A revolution is coming. In the way products are designed. In the way they are made. In the capabilities of the products themselves. 

Ripping up the rulebook, this research has set itself an ambitious and formidable objective – to transcend the limitations that current microelectronic techniques impose on the manufacturing industry, in terms of what can be manufactured and what can be imagined.

Vigorously pursuing their bold philosophy of dynamic change, the research team have developed new manufacturing techniques that have successfully produced a range of radical, three-dimensional miniaturised ‘smart’ products. They include a multi-functional health-monitoring sensor for use on aircraft and a groundbreaking integrated biological processor. 

Collectively, these pioneering products provide just a glimpse of the new horizons beckoning technology-centric industries as diverse as aerospace, telecommunications and medicine.

The factories are coming to town! They are moving away from the unseen fringes, and into our cities. Advances in micro-scale engineering point to a global scale revolution where local, disposable factories produce hi tech goods at our very doorstep. What shapes might this new way of “making things” take within our urban landscape ? From garage-workshops to circus-like temporary structures, from street vendor stalls to vagabond encampments, this project explores the factories of the future and what our relationship to them might be, with the exciting prospect of taking back ownership over our production tools.



Science Partners: Marc Dezmulliez, Heriot-Watt University, MIcroSystems Engineering Centre, David Topham.

www.3d-mintegration.com

Previous Previous Next Next

IMPACT: Fabulous Fabbers

2009-10

David Benqué

Partners — Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), NESTA
Up Up Down Down Rogue Factory: If rogue mobile factories could produce custom high-tech goods, what would the black market of “special orders” look like? Mobile Manufacturing Unit: This corporate factory tours the country, setting up in cities for a few months at a time. As the population welcomes a new source of goods, jobs and manufacturing techniques, it is celebrated as an event. Self Replicating Street Stall: The street Genie can print any product you might think of, including a working copy of itself.