By Andy Brownfield
U.S. Rep. Steve Chabot toured the Manufactory in Sharonville on Friday to see the maker movement in action in Cincinnati.
Chabot, a Cincinnati Republican, is a member of the Congressional Maker Caucus, which seeks to advocate for the community of makers who use technologies such as 3-D printers, CNC machines, laser cutting machines and other manufacturing technologies that enable anyone from individuals to small and large companies to innovate new products.
The Manufactory is a maker space that provides those tools to members who pay a monthly fee, as well as hosting classes that teach those individuals and members of the community how to use those machines. The Manufactory gave the Courier an in-depth look inside the operation in March.
"It reminds me a bit of an incubator," Chabot told me. "You see a lot of businesses here being started. It's generally individuals who have an idea, but they don't have the resources to ever get the business off the ground, but here it's possible to have access to the equipment, technology and guidance to actually get your business off the ground."
While touring the Manufactory, Chabot met the father and son team of Bill and Bob Wise, who were using one of the facility's 3-D printers to design a line of low-cost mouth guards for athletes and teeth-grinders.
"Without the facilities here, it'd be undoable," Bill Wise said.
The Manufactory has about 50 members so far, but it could handle between 300 and 500, owner Lee Krieg said. The Krieg family started the Manufactory in their old printing facility on Mosteller Road.
"We've always been tinkerers, thanks to our father," Krieg told Chabot.
Chabot said Washington, D.C., could do some things to help the fledgling maker community, such as overhauling the legal system to reduce frivolous lawsuits.
"One of the things that can be done is for government to not overregulate them. To get off their backs and look at the tax code," Chabot said. "One of the things Lee mentioned was how high their insurance rates are. One of the reasons is because you have so many lawsuits around the country."