Electronics and digital manufacturing at Maker Faire Rome 2026: from idea to object
The heart of making
From 23 to 25 October 2026, at Gazometro Ostiense in Rome, Maker Faire Rome brings together electronics, 3D printing, CNC, sensors and open source: the tools makers, schools, universities and FabLabs use to turn an idea into an object that works.
Here you can look at prototypes up close and see how they’re built. Many share open-source approaches and technologies, to show not just the result but the process.
Electronics: from idea to prototype
It all starts with a circuit. You solder, measure, fix.
Magnetic modules let you assemble devices without complicated wiring, while the objects on show include a calculator that reads numbers written in the air, a handheld powered by a small solar panel, and devices that turn biological signals into commands.
Schools follow the same pipeline: electronics, sensors, programming and prototyping become tools for building working objects.
Digital manufacturing: from file to object
3D printing meets CNC, robotics and artificial intelligence.
A five-axis machine reduces the need for supports, a pick-and-place machine automates the mounting of components on circuit boards, and AI can turn an idea described out loud into a model ready to be made.
Digital manufacturing is also used to make furniture from recycled materials, accessible musical instruments and robotic components. Regione Lazio brings to the fair the FabLab Lazio network and the prototypes born in its training programmes.
AvantCraft: when craftsmanship and technology work together
AvantCraft is the exhibition devoted to the meeting of artisan know-how and advanced technologies, curated by Stefano Micelli of Ca’ Foscari University of Venice.
Mobility, ceramics, glass, fashion, jewellery and biomaterials show how 3D printing, digital processes and manual skills can live side by side: from titanium bicycles to ceramic sculptures, all the way to handmade jewellery, furniture and luxury cars.
Research in the making
The CNR shows a full-scale structure made of CNC-cut elements that starts out flat and unfolds until it becomes self-supporting.
Sapienza University of Rome applies 3D printing to music and to the design of large components. The University of Catania works on reusable supports for composite production, cutting materials and unnecessary steps.
ENEA makes the shift from analogue to digital signal visible, while the Free University of Bozen-Bolzano brings a factory-lab where design, robotics and sensors work together.
