All the best for 2018 !

Dear Pangloss friends; 2017 has been a good year for me and I am hoping also a good year for you and your loved ones. I am happy with the Pangloss performance and at the same time recognise that there are areas that we need to improve on. Many milestones have been reached by each lab, by each commission and by many projects and congratulations to all for this. We have also had many successful training sessions, workshops, aperos, speeddatings and events and so I can go on. Many of you have spent much time in our innovation space, and each time we see each other at Pangloss, there is a spark, there is an idea, there is a concept in the air, which may one day become a co-creation opportunity. We welcomed many new members in 2017 and thank you to all for making them feel at home. It has been great having new perspectives come on board. Each one of us need to manage this work life balance more carefully as no success can compensate for failure in the home. I have enjoyed working with each one of you and have come to know almost each of you personally. This has been a highlight in itself. Another highlight has been the Fete de la Science, with a record number of visitors and animations. It is sad when some of our team members have to leave particularly when it is because of a professional move to Marseille, to San Francisco, to Africa, to the Vosges or because of some other personal circumstances. Luckily enough some of them are coming back !!! I wish to thank all of you for your continued support and dedication to Pangloss. I wish to thank our bureau for their decisions, our Conseil d’Administration for their propositions and tradeoffs, our Conciergerie for welcoming new members with a smile everyday and for their great support in having such a wonderful hypercreativity space and ecological fablab, open for everyone. We are proud that this space is so open, so unique, so creative and so inclusive. Congratulations to the Pangloss members who won awards this year (Concours Lepine, Trip to Brussels for Economie Circulaire, CES 2018 Nomination…). We will have the opportunity to share with you all the numbers during our next General Assembly. We are confident they will look good. I wish all of you a wonderful end of the year and a happy and prosperous 2018. Let’s make 2018 a fun, successful and value adding year that changes the lives of people for the positive. Let not that which matters the most be affected by that which matters the least. Yves

Fab Lab

Fablab

Hands on building of (almost) anything. Prototyping, finished products and repairs. With digital fabrication machines from 3D printers to lasers to large format CNC machines.

A Fablab is a space for learning new skills and sharing your skills.  We do not have resources to fix things for free, but will happily show you how you can learn to repair and make things. To find out more, visit us on one of our regular open days.

So far we've had projects including Art & Design, Prototypes & Repairs, Furniture & Decoration, Electronics & Automation, Experimentation & Research, Robotics, along with DIY & Education.  If you're not sure where to start, we even have group projects where you can learn with others.

You don't have to start from zero.  Come and learn how about the world of digital fabrication with our regular training courses.  Our introduction courses are suitable for everyone, with reduced prices for Pangloss members!

Where are we?  Ferney-Voltaire.  Find us here

We have a range of different machines in the fablab, suitable for different types of project, from hobbyist to professional.  To use one of our machines, you will need to be a member of the association.  We do not (yet) sell material for making your projects, but may have small scrap/leftover pieces for testing.  Before reserving a machine, you will need to be trained in one of our training courses. Use of machines is on a first come first served basis and requires payment.  Hand tools, table saw, scroll saw, drill press etc are available in the space and are free for members to use.  Fees are displayed in the fablab and, for members, on the appropriate web page, but start at €2/hour for filament-based 3D printers.

Send an email directly to the fablab team







    The Fab Charter

    What is a fab lab?
    Fab labs are a global network of local labs, enabling invention by providing access to tools for digital fabrication

    What’s in a fab lab?
    Fab labs share an evolving inventory of core capabilities to make (almost) anything, allowing people and projects to be shared

    What does the fab lab network provide?
    Operational, educational, technical, financial, and logistical assistance beyond what’s available within one lab

    Who can use a fab lab?
    Fab labs are available as a community resource, offering open access for individuals as well as scheduled access for programs

    What are your responsibilities?
    safety: not hurting people or machines
    operations: assisting with cleaning, maintaining, and improving the lab
    knowledge: contributing to documentation and instruction

    Who owns fab lab inventions?
    Designs and processes developed in fab labs can be protected and sold however an inventor chooses, but should remain available for individuals to use and learn from

    How can businesses use a fab lab?
    Commercial activities can be prototyped and incubated in a fab lab, but they must not conflict with other uses, they should grow beyond rather than within the lab, and they are expected to benefit the inventors, labs, and networks that contribute to their success

    Useful Fablab Links


    Pangloss at Leman Make

    We attended the LemanMake Festival in Nyon, to go and meet the hackers, makers in the region and to see how to democratise what can be done with fablab machines. Workshops for kids, impressive demo, conferences, everything was there to discover what the future will look like. LemanMake. Also a great opportunity to meet with our friends from all parts of Switzerland.

    Off the 3-D Printer, Practice Parts for the Surgeon

    The New York Times reports on how surgeons are just learning to use new digital fabrication tools to create models, so that they can first practice delicate procedures: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/27/science/off-the-3-d-printer-practice-parts-for-the-surgeon.html Where will the doctors (and engineers and educators and artists and architects...) of the future get their first experiences with such cutting edge tools and approaches?  Fablabs are an ideal training ground for students, and a great place for entrepreneurs to test their ideas.