Liverpool had one of these. The universities bought in and in principle academics had access to use the space and materials costed to the institution. So yes, a

Liverpool had one of these. The universities bought in and in principle academics had access to use the space and materials costed to the institution. So yes, a co-working space with access to fabrication equipment and a few small companies in residence. Very expensive for private consumers and we were never sure who'd get the bill if we used the fancier machines, so it was underutilised. Eg some high end LPKF PCB equipment that could do printed antennas and all sorts of interesting stuff, but the rental cost was rarely worth it over rush ordering from places like oshpark. Kind of an odd setup because any company that actually needed the kit (eg a darkroom for optical prep) would be better off renting a tiny industrial space and building out their own labs, and contracting out the rest. And since the universities paid into it they could have pushed for ownership and made it a proper facility for students and researchers. https://lbndaily.co.uk/sensor-city-in-liverpool-could-reopen-in-months https://lbndaily.co.uk/sensor-city-in-liverpool-could-reopen...