Tag: #FabLab

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Week 11!

This week was the final stretch before the week of the Make-a-thon. Class began with Professor Vishal clearing up everything regarding the Make-a-thon. The expectation and resources available during this event were explained. Once Vishal finished up we were given a presentation from social innovation representative Valerie. Valerie introduced to the class an opportunity to continue furthering their innovative ventures, while receiving non dilutive funding. This opportunity is provided by a program called the iVenture Accelerator. Which is a startup incubator. It’s a 10 week summer commitment and a full academic year seminar course. Participants receive $10,000 of funding and stipends throughout the summer. They not only provide this funding but have a pool of resources ranging from experts to additional funding opportunities. I am actually apart of the iVenture Accelerator. They really dive deep and help further your idea. They’ve introduced us to so many useful/helpful people. It’s really like a family. They bring you along and you become apart of this amazing ecosystem.

After Valerie’s presentation we met with Milestone Labs to give them an update of our progress to date. My team and I are team Solstice (team 1) so we went first. The folks at Milestone gave some good feedback and advice. They were delighted with our interviews and direction we’re going in. One thing we didn’t do was provide as much of our product as possible. We still have to do more sketches and ideation around a few key details regarding our product. From this meeting my team and I reconviented to brainstorm, reflect, and conduct a list of materials we need for the actual Make-a-thon. As a team we found this material called hydrophilic rubber, which is usually used in winter tires. We have a meeting with a material science professor to give us even more insight on materials and such. Also I have a professor who is a shoe cobbler on hi own time and he pointed us to a few materials as well. None the less we’re super excited for this event and our more refined product prototype!

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Culmination at the FabLab

A bittersweet moment occurred this week when we realized we will not be in the FabLab space again. These 3 weeks were filled with exploration, innovation and assimilation into a working space that mimics an adult playground. The hours flew by in the FabLab as we finally wrapped up our projects and finalized our watches, utilizing laser cutters, Arduinos and more in the meantime. It was an extremely insightful experience which reminded all of us business majors at how technically incompetent we truly are.

 Later, we broke up into our teams and began storyboarding our user experience. We walked through each necessary step that our target user would have to go through in order to utilize our product correctly. A user manual will most likely need to be provided since any mechanism which protects the power chair joystick will need set up and an attachment.

We’re on spring break right now and are at the stage of conducting market research to find a product-market fit and exploit it once we get back. April is going to be extremely busy as we have a make-a-thon in the 2nd week which is supposed to expedite this product development cycle.

I’d be lying if I said overwhelm wasn’t starting to creep in. As a second semester senior I am slated with 3 group projects, and a venture which I am taking through COZAD so it is especially difficult to dedicate the necessary time to excel. All 4 projects require damn near full-time attention which makes it unfeasible and very difficult to cater to each of the requirements. Something I’ve already realized is that the business curriculum needs to push more of these group projects to freshman and sophomores before the older class begins to start developing a stronger sense of autonomy.

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FabLab 2.0

Inkscape vector file of watch to be laser cut

This week we returned to the FabLab. We continued to familiarize ourselves with all the tools and tech the lab has to offer. We specifically learned a vector editing software called Inkscape. Through this workshop we learned how to create basic shapes, manipulate them, and produce more. After learning the basics of the software we learned to transform images into vector graphics. These skills were then applied to a customized watch. The watch is a device that allows patients who have to do bicep curls and rotation in wrist during rehabilitation. The base of the watch consist of 3 wooden circles, two of which have rectangles on each side. I thought it would be help patients if the watch had small arrow indications of which way the device goes. The top layer rotates, so I designed an arrow pointing in the direction of proper rotation.

3 layered watch with electrical components

After this we moved into sewing. Unlike most of my peers I have experienced sewing. My sophomore year I sewed a jacket with a sleeping bag attachment completely from scratch. So during the tutorials and walkthroughs I was a couple steps ahead. We all picked the fabrics we wanted our wristband for the watch to be and then cut it to scale.  We sew it right sice in and sewed the seam. This created the sort of sack like appearance of the band. Getting it right side out was a hassle, it required us to use these thin wooden rods to pull the fabric through. We finished up by attaching velcro strips to the band to ensure a comfortable and secure fit to the wrist.

Images showcasing the process of sewing and creating the band for the watch

The second half of class each group presented to Milestone Labs and Adam Bleakney. We’ve made a lot of progress since last speaking with them. We got a lot of insight from this conversation. We realized we hadn’t thought everything thoroughly. Our design is solid but we have to really hone in on the attachment aspect of it. The overall ease of use should be convenient for the user. They also asked a lot of questions regarding materials of our device. We are currently scheduling a time to interview a material science professor here at the university. This week I have scheduled a virtual interview with my physical therapy. We also have a meeting this monday with my professor who handmakes shoes. We plan to do a bunch more research structured around our opportunity and project idea.

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FabLab

Unfortunately, I was not able to attend this week’s class and I missed our first day in the FabLab! They have a plethora of tools there available such as the laser engraver, loads of 3D printers, electronic cutters, milling machines, and more. Through the pre-class activities, I familiarized myself with some of the tools through the FabLab’s tutorial page. I can’t wait to get back next week and try them out.

The elementary Arduino tutorial was also extremely useful and was a great introduction into firmware and embedded systems. The FabLab is where we have access to more developed resources which we can use to create the best version of our product.

I also met with Yen, who is a member of the wheelchair track team as well. Our discussion led to some new realizations and I think we are going to need to pivot the scope of our project. We realized than standard, undifferentiated accessories are not really a value add in the user’s lives. Adjustable frames and headsets for children’s wheelchairs are the conclusions that quickly arose once Yen and I had a conversation about her childhood and the scope of our project.

