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A group of people are working creatively at tables in the FabLab
HSRW – Alexandra Weiß

FabLab

The FabLab Kamp-Lintfort is the open high-tech workshop of the Faculty of Communication and Environment at Rhine-Waal University of Applied Sciences. Spanning over 600 m², the space is equipped with modern manufacturing technologies such as 3D printing, 3D scanning and laser cutting, enabling users to bring their own ideas to life — from the initial sketch through to a working prototype and the finished product. School pupils, university students, start-up founders, businesses and makers will find the space, machinery and support they need here to develop, build and experiment for themselves.
In addition to digital manufacturing machines — 3D printers, laser cutters and cutting plotters — the facilities include traditional tools as well as workstations for electronics and textile work. This wide range of resources makes the FabLab a place where concept, design and physical realisation come together.
 

Origins and Concept
The FabLab has its roots in the “zdi-FabLab @ school” project, through which the Faculty of Communication and Environment and the zdi Centre in Kamp-Lintfort brought a globally networked concept from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) to the region: the FabLab — an open workshop where almost anything can be made using digital machines. From these beginnings, it has grown into a permanent institution with a clear role in teaching, research and the local community.

An integral part of study and teaching
In recent years, the FabLab has become an integral part of everyday university life — particularly in teaching. In numerous modules across the Bachelor’s and Master’s degree programmes, students work here on real-world problems, develop their own solutions and put these into practice, right through to complex technical systems. Working in the FabLab strengthens technical expertise in digital manufacturing as well as personal and methodological skills in project-oriented teamwork.

Innovation, start-ups and collaboration with industry
Beyond teaching, the FabLab is a hub for innovation and entrepreneurial activity. It is used for start-up activities — for example, as part of the Think2Scale programme — as well as in research and development projects in collaboration with partners from industry. In this way, ideas are turned into viable concepts and concepts into functional prototypes.

School FabLab — A network connecting schools
The school-based initiative centred on the FabLab has been systematically expanded. The FabLab Kamp-Lintfort has now become a model for schools setting up their own ‘School FabLab’ and forms the core of a growing network in which schools, teachers and the university work closely together. STEM skills, digital manufacturing and project-based learning are taught in workshops for pupils and professional development courses for teachers.
Find out more about the network and what it offers: schoolfablab.de
 

Contact

FabLab Guru
Ahmed Abdellatif

FabLab Manager
Dr Martin Kreymann (also Head of the zdi Centre in Kamp-Lintfort)

Director
Professor Dr Karsten Nebe


FabLab(at)hochschule-rhein-waal.de
 

Funding

The FabLab grew out of the “zdi-FabLab @ school” project, which received funding as part of the operational programme for North Rhine-Westphalia co-financed by the ERDF under the objective “Regional Competitiveness and Employment 2007–2013”.

Logo of the Kamp-Lintfort FabLab: three stylised figures in red, green and blue arranged in a circle
HSRW – René Roeterink