How Can I Use the Fab Lab?

How can I use the Fab Lab?

One of the biggest challenges of the Warrior Fab Lab is how to keep our users from getting overwhelmed with the nearly infinite possibilites to create something. We have a large range of software and equipment that you can view on our website! Since the possibilities are seemingly endless, we offer several ways to get started on your own or with the help from the student assistants.

Ideation

Ideas are what we’re all about! Getting started in the Fab Lab usually begins with having an idea of what to make. Even seasoned users need to generate ideas for new designs and the process continues until a project is finished. To have fun in this process, the Fab Lab has many resources including our own student assistants and Canvas page with links to online ideation tools. We also have a large variety of games for creative thinking and engagement, Erector sets and other toys, 3D printing pens, iPads, and traditional paper and pencils, crayons, or markers.

Canvas

The Warrior Fab Lab Canvas User Manual is the main source of information for safe and proper use of software and equipment. Modules are designed to prepare students, staff, and faculty to learn at their own pace with written, visual, and video-based instruction. We also have project examples to follow along with if users don’t know where to begin. Beyond the basics, the modules prepare users to enter and use the equipment in the Fab Lab more independently. Our Canvas page continually grows as a central repository of maker knowledge.

Workshops

The Fab Lab Team created workshops that cover the software and equipment in the lab. Hosting workshops at the Warrior Fab Lab is a great segue for the campus community to get a taste of what we have to offer. Workshops are free and we ask that you pre-register through Warrior Life. Bring a friend or make new ones! We have held over 51 workshops with plenty more to come! Student assistants have the opportunity to build curriculum and lesson plans for student engagement and learning giving any students, staff, and faculty the opportunity to get experience they can incorporate into their future practices.

Buttons

Button Making is considered to be a gateway into the maker world and are one of our most popular processes. Once a design is made, our button makers press the buttons and off they go! Buttons can be made as a one-of-a-kind statement, as a gift, or in batches for classes, clubs, promotion, and many other events. We often get return users who were first introduced to the Fab Lab through buttons and have new ideas to create.

2D Versus 3D

Except for 3D printing, most of the equipment needs a two-dimensional design to create something. This can be as simple as a drawing for a button to complex digital compositions. We can also digitize a drawing or create one from scratch on an iPad. Once a design is created, learning a little about software through a Canvas module and a little help from the student assistants is all it takes to create a physical object. 2D designs can also be given a slight thickness and then 3D printed!

3D Printing Pens

Along with buttons, 3D printing and pens are entry-level processes for makers. 3D printing pens can be used to create 3D objects by hand and for repairing 3D prints. Our K-12 tours and workshops usually cover 3D pens as a way of introducing concepts of 3D printing while allowing kids to play immediately with a very small learning curve.

3D Printing

There are three ways to get a 3D model for printing:

• Creating a 3D model from scratch using modeling software that is available on all of our computers,

• 3D scanning an object to create a digital model,

• Downloading a model from an online source

3D models can also be created by any combination of these methods using mesh editing software. Of these, downloading an existing model is the easiest for beginners and we have a list of websites, among many, that can be used to find something for everyone. We also have a video on our Canvas page that details where to find, download and prepare 3D models for 3D printing.