and train the HTU team for the official opening in July 2022.
FabLab Director
LivingLab Director
Research Director
WetLab Director
DroneLab Director
Greenhouse Director
BioSoftLab Director
Sustainability Director
FabLab Research Officer
Metal Workshop Supervisor
3D Printshop Supervisor
Wood Workshop Supervisor
FabAcademy Instructor
Laser Cutting Supervisor