fabBlike

fabBlike is a platform designed to streamline collaborative product development and fabrication. It provides a central hub where designers, engineers, educators, and manufacturers can share digital designs, manage documentation, and order physical fabrication services from a network of partners. The system supports a range of design files, including 3D CAD models, PCB layouts, and documentation sets, with built-in version control and change tracking to help teams coordinate iterations.

Key features include cloud storage for models and documents, versioned project workspaces, collaborative markup and commenting, and a material- and process-neutral BOM. It integrates with common fabrication workflows by offering order management, quote requests, and production tracking across CNC machining, 3D printing, PCB fabrication, and injection molding.

fabBlike emphasizes interoperability through standardized file formats and an API layer that allows third-party tools to read and push data into the platform. It supports licensing options and IP protections appropriate for collaborative design, including open licenses and restricted access controls.

Origin and development: fabBlike began as an open collaboration among makers, educators, and small manufacturers and later grew into a platform with commercial offerings alongside community-driven features. Its community model aims to lower barriers to prototyping and small-batch production.

Impact and reception: In education and startups, fabBlike has been used to share projects, run design sprints, and procure short runs of parts. Critics have noted that the platform can be complex for first-time users and that costs can accumulate with large project scopes; efficiency gains often depend on network participation and clear governance of IP.