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Week 7: Fab Lab – A Fabulous Place for Ideation and Fabrication

Fab Lab Tour

Before this week’s class, I heard the word “fab lab” multiple times during this course. I was always wondering what it looks like in the Fab Lab and what kind of tools in the fab lab we can use. As a student who has visited the IMPACT LABS in Israel, I expected the Fab Lab to look a lot more like the IMPACT LABS. The actual tour gave me a perception that the tools we have access in the Fab Lab are very similar to the IMPACT LABS, including 3D printers, sewing machines, 3D scanners, laser cutters, electronic cutters, and the milling machine, etc. The IMPACT LABS may have some more technologies available like the digital CNC, but then there are a lot more computers with necessary design software installed in the computers for the community to use. In this lab, I discovered software that I have never seen and used before. With a combination of so many amazing tools, I believe that our creation stage will not be as hard as I previously expected.

  • Laser cutter
  • product showcase in Fab Lab

During the training session in Fab Lab, we were separated into two groups. The group I went with learned how to use Inkspace to design for laser cutting of the surface. This activity prompts us to design a watch face for a motion detector watch. The instructors led us through the basic process of using Inkspace to draw out the watch face step by step. Afterward, we were prompted to design the watch ourselves for our selected specific user. When I design the watch face, I decided to design the watch for elders. Elders have the ability to read words, but they may not see it very clearly. Therefore, I decided to use an image for curl arm movement. When I wanted to find an image for the twisting, I felt that the images I found were kind of confusing, so I decided to use large bolded words TWIST instead of an image.

Watch face I designed

During this activity, I realized that when we need to design a product, we need to consider how different user groups will have different requirements or needs for the product. It is really important to consider their need in order to design a product that can be useful for these user groups. This is also something we need to take in consideration when we are designing our product for this project.

Ideation Phase

In the latter part of the course, we went back to working on our group project. In this week’s class, we move forward from our inspiration phase to the ideation phase. We brainstormed the different possible solutions for different user groups. In this case, we were able to consider what we might do differently for different users. We diverged first when we are trying to brainstorm the different solutions, but at the end, we converged to a few solutions that we believe are possible to work on due to the time-constraint, functional requirements and the affordability constraint. As a result, we came up with two solutions to work our initial prototype on. I am excited to continue with the project and see how our ideas come to actual product that fits our target users’ needs.

  • Ideation Phase
  • Brainstormed solutions
  • Final two solutions for prototyping
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Fab Lab: Fabulous Resources for Fabulous Ideas

Exterior of Fab Lab located in Urbana, IL

This was our first of the next three weeks that we will be spending at Fab Lab to learn about various resources that are available to us. Although I have heard of Fab Lab before, I was not aware of what it contains. In fact, I didn’t even know where it was located, so I was very surprised when I found out where it was. It was a small, old-looking building that I passed by daily to get to my classes from the dorm that I used to live in during my freshman year. I always wondered what it was and even peered into it through the windows once, but I never figured out what it was. Walking into it, I was wondering how this place could contain all the high-tech gadgets that the professor was talking about.

As soon as I walked through the doors, I had my eyebrows raised. It was not at all what I imagined the place to be.

  • One side of the wall at Fab Lab displaying different products that are made there
  • Example of a machine that is available at Fab Lab for use
Examples of various products that can be made at Fab Lab

Inside the building was an open space filled with computers, machines, and various types of products that were made at the lab. I felt like a kid who just walked into a candy store, trying to absorb all the different things that I see. From electric cutters, 3D printers, to embroidery machines, there seemed to be endless lines of resources available. Although I was excited to see so many resources, I was also worried about how I could possibly learn to use them for the project.

  • Examples of laser engraved products from Fab Lab
  • 3D printers available at Fab Lab
  • Map of the Fab Lab

After taking a tour throughout the building, the class was divided into two groups to get hands-on learning on a couple of resources available at the lab. This week, I got to participate in an Inkscape workshop. Inkscape is an open-source vector graphics editor, which can be used to create or edit vector graphics. During the workshop, we got to design a watch face of a motion-detecting watch, which could detect whether the user was performing the bicep curls or wrist twist motions correctly. We were to think of a specific user group and create a design based on it so that the user can use the watch correctly. Although the task seemed simple, it was challenging to come up with a simple, yet effective design. This exercise made me realize how much of a challenge we have ahead of us in trying to design a product that could help the power wheelchair users with preventing the rain from getting into the joystick.

After the workshop, we were grouped into our own teams and got time to brainstorm various prototypes for the team products. The point of this session was to keep the options limitless, even thinking of things that are impossible for us to achieve. For example, while we were brainstorming about what can protect the power wheelchair from rain, we came up with instant heating that dries the moisture, force field, and strong wind blower that can push the water droplets away. Although we understand that these options are not viable, by not limiting ourselves, we were able to come up with more creative ideas that can potentially lead into more feasible ones.

Sketches of various ideas we brainstormed during the session to prevent rain from getting to the joystick of a power wheelchair

In the end, we had to select a couple of designs that were more feasible, easier to implement, and most effective, which we decided were bags to put over the joystick and a mold that can be put over the part. For our next assignment, we will be coming up with a 3D prototype of these ideas. Although the exercises that we performed throughout the week demonstrated lots of challenge ahead of us, I am excited to use the available resources to take our ideas further.

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The FabLab Explained

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.

Variety of gadgets and projects at the FabLab.

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!

Some of our group’s sketches.

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.