This week, we had the privilege of having class in the FabLab with their employees walking us through the lab and introducing us to some of the tools. I have actually been to the FabLab many times before for a project in an RSO on campus. However, I have always stuck to the machinery I needed for that project, and had no need to branch out. Even though I have walked past this variety of equipment before, I had never used a lot of it. It has definitely put the lab in a new light for me. Emilie, Duncan, and Brandon did a great job giving a plethora of examples of projects that they have worked on or that they have helped others work on in this space.
The space itself is very welcoming and I appreciate their commitment to community programs and being open to not just students. The university is a huge resource to the surrounding community, but a lot of times it is “roped-off” to non-university residents. The FabLab is a part of a network of FabLabs that are really democratizing the maker movement and making it accessible to everyone, not just those who spend thousands on equipment.
One interesting project that I had seen some articles about was wearables. 3D printing onto mesh-like fabrics to create wearable garments is a new-er “trend” but it yields many applications especially in the medical world. Having a 3D printed brace that perfectly forms to you and goes on like fabric would transform a lot of recovery programs.
The project they had us work on to introduce us to some of the tools was a motion-sense watch. Essentially, a prototype of something that could monitor someone’s arm movements, which could be applied to someone completing out-patient physical therapy. Being able to track these movements would yield more accurate data on how effective the treatment is with and without the proper physical therapy. This was a fun project to work on and we will be completing it this coming week.
At the end of class, we participated in a brainstorming activity. The teams were to sketch ideas for their opportunities given different constraints: Design for the elderly, for children, with $0, and with $1B. These constraints definitely help you think outside the box and think with more tact for different users!
Finally, Jenna visited class at the end so that we could talk to her about our sketches and what she thought would work best for her. We learned that she does not mind if it doesn’t resemble a foot at all – as long as it works! We also got some necessary measurements for our design which we will be able to use when we start modeling our prototype in Fusion360.
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