LABi - Laboratorio Abierto

What LABi - Laboratorio Abierto does

LABi (Laboratorio Abierto) is an open educational laboratory founded in 1981 and operated within the Department of Electronics at the Faculty of Engineering of the Universidad de Buenos Aires (FIUBA). It functions as a bridge between students, faculty, and other university laboratories, providing hands-on practical training in electronics that complements formal coursework. Its primary audience is FIUBA engineering students, with secondary users including faculty/staff and a small number of external individuals. The lab employs a horizontal teaching methodology built on experimentation, creativity, commitment, and responsibility, and operates Monday through Friday from 09:00 to 14:00 and 15:00 to 21:00.

The lab's core offerings divide into three streams. First, fee-for-service 3D printing using Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) technology with ABS and PLA materials, delivered through open-source Prusa P3 Steel printers, with tiered pricing ($450/hr for courses/labs, $900/hr for faculty, $1,100/hr for external customers). Second, a recurring catalog of free technical courses and workshops covering Python, GIT, SPICE circuit simulation, Octave, soldering, and a Radio Frequency Club (Club de RF) focused on VHF/UHF amplifier design, antennas, and software-defined radio. Third, applied R&D projects including a water level flood-monitoring sensor, a low-cost chlorophyll concentration sensor, a plastic-to-filament recycling system (Cloneco3D), and the ASTAR 10x10x10cm cubesat project developed in collaboration with EEA INTA Santa Cruz and Universidad de la Patagonia Austral. A specialized electronics library of over 3,000 books supports all activities.

As a government-owned university laboratory, LABi is not a commercial enterprise; it is funded through the public university system and charges only nominal cost-recovery fees for its 3D printing service. Its team of approximately 18 people (3 core coordination/direction staff, 2 active interns, and 13+ extended collaborators) is led by Director Ing. Fernando Bonelli. Distribution is on-site at FIUBA, with supplementary digital channels (Telegram, Discord, Google Forms, social media) for community engagement and registration. Go-to-market is community-led and event-driven, relying on word-of-mouth, university channels, and student referrals rather than commercial sales motion.

Name

LABi - Laboratorio Abierto

Legal name

Laboratorio Abierto (LABi) - Departamento de Electrónica, Facultad de Ingeniería, Universidad de Buenos Aires

Website

https://labi.fi.uba.ar

Company type

Private

Founded year

1981

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

LABi is an open electronics laboratory founded in 1981 within FIUBA's Department of Electronics, providing hands-on training, free technical courses, fee-for-service 3D printing, and applied R&D projects — including a cubesat — primarily serving Buenos Aires engineering students.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Engineering Education Services

NAICS

Computer Training (611420), Testing Laboratories and Services (54138), Analytical Laboratory Instrument Manufacturing (334516)

SIC

Laboratory Apparatus & Furniture (3821), Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYEDAEAGAI

Makerspace, Innovation Lab & Fab Lab Operations (Tools, Safety, Programming)

Education/Education Facilities & Support Services/Library, Media Center & Learning Space Operations

SECONDARYEDAMABAA

Hands-on Science Exploration & Experiments (Lab Kits, Science Clubs)

Education/Supplemental & Enrichment Programs (Arts, STEM, Language)/STEM Enrichment & Science Programs

SECONDARYEDAEAIAC

Science & STEM Lab Equipment & Supplies (Chemistry, Biology, Physics, Makerspaces)

Education/Education Facilities & Support Services/Education Supplies, Equipment & Furniture Procurement

Keywords

• Engineering education laboratory
• Electronics training services
• 3D printing service
• Student technical workshops
• University research lab

Headquarters

HQ city

Buenos Aires

HQ country

Argentina

HQ region

Latin America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. 3D Printing Services: Fee-for-service 3D printing using FDM technology. Pricing varies by customer category: courses/labs pay $450/hour, faculty members pay $900/hour, and external customers pay $1100/hour. Payment via cash, ATM deposit, or bank transfer.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

LABi is an open laboratory within the Department of Electronics at the Faculty of Engineering of the University of Buenos Aires (FIUBA). It provides practical electronics training to engineering students through free courses and workshops (soldering, Python, GIT, SPICE, Octave, RF Club) and offers fee-based 3D printing services using FDM technology. The lab also runs student-led R&D projects including water level sensors, chlorophyll sensors, plastic recycling for 3D filament, and a cubesat (ASTAR) project, and maintains a specialized electronics library of over 3,000 books.

