THE Department of Trade and Industry (DTI 7) and the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA 7) opened another fabrication laboratory (FabLab) in Cebu on Tuesday, September 26, 2023.
According to DTI 7 Regional Director Maria Elena Arbon, the department has invested P11.7 million for the newest FabLab facility in the Central Visayas, which is located at the TESDA 7 compound in Barangay Lahug, Cebu City.
The TESDA FabLab was initially established in 2020 with the goal of offering various digital fabrication services to students, entrepreneurs, micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises ( MSMEs) and the general public.
The facility is a technology-based incubator laboratory, according to Arbon, and it provides MSMEs and product makers with prototyping facilities to invent and enhance new and existing products.
DTI has made investments in digitally advanced equipment such as 3D printers, laser cutter, printer and cutter, desktop vinyl cutter, computer numerical control (CNC) router (shopbot), small CNC bench-box, and milling machine.
The University of the Philippines-Cebu houses the first FabLab in Cebu, the second FabLab to be established in Central Visayas after Bohol.
It provides a creative space for designers, creatives, entrepreneurial students, and the general public to test out their ideas and bring them to life through fast prototyping and digital fabrication. (EHP)