What?

This week, we engaged in part 2 of our box making project. I experienced learning yet another new tool and software, this time picking it up a bit easier than the last. After creating the physical structure for the box last week, I had the opportunity to design my stitched cloth that will serve as my box’s top. After a few design iterations, I came up with a design that speaks to my love for sports. My ‘logo’ is a baseball field with my initials and a Nike ‘swoosh’ at the center. I must admit, I did experience some difficulty in actually getting the sewing machine to stitch my design at first – but I would attribute this to a lack of familiarity with both sewing and the machine. I left a hole where each base would normally lie on the field and plan on filling those holes with lights. I’m super excited to see how it turns out when we go back into the Fab Lab this week.

A photo of my box top cloth

Additionally, my group decided on a final project of a grocery bag holder. I think this project will force us to think outside the box in creating value from an ordinary, easily replicated object. Each of us immediately saw the value in having some sort of device to make carrying several grocery bags less strenuous. Our task will be to find a way to create the most efficient object possible. It must be optimized for comfort in carrying, maximize the capacity of bags it can hold, and be both not easily lost, nor too big to carry around. I think the 3 of us will agree on a design that meets these criteria and eventually creatively market to the target customer group.

So What?

After two consecutive weeks of learning new machines and software, we have grown comfortable with learning new technology and immediately implementing our knowledge. One of the best aspects of 3D printing has got to be the trial and error element. Making gives us the opportunity to design, create, test and evaluate extremely quickly. If at first you don’t succeed, try again. 3D printing embodies this mantra as the risk in creation is so minute that it makes all too much sense for rapid prototyping.

Now What?

Taking in what we know about 3D printing, new technologies and machines, and trial and error, I am more confident and comfortable than ever in making. After we learn the final components to completing our boxes, we will have all the tools and skills necessary to create our final project. Our skills have been learned – now, they are ready to be applied.

Our class was back in the FabLab this week. The Champaign-Urbana community is privileged to have these creative tools at our disposal. Instead of a tour, we headed straight to the embroidery machines in the back room. I had no previous sewing experience, which made these machines difficult to comprehend.

My instructor started by showing us how to use the design software. I thought it was similar to the software used for the laser cutter last week. I wonder if in the future there will be one universally accepted design software that is compatible with multiple digital making machines. Familiarizing ones-self with the features in each software is time-consuming. When I was creating my design, all the tips I learned last week were irrelevant. I think a common design platform would greatly expedite community innovation.

I was designing a cloth top for the box I laser cut last week. The instructor ran into some problems with my box during the cut, and it actually caught on fire. Although this happens quite often, there is nothing you can do besides restart. The second cut went fine and I managed to assemble my box without breaking any pieces. I found I enjoy the smell of the laser-singed wood.

My cloth design included a lighthouse, sailboat, and the moon. I used a spool of thread that alternated between white and blue. The sails on the boat turned out great with this alternating pattern. I didn’t realize that our mini-projects each week were going to be combined. Consequently, my combined creations aren’t the most cohesive.

Before printing, I had to wrap the thread around hooks on the machine to immobilize it. The last step is pulling the thread through the eye of the needle, which ironically felt old-school. I thought all this was overkill but was quickly proven wrong once the sewing machines turned on. They rapidly and repeatedly pulled the needle through the cloth. I didn’t want my fingers getting anywhere close to it. I was worried that the connecting thread between the three objects in my design would look awkward. The machine cuts thread itself when switching between objects, so I simply trimmed the remnants.

Luckily my first sewing project finished without incident. Other students weren’t so lucky. Sometimes the thread gets tangled or stuck. The machines are working so fast it is inevitable. My lack of sewing experience would have made me useless if that happened to me.

This past week, I continued working on my design for last week. Last week, I designed and created the wooden box. I decided to incorporate designs based on my passion for international travel. Below is my box design, I am extremely happy with how it turned out!

This week, I worked on designing and then sewing the embroidery pattern. I created a blue and orange “I” to represent University of Illinois. It was amazing to design the pattern and then digitally sew it by connecting a sewing machine to the computer. It was a reminder of how powerful technology is!

The software we used allowed me to manipulate an image at all levels. I was able to import various images, edit the color schemes, and control the steps in which the threading process occurred. After finalizing the design of my logo, I threaded the sewing machine. Because my design had multiple colors, I had to use blue, orange, and white thread. Below is the image that I based my design on:

Next week, I will be adding in LEDs into my design. I still have not decided where on my fabric I want to add lights. I am excited to examine my fabric design this upcoming Wednesday and figure out where to place the LEDs.

Furthermore, my group has decided to make a steering wheel ball for our final project. We plan to make a customizable, low-cost, and easy to attach product. We envision our product being used by beginner drivers and drivers over the age of 60. Below are a few designs we are considering:

As we continue to work with various technology in the FabLab, I did some more research on technology in the lab. Computers in the lab are equipped with software such as Garageband and Inkscape. All computers in the alb are capable of AV production, productivity, electronics and coding, and 3D rendering and routing.

