Fab labs are a global network of local labs, enabling invention by providing access to tools for digital fabrication. Fab labs share an evolving inventory of core capabilities to make (almost) anything, allowing people and projects to be shared. Fab lab network provides operational, educational, technical, financial, and logistical assistance beyond what’s available within one lab.
Fab labs are available as a community resource, offering open access for individuals as well as scheduled access for programs. 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. 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.