GE just announced a new plan to launch "microfactories," a new model for manufacturing that looks to accelerate product development and innovation through small-batch manufacturing. And it's opening its first one in Chicago.
GE and Local Motors said they're partnering on a project called Fuse, a plan to open small factories that aim to bring together GE teams, customers, entrepreneurs, and student groups to work on rapid prototyping and small-batch manufacturing.
The first Fuse location will be in Chicago at mHub, a recently announced manufacturing innovation hub on the city's West Side. Fuse will open in December and will be one of mHub's first tenants. mHub is located in a 63,000 square foot facility at 965 W. Chicago Ave, home of the former Motorola Mobility office.
Fuse will offer a crowdsourced model where entrepreneurs, scientists, coders and engineers from around the world can contribute ideas and solutions at fuse.ge.com. Top ideas can win cash prizes and potentially have their prototype built in Chicago.
“For the world’s leading digital industrial company, Fuse is the path to accelerated manufacturing innovation," Dyan Finkhousen, Director of Open Innovation and Advanced Manufacturing for GE Global Operations, said in a statement. "With Fuse, we’ll convene brilliant minds and agile manufacturing hubs to transform product and technology innovation.”
One early project Fuse will tackle is around airplane engine inspections. The project wants to find ways to make the inspections more efficient and generate richer data for future maintenance productivity, GE says. The idea is to let people from around the collaborate to bring projects to life.
“By fully embracing co-creation, GE has put itself at the forefront of manufacturing innovation,” Elle Shelley, executive vice president of Forth and CMO of Local Motors, said in the statement. “Fuse is a shining example of the powerful outcomes we can achieve with collaboration.”
