Very good equipment in their wood shop. Someone is always there if you need assistance. Equipment is well maintained.

I've been a member for 5 years and use their lasers weekly for my art. This place is excellent. The South Philly staff are very knowledgeable and friendly. I can easily approach them for advice or help solving any problem I have, whether it's with the equipment (rare) or with my designs. When I first started, I chose their least expensive membership level. It allowed me plenty of shop time to build my product line. Now that my art business is successful, l've moved to the next membership level up and it still beats purchasing and maintaining my own laser cutter. And my membership gives me access to MANY more machines than one laser. I highly recommend checking out Nextfab. I love the South Philly location most. read more

Holy crap. I'm still reeling from my tour on Friday, but I'm pretty confident that this is the coolest place EVER. They have a ton of fancy machinery like 3D printers/scanners, laser cutters, large format printers, things that can cut steel, etc.; as well as more run-of-the-mill woodshop type stuff (saws, hand tools etc.) and smaller-scale tools for embroidery and t-shirt printing. For a monthly fee, you can use their equipment to make pretty much anything you can dream up. Or, you can just hire them to build your design for you. Or, you can hire them to design something AND build it for you. For members, they offer classes on how to use all the equipment and software. The staff could not be friendlier. I'm not an artist, designer, engineer, architect or anything similar, but as soon as there is room in my budget, I want to become a member and make cool stuff for my apartment-- or just hang out there and bask in the gloriously nerdy and creative atmosphere. SO. COOL. read more

I have been a member for several years now. The facilities provide the tools for professionals and hobby-makers alike to design and create almost anything they can imagine. The staff is experienced, professional and very willing to help if you have any questions, or to just discuss creative ideas or techniques with you. The atmosphere created is cooperative, and is very conducive to member and staff sharing of ideas and resources. A solid recommendation for anyone that wants to turn their concepts into reality. read more

I needed a place to build my project, and I knew that there were maker spaces which had tools. I needed a space which specifically had a CNC mill, and NextFab was the only one I could find that had one, but they also have other machines: two 3D printers, a 3D scanner, some large-format printer/cutters, a laser cutter, a Shop Bot, a lathe, a vertical mill, a CNC plasma cutter, a bandsaw, a table saw, all sorts of other wood-working equipment, power tools, welding equipment, electronics equipment, a microscope, and so on. They also have software: Solidworks, the Adobe Suite, and some others. There is also a wet lab for chemical-type stuff. I went to tour their facility, and it blew me away! They have all the tools I needed, which means I don't have to buy the tools myself. Also, they have expert and friendly engineers on staff who know all about the tools and software, so I don't have to figure them out by myself. They also have classes for each of the machines, taught by the experts, and these classes are required to use them. You can pay a monthly or yearly fee to become a member. Many machines are then free to use, but some cost a small amount per hour. For nonmembers, the prices are higher. This place is awesome: * All the tools you need. * You don't have to buy the tools yourself. * Experts in all the tools. * You don't have to learn the tools on your own. * Expert help for your project when you need it. * Creative people and surroundings get the juices flowing! * Everyone is so friendly! read more

Hired Next Fab to cast a bow handle from my original. The first rendering came out like crap. Edges were rough and body was marked up and not polished. They said they would cast another. I believe they filed the edges back 3/16th of an inch and told me they made another one. The filed handle now does not fit the contour of the opening. No sense to me to complain again as the quality is pour and may be OK for a 12 year old's first try. I can not recommend this company to anyone. STAY AWAY!!! NOOOO! Stars here Fred Dorman No point to go back for another round of how awesome they are. The time for Evans apologies and offer of refund should have been at the time of the second poor failed attempt and delivery. The only time I herd about how sorry they are was after this review was published. No doubt hind sight ( in this case ) is 20/80. Keep the money and use it to have this person schooled in this fabrication art. Just not at nextfab. This project has already hit the dumpster. read more

The bottom line is that Nextfab has great equipment but an extremely poor attitude towards customer relations. I have personally witnessed staff openly express their loathing and disdain for members. And I have been verbally assaulted during a class and while I was working independently. Another problem is that the management can't seem to make any decision on if they want their studio to be a place for members, or a vender for outside work. As a result as a member you will find your self competing with staff over space, machine time, and tools. And you will still find many facilities still unfinished and perpetually "under construction." It's a real shame because Nextfab would be a great "Maker Space" if it wasn't for their poor management and socially inept staff members. They're not all bad of course, and actually some of the Staff is quite kind and very intelligent. But there are just too many bad apples that spoil the bunch. read more

I've been a member for 6 months now spending time at both Philly facilities. The quantity/quality of tools and classes/instruction available are a huge benefit. The various levels of membership and that you can adjust your membership is a great option. They host events that promote members' work, stimulate member interaction, the exchange of ideas and collaboration. Because NextFab is a newer venture they have the flexibility of being a business in development but also incur some of the expected growing pains. The negative reviews that complain about a lack of organization/professionalism perhaps may be used to a more rigid/cohesive corporate structure but in my experience I much more prefer to experience some events of miscommunication (as is understandable in a developing business) and have a more relaxed environment where the staff is learning/working beside me than to be apart of a creative space that feels stilted, sterile and unaccommodating. read more