What Machines Room does

Machines Room was a community maker space operated as a project of Clear Village Charitable Trust (Registered Charity #1142779) from 2012 to 2019 in East London, United Kingdom. Self-described as London's first Fab Lab, it provided shared physical access to digital fabrication equipment — laser cutting, vinyl cutting, 3D printing, and CNC machining — for designers, architects, artists, engineers, individual makers, and micro businesses that could not afford standalone ownership of capital-intensive tooling. The organization ran cohort residencies, workshops, and public open studios, and incubated start-ups such as Batch.works (3D printing factory), Re:flex (shape-memory materials R&D), and GoodWaste (sustainable object design studio).

The underlying technology stack was conventional digital fabrication hardware rather than software: the value Machines Room delivered was proximity, training, and operational access to machines, not intellectual property in the equipment itself. Educational and institutional partnerships supplemented the core physical offering — the University of the Arts London, Design Museum, Other Today, and the Science Museum all ran programs or workshops from the facility between 2018 and 2019. Marketing and demand generation were almost entirely community-led: London Design Festival participation (2018 and 2019), public open studio events, and exhibitions of cohort residents.

The revenue model was not publicly disclosed and the project operated under a UK charitable trust rather than as a venture-backed commercial entity; there were no funding rounds, no external investors, and no acquisition history. Pricing for member access is not documented. Following a 2018 relocation within East London, in 2019 Machines Room transitioned operations, with long-time tenant Batch.works taking over the maker space and the project ceasing as an independent Clear Village initiative.

Name

Machines Room

Legal name

Clear Village Charitable Trust

Website

https://machinesroom.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Closed

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Machines Room was a London-based nonprofit Fab Lab maker space operated by Clear Village Charitable Trust from 2012 to 2019, providing shared access to laser cutting, 3D printing, vinyl cutting, and CNC facilities for designers, artists, engineers, and micro businesses in East London.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Digital Fabrication Services

SIC

Laboratory Apparatus & Furniture (3821)

akta.pro primary industry

Makerspaces & Fab Labs (Open Build Studios) (EDAMADAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Makerspace, Innovation Lab & Fab Lab Operations (Tools, Safety, Programming) (EDAEAGAI), 3D Printing, CAD & Digital Fabrication Programs (EDAMADAH), Additive Manufacturing Research & Innovation Labs (IMAAAJAA)

Keywords

• Digital fabrication lab
• Maker space access
• Community workshop
• Creative incubator
• Prototyping facilities

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Infrastructure, Personnel, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Maker Space Membership/Usage: Members and incubated businesses paid for access to fabrication facilities. The exact revenue model is not explicitly detailed in available sources.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Machines Room operated as London's first Fab Lab and an open-access digital fabrication maker space located in East London, providing shared access to laser cutting, vinyl cutting, 3D printing, and CNC machining equipment. It ran from 2012 to 2019 as a project of the Clear Village Charitable Trust and functioned as an incubator and community hub for designers, architects, artists, engineers, makers, learners, and micro businesses.

Product overview

Machines Room was a single unified offering — London's first Fab Lab operating as a community maker space from 2012 to 2019. It provided manufacturing facilities including laser cutting, vinyl cutting, 3D printing, and CNC machines to a vibrant community of East London designers, architects, artists, and engineers. The space incubated artists, makers, and micro businesses through access to shared fabrication tools and community programs.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Open-Access Maker Space Shared-access fabrication workshop equipped with laser cutters, vinyl cutters, 3D printers, and CNC machines, available to professionals, learners, and the inquisitive for prototyping and small-batch making.
• Maker and Micro-Business Incubator

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Batch.workscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2016Long-time collaborator that joined Machines Room in 2016 to establish their 3D printing factory. After Machines Room relocated, Batch.works moved with them and became neighboring tenants, continuing the collaborative relationship through the transition.
• Clear VillagecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerClear Village Charitable Trust was the parent organization that created and operated Machines Room as a project from 2012-2019. Clear Village focuses on creative regeneration of communities.
• ModUAL (UAL/Other Today/Design Museum)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerInnovative arts education program bringing students from multiple UAL campuses together for design sprints. Machines Room hosted the making sessions in April.
• Science Museum and Worshipful Company of Scientific Instrument MakersminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMachines Room collaborated with these historic institutions to help make their scientific instruments. This was the first making step in a longer collaboration starting in March 2019.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Fab Lab London: London Fab Lab providing digital fabrication tools and training to the local community. Directly comparable as a Fab Lab-format maker space with overlapping equipment set (laser cutting, CNC, 3D printing) and community/membership model.
• Makerversity: London-based community maker space and prototyping studio serving creative professionals, startups, and small businesses. Closely comparable to Machines Room in target audience (designers, makers, micro businesses) and Fab Lab-style offering.
• Batch.works: London-based 3D printing factory that was incubated at Machines Room from 2016 and took over the physical maker space in 2019. Directly comparable as a fabrication-focused community and production facility serving designers and small businesses in London.
• The Making Rooms: UK community maker space offering laser cutting, 3D printing, and CNC access to members and small businesses. Comparable Fab Lab/maker space model serving individual makers and micro businesses, with overlapping equipment and community positioning.

Broad incumbents

• Somerset House Studios: Central London creative incubator providing studio space and program support for artists, designers, and makers. Comparable as a larger, better-resourced creative-community hub targeting overlapping East London / London-wide designer and artist personas.
• The Institute of Making: University College London (UCL) members' maker space providing access to materials and fabrication tools for students, staff, and researchers. Comparable Fab Lab-style facility with broader institutional backing and overlapping equipment offering.
• Fab Foundation: Global umbrella organization for the Fab Lab network spun out of MIT's Center for Bits and Atoms. Comparable as the parent/methodology body for the Fab Lab movement of which Machines Room was London's first node.
• TechShop: Former US chain of membership-based maker spaces offering laser cutting, CNC, 3D printing, and more. Closely comparable in operating model (paid membership, multi-tool fabrication access for makers and small businesses) and serves as a cautionary precedent given its 2017 closure.

Regional players

• Makespace Cambridge: Cambridge community maker space offering laser cutting, 3D printing, and CNC to members. Closely comparable in Fab Lab/maker space operating model and equipment offering, though serving a different UK geography from Machines Room's East London base.
• Bethnal Green Working Men's Club Maker Programs: East London cultural venue running creative workshops and maker-style programs for the local community. Comparable as a community-led East London creative program operator with overlapping audience of designers, artists, and local makers.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/machinesroom
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/machines-room

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Machines Room