This week in class we visited the Fab Lab! I had been to the Fab Lab once before for my work with Illinois Enactus. I was on a project called Grounds for Growth. Our project created an upcycled soap bar with coffee grounds from the shops on campus. We also started using the coffee grounds to make lavender, vanilla and coconut scented scrubs. We used to use the machines at the Fab Lab to print stickers for our coffee scrub jars and soap bars! However, even though I had been to the Fab Lab before, I didn’t even realize how big the Fab Lab is and I had no idea there were multiple floors. I also did not realize the large variety of tools and resources the Fab Lab provides.
We first took a tour of the Fab Lab and learned about the different tools. It was really interesting to see the different applications and uses people had come up with for all the tools. For example, we saw a mask, LED light screen, trophy and camera that people had designed (see in the picture below).
Next, we split up into groups and worked on two separate projects. I was in the group learning about circuits and LEDs. In my T&M minor, we took an ECE class last year and we learned about circuits, LEDs and Arduino. However, the refresher we received at the Fab Lab was very helpful. We constructed a circuit and learn how different resistors affect the LED. A more powerful resistor makes the light less bright. From my background in my ECE class I understand that is because the battery provides a voltage to the circuit. V=IR with I = current and R = resistance. Therefore, if the battery is providing the same voltage, with a higher resistance the current flowing through the circuit would be decreased making the LED dimmer.
After that, we got back into our groups and started the ideation phase of our project! Our goal was to create as many ideas as possible and to sketch the ideas out on a sheet of paper. We then ranked the ideas by most feasible, easiest and most impactful. Ultimately, my group was able to narrow it down to a couple main ideas. We are the team working with Arielle and trying to improve racing conditions for athletes in undesirable weather conditions. Below is a picture or our ideations sketches.
The ideas that we decided on our first to create a piece that can attach to the glove to help athletes in the rain. Second, we want to experiment with printing either the entire glove or parts of the glove with TPU filament to create a more flexible glove. Next, we are considering trying to create a C shaped cover that can snap onto the ring and can have increased grip for when racing in the rain. Finally, we would try to connect the ring with the glove somehow and great a grove/lock system to increase grip. This idea is what we said was most effective however, we are worried it wouldn’t necessarily be super feasible.
Moving forward, we will be prototyping these ideas and trying to decide which idea is feasible and effective to implement. For the future lessons, it would be helpful for our team to understand different materials that we can have access to with this project. Especially if we are trying to increase the grip on the hand ring we will need to find a strong, durable material to use with our prototypes!
Gies College of Business || May 2019
Supply Chain Management & Information Systems/Information Technology
Hello Maryam,
I love how your team came up with a great solution. And your experiment using TPU filament is a very cheap and fast way to search for solution. I like your first solution, but could you guys have two or three more backup solutions? I think this way, even though one solution fails, you can still have a back up to work on. And maybe you guys can coordinate with Arielle or other wheel chair users to try out your prototypes. Keep up the great work! I love what you guys are doing.
Hi Maryam,
I was also really impressed by the fact that Fablab even have multiple floors. I was doing the design of the watch face, so I have chance to work on the circuit this week. Even though I didn’t do too well in physics when I was in high school, I hope that I can figure it out. I like your team have finalize some different ideas, which make sure that you have backup plan if the plan A doesn’t turn out to be good. Printing out the gloves and test it out is definitely a great idea. You’ll find out what’s the advantage and some shortcomings of your product after the experiment. You’re doing great on your project, keep it up!