Product overview

LABi (Laboratorio Abierto) is an open educational laboratory at the Faculty of Engineering, University of Buenos Aires, offering practical electronics training and services. The core offerings include Impresiones 3D (3D Printing Service) using FDM technology with ABS and PLA materials, and Labicursos y Talleres (Courses and Workshops) covering soldering, programming (Python, Octave), circuit simulation (SPICE), and version control (GIT). Research and development projects include Sensor de nivel de agua (water level monitoring), Sensor de clorofila (chlorophyll measurement), Cloneco3D (plastic recycling for filament), and ASTAR (cubesat development). The laboratory also provides a specialized electronics library with over 3,000 books and operates a Robotics Club and RF Club for students.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Club de RF: Radio Frequency Club operating within LABi, focused on learning and experimenting with radio frequency technologies. Meets Thursdays 18:00-20:00 at LABi.
• 3D Printing Service

Products and services

• Impresiones 3D (3D Printing Service) 3D printing service using Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) technology with ABS and PLA materials, offering pricing tiers for faculty students, external students, and general public. Customers submit jobs via an online order form and receive an emailed quote.
• Labicursos y Talleres (Courses and Workshops) Educational courses and workshops including Soldadura (Soldering), Octave, Python, SPICE Circuit Simulation, GIT version control, and RF Club, designed to provide practical tools for engineering students. Registration is handled via Google Forms.
• Club de RF (Radio Frequency Club) Recurring workshop focused on learning and experimenting with radio frequency technologies including VHF/UHF amplifier design, directional couplers, antennas, duplexers, and software-defined radio. Meets on Thursday evenings at LABi.
• Biblioteca especializada en electrónica (Electronics Library) Specialized electronics library with over 3,000 books available to all students, supporting the educational mission of the laboratory.

Quantifiable outcome

• 3D printing service with variable pricing based on user category (students, faculty, external)
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers2 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

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered minor.

• EEA INTA Santa CruzminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on scientific payload development for the ASTAR cubesat project. INTA Santa Cruz (Estación Experimental Agropecuaria) provides expertise and research support for the space mission's scientific instruments.
• Universidad de la Patagonia AustralminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in the ASTAR project's scientific payload research, contributing to the development of space technology capabilities in collaboration with Argentine research institutions.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Adafruit: Adafruit is an open-source hardware and learning company whose tutorials, kits, and community forums parallel the educational mission and ecosystem playbook that LABi uses to engage electronics learners.
• Arduino: Arduino designs microcontroller platforms and learning ecosystems used in LABi's water-level sensor and RF/wireless workshops. It is the dominant upstream technology for the lab's electronics educational content, making it the closest commercial analog for hands-on electronics learning.
• Fab Foundation / Fab Lab Network: The global Fab Lab network provides community-operated makerspaces with 3D printing, electronics, and prototyping services — directly analogous to LABi's makerspace activities and shared mission of democratizing digital fabrication, but at much larger global scale.
• MakerBot Industries: MakerBot is a major commercial 3D printer manufacturer and educator in STEM/lab environments; it shares LABi's FDM-based additive manufacturing focus and serves as the upstream hardware and curriculum source for makerspaces like LABi.
• SparkFun Electronics: SparkFun provides electronics components, kits, and tutorials widely used in electronics-education and maker environments similar to LABi. Its pedagogical DIY tutorial model closely mirrors LABi's workshop-driven learning approach.
• Project Manus (MIT): MIT's Project Manus is a university makerspace offering 3D printing, laser cutting, and electronics training to engineering students — the closest large-scale, university-anchored equivalent of LABi's open laboratory and electronics training services.

Direct peers

• Noisebridge: Noisebridge is a community-run hackerspace in San Francisco offering shared electronics equipment, soldering workshops, and project collaboration — directly comparable to LABi's open-lab community model and horizontal teaching methodology.
• Shapeways: Shapeways is a commercial 3D-printing service bureau offering tiered pricing models and online order workflows. Its commercial model parallels LABi's 3D-printing service in tiered, hourly-usage pricing, but it serves an external paid customer base.
• Hacker Lab: Hacker Lab is a community-makerspace model offering shared equipment (3D printers, electronics benches), workshops, and mentorship — directly comparable to LABi's open electronics lab, course offerings, and project-support mission.

Regional players

• ITBA Makerspace: Instituto Tecnológico de Buenos Aires operates a student-facing makerspace and engineering-lab ecosystem with similar hands-on electronics and prototyping services, comparable in mission (practical engineering education) but targeting a private-university student body in the same Buenos Aires region.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• GitHubgithub.com/tute-avalos/fiuba-numpy
• YouTubeyoutu.be/oAD22DKXc5A
• Facebookfacebook.com/labifiuba
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/labifiuba

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about LABi - Laboratorio Abierto