Although I strolled into class a few minutes late, I was able to catch the remainder of the lecture presented by Indiana University’s Makerspace director. It’s really cool to see more areas conducive in instilling a sense of creativity within students open up in colleges around the nation. After the lecture, I was left with an immense sense of pride in the University of Illinois for creating the world’s first business school 3D printing lab. A place in which I, along with many of my fellow Illini, have utilized and continue to do so as a creative hub for various projects and personal endeavors. Particularly, I got to hear how my classmates have used the MakerLab and other resources on campus to help bring their projects to life. I was astonished by the creativity, ingenuity, and passion behind each groups’ progress report.

After each group presented a snippet of their project, we were left to stay in the MakerLab, go to the FabLab, or utilize any other resource to help aide the progression of our project. Since the Arduino is the base of our product, we went to the FabLab. During our time at the FabLab, we learned a lot more about the functionality of the ukulele tuner and made slight adjustments to our existing project. As Annie was heavily researching the Arduino facet of our project, I assisted Johnny in creating the outer piece of the tuner on Fusion 360. The process was quite tricky, but we are now one step closer to where we want to be in terms of design.

In the near future, I look forward to 3D printing the outer piece of the tuner and seeing it completed! Not to mention, I am beyond pumped to see my fellow classmates’ finished products. Also, I hope to continue utilizing the MakerLab and other resources on campus for future projects. Lastly, after having slight difficulty navigating Fusion 360, I want to create more objects to become fully proficient with the software.

During this past week, we had the unique opportunity to partake in the 3D Printing Expo. Going in, I was both excited and nervous. The thought of building something in the BIF atrium where everyone could see us was quite nerve-racking. However, it seemed really cool simultaneously. For the event, there were 3Different (see what I did there?) sections: assembling a 3D printer, upgrading an Ultimaker, and scanning. Check them out below!

I thought it would be really cool to assemble a 3D printer, so that’s what I chose to do! Before our group began assembling the 3D printer, the Ultimaker representative told us, “It’s kind of like assembling something from Ikea.” This statement couldn’t be further from the truth. Our group had great difficulty assembling the printer in the beginning. A lot of the problems stemmed from the fact that the instructions were outdated. Also, there comes a point where there are simply too many people working on something that requires only a few individuals. I recognized this and used it as an opportunity to explore the other sections.

All in all, I learned quite a bit from the 3D Printing Expo. It taught me to be cooperative, diligent, and optimistic. Although I already knew of the importance of teamwork, it was reemphasized through this activity. Also, through assembling the Ultimaker, I learned a lot more about the functionality of the 3D printer. Lastly, going forward, it would be awesome to assemble more 3D printers and learn how to upgrade them as well.

Before this past week’s session, I wanted to research more about the three different areas of CU’s Fab Lab. As I was perusing through their website, I found great resources to further my knowledge on the Fab Lab. In fact, CU’s Fab Lab has a YouTube channel! Check out their awesome videos here. After utilizing these outlets to learn more, I was more than thrilled to head back!

For the first workshop, I was placed in the embroidery area amongst several of my classmates. We learned the basic functions of the software and how to thread the sewing machine. For this past week’s workshop, our group relocated to the laser-cutting/design area. Duncan, who is employed at CU’s Fab Lab, lead our workshop. He ran through how to properly utilize the Inkscape software, the two types of laser engravers, and the differences between rastering and cutting.

I was having difficulty finding a design to raster onto a notebook. So, I decided to walk around and see what cool things my classmates were up to in order to gain some inspiration! By doing this, I got some great advice from Gwen, who told me to keep the design minimalistic and simple. In the end, this is what I chose to design:

I shared a picture of my newly-designed notebook via Twitter and received positive feedback. Check out one of the responses below:

This interaction led me to think about a variety of things such as personalized design/customization, production, and mass markets. Going forward, I hope to continually visit CU’s Fab Lab and expand my knowledge on all of its facets.

As I looked up from my phone’s GPS, I confusingly stared at the building ahead. I couldn’t help but wonder if this was it. I made my way around the building to the main entrance and was immediately greeted by a white, hefty door with the words Fab Lab written on it. This was it. I didn’t expect much going in solely because of the building’s unimpressive appearance, but you know what they say? Appearances can be deceiving and this idiom rings especially true for Champaign Urbana’s Fab Lab. Needless to say, they put the “fab” in fabulous.

The Fab Lab, which is short for Fabrications Laboratory, is divided into three unique sections:  fabrications, electronic resources, and design. Before we toured the entire building, we were given a brief presentation as to what the Fab Lab does. Its mission is to provide an open and collaborative environment for makers to imagine, design, and create using open source software and DIY equipment. As soon as the presentation concluded, our class was divided into two groups to tour each workspace in its entirety. There were so many vastly different, cool items found in each respective section! However, there was one item that specifically caught my eye, which can be found below:

Once the tour finished, groups were assigned to different workstations. Fortunately, I was placed into the fabrications section, which meant that I got to walk out of class with a custom-made, embroidered item! After perusing online, I chose to design a film camera. However, there were various modifications that had to be made on it. I condensed the image into five colors and thickened the lines to create distinguished segments of the piece. Now, it was ready to go! Check out the video below of my design getting embroidered onto the fabric:

By learning the embroidering process, I can create and modify objects to my liking. This can be especially useful in creating logos that can be sewn onto various types of clothing. Overall, the experience has proven to be quite challenging and fun! I’ve gained technical skills from playing around with the modifying software, which may come in handy in the near future. Now, I want to expand my knowledge of embroidery and fabrications. I want to continue dabbling into this newfound interest of mine! Hopefully, I can do so in next week’s class.

Over the past two classes, students had the unique opportunity to gain hands-on experience with Fusion 360. Unfortunately, my initial encounter with the software was delayed because my laptop wouldn’t allow me to download the software until I installed updates. However, I thoroughly enjoyed listening to Autodesk’s Lucas Ewing on Monday, February 15^th. Although interesting, I found it quite difficult to keep up with Ewing’s lecture on Fusion 360. Later that week, I played around with the software on my own and quickly became frustrated. I had no idea what I was doing!

During next Monday’s class, my frustration with Fusion 360 began to dissipate after Gina Taylor and Nicole Chimienti’s tutorial on how to construct a lamp.  Even though I had to continually ask for help from both the lecturers and my peers, I became a lot more confident in my ability to design using the Fusion 360 software. By the end of class, I ended up with a pretty sweet-looking lamp. Check it out below!

Through the use of the render tool, I changed the material of the lamp as well as its color. To me, this is one of the coolest features Fusion 360 has to offer. Once class was over, I was left contemplating different ideas on how to move forward with this newfound knowledge. The impact this software can make on one’s life is astounding. Now, I have the ability to tweak existing products to my personal liking. On a much larger level, however, I want to design innovative products that can help alleviate the human condition such as a purifying straw. My hope would be to have this product mass produced and available to individuals who don’t have access to clean water. Before I can aspire to this, I need to become well versed with Fusion 360. My short-term goal is to use this software to create relatively easy, generic objects and work my way up until I’m proficient.

The importance of the Fusion 360 software is significant. It serves as a platform that enables individuals to design almost anything. My experience with Fusion 360 has expanded my narrow mindset into an open abyss of endless possibilities.