I am excited to get back in the FabLab and complete my design this week!

Week two at the Fab Lab certainly did not disappoint—in order to complete our projects, we learned how to laser cut wooden boxes and add our own designs as decoration. I was a bit nervous about the workshop after last week’s challenging embroidery lesson, but it was surprisingly straightforward (mostly because Clinton was such a patient instructor.)

We used a combination of Adobe Illustrator and PE Design to come up with the specifications for our boxes, starting with the dimensions. We then had to remove the “teeth” of the cutouts, since we needed the top portion of the box to be completely flat—this proved to be somewhat tricky because the software can be a bit finicky (apparently there’s a difference between double and triple clicking) but with Clinton’s guidance, I was able to modify the box the way I wanted to. We outlined the things we wanted cut out in red, and then objects filled with black were meant to be shaded in on top of the wood as a design.

Finally, we added various silhouettes to the sides of our boxes as designs. I chose images of things that were significant to me, like my hometown of San Francisco, and the otter, my favorite animal. Here’s what the final version looked like:

We uploaded our designs to a flash drive, and Clinton fired up the machine—I was amazed to see how quickly it moved back and forth to replicate the designs originating from our computers. While I couldn’t stay to see my own finished product, I was able to watch another classmate’s design come to life:

I’m looking forward to putting together my box next week, along with the embroidered top. It’s been a wonderful learning experience and I feel like I’ve gained two new skills which could serve useful in a variety of ways. I’ll be sure to post photos of the end result once it’s done next week!

This week in class, we continued our exploration of the Champaign-Urbana Community Fab Lab.  It was my turn to try my hand at laser cutting. I have always had a huge interest in woodworking and woodcarving but I have never been able to get a chance to work with a laser cutter before so I was extremely excited. For this week, we would be making a box that would be put together without any nails or glue. The first step was to design the box on a computer. Using a specific software to make these types of boxes, we put in the specifications for the box we wanted and saved them as a file we could then edit. We then used a program I have never used before called Inkscape to edit the box and add images to it. I found it very easy to use the image editing software after our instructor gave us some simple tips to navigate it. Adding images to the box was as simple as finding an image online and dragging it into the software. I decided to stick with the Bison theme I chose last week with my embroidery and added different images of bison to each side and I put the coolest picture I found on the bottom side of the box because it was the biggest surface. We were then taught how to prepare the file so that the laser cutter could read it. In seemingly no time we were ready to see the laser cutter in action.

I found watching the laser cutter fascinating. It seemed to cut plywood with ease and etch virtually any image we chose with incredible accuracy. I was also surprised at how quickly it would create a cut. My box only took about ten minutes. If I were to attempt to create it by hand, it would’ve taken my hours of work and it would not look half as good. While cutting my box, I got to talk to our instructor a little more about the laser cutter and everything that it could do. He told me that the machine we used easily cost as much as a car which led me to think of how lucky we are that we get to use such an expensive piece of equipment. The Fab Lab really does remove a lot of barriers for the people in this community and allows us opportunity to create endless ideas.

What?

This week we were back in the Fab Lab. We rotated projects; my task was to print a design on a piece of cloth for the top of my wooden box. I expected this to be similar to my project last week, but I thought it was more challenging. We were introduced to a software that allows you to create designs such as shapes, symbols, letters, initials, and import your own photo. I thought this software was more complicated than what we used to design the wooden box. I imported a picture and struggled with manipulating it how I wanted too. The picture I chose was a converse shoe and we had to cut holes in areas for the LD lights. The teacher had to help me with creating these holes. I learned that these software’s are extremely delicate. I had to work very slowly to make sure I did not change something. They can focus in on minor details too. For example, I was able to add small shoelaces to my design that did not show up before.

The printing process was quick and accurate. We had to set up the machine, which required a lot of different loops and steps. Once the machine started working it was awesome to watch. The needle works really hard to thread a solid color. My shoe looked really big on the computer screen, but turned out smaller than expected. It is important to pay attention the measurements. Overall, I am happy with my sewed cloth design.

So What?

These past two weeks at the Fab Lab are relatable to my professional experience. The software’s at the Fab Lab were foreign to me at the beginning, but I took time to understand different concepts. I failed a lot designing at the Fab Lab, but I learned from my mistakes and changed moving forward. Next year starting a new job, I will be challenged and I will fail. Adapting from these obstacles and working hard to improve will allow me to grow. This is what I saw in the Fab Lab too. The Fab Lab and at your first job it is important to be persistent and patient with yourself.

Now What?

The Fab Lab has made me more confident in testing out new software’s and technology. Technology can be very intimidating and steer people away. I noticed how it is possible to teach yourself rules and tools on the computer. I will avoid asking so many questions and using trial and error. I am excited to see what we are learning at our final week in the Fab Lab. I know I will be prepared to take on the challenges.