The Winnipeg-based incubator accelerator and entrepreneur community provides curated resources to mitigate the costs and risks of innovation. Photos courtesy Roland DGA
By Ginny Mumm
Despite having more than US$2.9 million (C$4 million) in prototyping equipment, ample space, a dedicated volunteer team, and a growing membership base, North Forge Technology Exchange’s FabLab in Winnipeg lacked a crucial component. As an incubator accelerator and entrepreneur community focused on science and technology, North Forge provides curated resources to help entrepreneurs mitigate the costs and risks of innovation. However, the businesses they worked with were looking for new ways to brand and market their creations.
“We have a ‘Makers Market’ area for entrepreneurs to sell their products, but we needed a way for them to print and cut full-colour graphics to package their products and attract customers,” explains vice-president Marney Stapley.
After researching various solutions, North Forge’s leadership team recently decided to incorporate a 1,371.6-mm (54-in.) Roland DG TrueVIS eco-solvent printer/cutter into their equipment lineup. We talked to Stapley, along with North Forge’s president and CEO, Joelle Foster, about their innovative facility, its capabilities for fabrication and prototyping, and how adding versatile print production has made a big difference for their members.
How did North Forge Technology Exchange get its start?
Joelle Foster (JF): In 2016, four organizations came together to discuss creating a new entity. We had all been fighting for the same funding opportunities and decided we were stronger together.
How has North Forge’s mission evolved over time?
JF: We were formed as a grassroots ecosystem around technology and advanced manufacturing. As we’ve grown, we’ve brought on more initiatives, such as diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs that include Indigenous entrepreneur scholarships and programming to support women in innovation. We also created a location in Thompson, Man.
North Forge’s FabLab helps small businesses such as Maker Mind Toys develop packaging and branding solutions for their products.
Marney Stapley (MS): Additionally, we run a high school program—the Met Innovation Centre for Entrepreneurship (MICE), where students are paired with entrepreneurs in the same field of interest. The students have internship experiences at these companies, and work with their mentors in the FabLab.
What capabilities do you have in your FabLab facility?
JF: With the recent addition of the first-floor space, we’re occupying a total of 1,765.4 m² (19,000 sf). When you walk in, the first thing you see is the printer/cutter. The first floor contains our design space, a metal room with prototyping equipment, a co-working space, and our new Makers Market, where FabLab members can sell their products.
North Forge’s president and CEO, Joelle Foster, recently spoke at Venture Capital Day, an event which delves into the Canadian investor mindset.
On the third floor, we have manufacturing spaces rented by a few members, along with computer numerical control (CNC) equipment, a laser-cutting room, and a carpentry room. We also have an Internet of Things (IoT) Innovation Lab and a room dedicated to 3D printers. Additionally, we have assembly areas and shelf space for storing prototypes.
How many employees do you have, and how many volunteers?
JF: We staff our facility with both employees and volunteers. The FabLab only has 3.5 employees, so we rely on our network of about 50 volunteers to staff and run our facilities. In fact, we started the FabLab with 100 per cent volunteers, and many have continued to volunteer for us. Our operations are run by a member council that includes about 10 different volunteer roles. The work done by these volunteers allows us to keep our membership costs down.
The Makers Market, on the first floor, is where FabLab members can sell the products they create for their businesses. Photos by Doug Little/courtesy Roland DGA
How many members use North Forge’s FabLab, and where are they from?
JF: We have about 100 business and individual members. It’s a very diverse group of students, professional men and women, and entrepreneurs. We also have many small and medium-sized businesses that send their product designers to work at the FabLab a few days a week. In this way, they can cost-efficiently create and iterate products or whole new lines of business.
North Forge continuously re-evaluates their equipment and facilities, to help make a growing impact in the community.
MS: Part of the magic of this place is the meetings that occur, such as a Red Seal carpenter meeting a mechanical engineer, while working in one of our fabrication rooms. When a person has a gap in a specific area of knowledge, there’s usually someone here who can help. It’s a safe space to experiment and work with like-minded people.
At what point did you decide to add a wide-format, eco-solvent printer/cutter? What features were you looking for?
MS: We’re always reviewing our equipment and constantly researching new technology. After all, technology is what’s going to help our entrepreneurs and startup businesses succeed.
The vinyl cutter we had was at the end of its life, and its software and hardware were no longer supported. Some of our members were giving me feedback on additional capabilities they would like to have. For instance, they wanted integrated cutting capability, and the ability to print full-colour graphics designed in Adobe Illustrator.
From an administrative perspective, it’s important that all the equipment we bring into the FabLab is supported by the manufacturer and is relatively easy to use. I reached out to our reseller, Polymershapes in Winnipeg, who helped me pick out the best printer/cutter for our needs. It’s simple to operate, low maintenance, and has all the additional capabilities we were looking for.
JF: We work with people from diverse industries, with different needs. It’s important for our equipment to be robust and produce high-quality output.
What types of applications are users printing?
MS: Many of the entrepreneurs are printing high-end professional labels and packaging. They’re also printing branding decals, window and wall graphics, posters, and postcards. We’ve even started carrying heat-transfer vinyl because members have discovered they can print graphics for apparel.
JF: We also created graphics for our windows and walls to announce the new first-floor space and Makers Market. As people get more familiar with the technology, they start discovering new things they can print with our machine.
How are members trained on the equipment?
MS: We use a train-the-trainer method. Polymershapes trained our core members, who then trained other members on how to use the printer.
North Forge also hosts a variety of events, such as RampUp Weekend, where developers, designers, makers, and entrepreneurs can learn how to build a minimum viable product (MVP) in just a few days. Photo courtesy Roland DGA
How have your members reacted to having a printer/cutter available to them?
JF: We purchased the equipment for companies such as Maker Mind Toys. Many smaller, entrepreneurial businesses are part of the FabLab, and were looking for ways to package and brand their products. Having this advanced wide-format inkjet in-house really closes the loop for our entrepreneurship ecosystem. Members can start with prototyping and go all the way around to marketing their products.
MS: Having digital printing capability is also attracting new members for us. It’s a common misconception that fabrication labs are all about metals and wood. Digital printing opens up a whole new way for creative people to access our facility, and every user developing a commercial product needs packaging or a point-of-purchase display to attract customers.
What lies ahead for North Forge’s FabLab?
JF: We’re constantly re-evaluating our equipment and facilities to help us make an even bigger impact in the community. We’re looking forward to learning additional ways to use our printer/cutter to advance the work of our members, perhaps to produce vehicle graphics and other branding collateral.
Ginny Mumm is a freelance consultant for digital inkjet printer/cutter provider Roland DGA. For more information, visit http://www.rolanddga.com.
