Democratising Fab Labs with Open Source Machine Tools

So-called digital fabrication laboratories (commonly referred to as fab labs) have recently challenged the dominant position of large-scale industrial manufacturing by revolutionising the ways in which people approach and interact with production. Fab labs are communal spaces and function as enablers for personal manufacturing. However, while the number of fab labs has surged in recent years, they are primarily concentrated in countries of the global north. This is in parts due to the high cost of machines necessary to set up fab labs and due to the difficult and expensive import and shipping. Repairs and maintenance of these machines often further complicates the matter. Consequently, the setting up of fab labs is often an unachievable endeavour in developing countries.
To facilitate the establishment of fabrication spaces after the fab lab model in developing countries and to mitigate the divide in machine tool access, the concept of Open Source Machine Tools (OSMT) offers a promising solution. The costs associated with the creation of maker spaces based on open source principles are lower compared to traditional fab labs because the machine tools used in them can be manufactured and replicated locally.
Such an approach would also be consistent with the goals and mission of the fab lab movement, which include bridging the digital divide and providing equitable access to knowledge and tools for fabrication. This paper provides a small-scale feasibility study of the incorporation of OSMT into the fab lab framework. Through qualitative interviews with fab lab managers in Tunisia and Germany, the strengths, weaknesses, and potentials of OSMT in the context of personal digital fabrication are examined. Based on this, recommendations are made on how to leverage OSMT for a further democratisation of fab labs in developing countries.