#fab pro

[fabgurublog]

3D printer - Ultimaker Affordable machines!?

During Fab pro, one team built an Ultimaker by themselves. Ultimakers unique aspect is that it is designed for user friendly self building, using step by step instructions on the body itself and with online instructions. If some parts of the machine are missing or broken, people can print the parts easily with another 3D printer too. Now 3D printers have become affordable machines (like the home printer) and have become a common machine around even small scale makers and designers. The Machines cost is approximately 1200 euro(ex tax) with free software ( Cura). Working space is 210x 210x205mm, SD card input. If you are not used to designing 3D models in an app, you could get online open 3D design source  such as https://www.thingiverse.com/ Check it out!    https://ultimaker.com

Note about filament (material) for 3D printers

In Fablab Willich they use 3 types. The price is the same. PLA     hard PETG  flexible ABS problematic (new)

Next time I would like to write about milling bits! It is important to choose depending on the job the right bits.

(above picture from Fab Pro Willich)

Personally I would like to try laywood material!

Note:

PLA This is a hard, odorless bioplastic that has a low environmental impact. It is derived from renewable, starch-based resources. PLA has a very low shrinkage, which is ideal for 3D models and prototyping at home.

ABS This plastic is well-known for its strength and industrial purposes. ABS is impact resistant, very hard, whilst retaining good flexibility. Compared to PLA, ABS has a high shrinkage, which means that it’s harder to print with this material. https://ultimaker.com/en/support/view/11720-terminology 

[fabgurublog]

2nd & 3rd week of internship @ fabguru Fab Pro trainee, an intensive train the trainer programme for Saint-Gobain Bristol-Suwa-Wayne

Hello!  During the last 2 weeks, fabguru, yourownlab and Fablab Willich hosted Fab Pro training. FAB LAB PRO is a Train-the-Trainer program developed by Your Own Lab and Alex Schaub. It It is an intensive training which gives participants opportunities to learn the theory and practise of several techniques (2D, 2.5D, 3D, electronics) touching on all the modules of the regular Fab Lab Academy. In this time my task was to support the whole programme, wrapping up the end of each day, and portrait making by laser cutter.

There were 10 enthusiastic participants at the new fablab of Saint Gobain, from Bristol (5p), Wayne(4p) and Suwa(1p).  The course was given 4 times in 2-day sessions in 2 groups running parallel.  Wayne will open a fablab this spring, Bristol plans to open it this June and Suwa is preparing to open it next autumn. The participants' backgrounds were very mixed, some were from engineering, packaging, storage control, or production etc. It meant that many of them never used applications such as Illustrator, Rhino neither laser cutters or 3D printers so it was great challenge and an intensive time for all of us. Of course it was meant as a way of learning new techniques for all of them, but it was also very important to develop a good team-work within their own lab as well as a bridge between the 3 Fablabs including Fablab Willich in the Saint Gobain network. I must say they worked very hard and we succeeded to keep them all in a productive mode even if there was some critical/unhappy feedback from them during the period we managed to fix it (*1). For me it was an unforgettable experience as I could learn a lot of technical practise as well as that the participants taught me that a good lab could hardly exist without good teamwork in the Lab and how important it is to maintain it! They gained a great starting line to run Fablab. Questions remain for each lab (its not easy to answer, they say because Saint Gobain is a company it has to make profit from fablab as well. It makes the situation different than for a Fablab within a school or institution. ) about how much and whom each lab should be open to external participants. This is a good question to me as well, it is depending on where and what kind of digital lab space you want to have though in each case can be different.  

Let me note next blog what happened in Fab Pro Trainee @ Willich (10 -19 Nov 2015).