Fabricators (or fabs) turn digital designs into three-dimensional objects by layering materials such as plastic, metal, biological matter, or composites. They vary in size, scale, and precision, and are used to produce a range of physical consumer and industrial goods such as electronics, housing, medical tissues and devices, vehicles, clothing, and food.

Simple consumer good fabricators for producing replacement parts for appliances, clothing, hobby activities, and tools are found in the majority of residences and can be used without registered monitoring, unlike food biofabs which are as a consequence much more rarely individually owned. More complex goods, electronics, medical, and bulk food production are almost all produced and monitored in more efficient centralised locations by larger industrial fabs and delivered by drone.

The Chandler-Kapoor Agreements of the 70s require all signatories to monitor for unauthorized fabrication. Many existential risk charities have funded additional regional rollouts of denser distributions of Motes in under-served areas to mitigate the danger of missing any fabrication.