Fab Lab Siegen
The Fab Lab Siegen is an interdisciplinary (creative) workshop open to everyone, where the focus is on collaborative work and experimentation with the fabrication of (almost) anything. Fab Labs (Fabrication Laboratories) are designed to help people—regardless of their expertise, education, or background—plan and carry out projects through exchange and collaboration with others. It is precisely these opportunities for exchange, for sharing knowledge, and the sense of community that are by far the most important offerings and goals of such a lab—of which there are now hundreds worldwide. Fab Labs are closely related to hack and makerspaces or, more generally, innovation hubs, and are particularly connected to the “maker culture”—a topic that has recently received increasing attention in the media—which also revolves around do-it-yourself and the creative use of technology.
Community & Get Involved
The Siegen Fab Lab is intended to serve as an infrastructure for anyone interested in using it, actively helping to shape it, organizing events, or providing scientific support for activities.
During Uni-Lab hours, members of the University of Siegen can use the technologies in the Fab Lab to carry out university projects or their own projects and ideas. During Open-Lab hours, anyone interested in tinkering and experimenting can get creative and use the machines on site for free.
On the first and third Monday of every month, the Fab Lab also offers introductions to 3D printing and laser cutting. These sessions take place from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Advance registration is not required.
- Every first Monday of the month: Introduction to laser cutting
- Every third Monday of the month: Introduction to 3D printing
In addition, workshops are held regularly at the Fab Lab, for example, in collaboration with the Siegen-Wittgenstein District Branch of the German Red Cross (DRK). In this DRK workshop, which is funded by the Siegen Community Foundation, young people learn about various technologies, such as 3D printing, laser cutting, programming, and much more. Currently, a computer workshop is also organized regularly, where young people learn everything about the structure and operation of a PC and can even take computers apart and put them back together themselves.
The Fab Lab is actively committed to promoting STEM education among young people and aims to democratize technology and make it accessible to everyone.
Faculty members can also use the Fab Lab in their teaching to convey topics and content to students in a hands-on manner using the resources available at the Fab Lab. The lab also serves as an extracurricular learning space for school classes and collaborates with companies, academic departments, and other organizations.
To use the Fab Lab, you must complete a safety orientation. This takes place every Wednesday at 4:00 p.m.
For more information on opening hours: fablab-siegen.de/oeffnungszeiten/
Research
The Lab sees itself as an open research and teaching infrastructure as well as a “Real Lab.” While the tools and machines can be used for a wide variety of research projects, regular Fab Lab operations also offer the opportunity to examine users’ practical applications.
The Fab Lab Siegen is involved in projects covering a wide range of research areas, including: STEM and education, industrial engineering, innovation research, making, AR and VR, robotics, art, and culture.
For more detailed information on past and current research projects: fablab-siegen.de/forschung-lehre/projekte/