Fab Academy 2010 - 2011

FAB ACADEMY 2010-2011 THE CENTER FOR BITS AND ATOMS

FAB ACADEMY

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Central Fab Lab http://fab.cba.mit.edu

Fab Academy: www.fabacademy.org

FAB ACADEMY 2010-2011

Welcome to the future!

The Fab Academy provides instruction and supervises investigation of mechanisms, applications,and implications of digital fabrication.

Just as communications and computation went from analog to digital, resulting in PCs and the Internet, the digitalization of fabrication is leading to personal fabricators that will allow anyone to make almost anything, anywhere.

The development of digital fabrication is based on creating codes that don’t just describe things, they are things, much as proteins are coded in molecular biology. This research road map is ultimately aiming at a Star Trekstyle replicator, but prototype versions of these capabilities are already available in field “fab labs”.

Fab labs began as an outreach project from MIT’s Center for Bits and Atoms (CBA), and spread around the world. The Fab Academy was launched to provide access to advanced instruction for students in these labs exceeding the educational resources locally available to them. It links groups of students and instructors in fab labs, with online video collaboration and lectures by a global faculty. Unlike remote

< Fab Academy Network 2010

instruction from a central campus, the digital fabrication tools in a fab lab effectively allow the campus to come to the student, for distributed rather than distance education. The Fab Academy offers Certificates on relevant technical topics, and a Diploma aimed at vocational and technical training for employment and investment (along with assistance to its graduates in those areas).These are accredited by the Fab Academy; it is anticipated that they will by followed by a Bachelor’s degree to be offered under applicable regional accreditation, along with post-graduate study.

Fab Academy Certificates provide familiarity with technical options and capabilities, hands-on experience, and direction for further study. Each requires, and is evaluated by, developing and documenting projects. They are periodically renewed to reflect best practices. The Certificates typically require 1-2 weeks. They are combined in the Diploma, which is roughly comparable to completing MIT’s rapid-prototyping course “How To Make (almost) Anything”. It requires about 1 year, with progress evaluated by skills and projects rather than time or credits.

Fab Lab Network: http://fab.cba.mit.edu - Fab Academy: www.fabacademy.org

FAB ACADEMY 2010-2011

Distributed Campus

The Fab Academy is the spine of the Fab Education, it is the global university in Digital Fabrication, where the campus is the planet and the classrooms are the local Fab Labs. To be part of the Fab Academy, local labs should have trained and certificated tutors or gurus, which should be previously trained in the Fab Academy at any other Fab Lab. The Fab Academy will provide the human capital for the Fab Labs, who will be able to replicate the experience at their host labs.

The Fab Education not only consists on Fab Academy Diploma program, but has the following possibilities (among many others): - Boot Camps - Local workshops - Specialized training for professionals, teachers and students - Special activities Fab labs have spread from innercity Boston to rural India, from South Africa to the North of Norway.

< Fab Lab Providence 2010

Activities in fab labs range from technological empowerment to peerto-peer project-based technical training to local problem-solving to small-scale high-tech business incubation to grassroots research.

Projects being developed and produced in fab labs include solar and wind-powered turbines, thinclient computers and wireless data networks,analytical instrumentation for agriculture and healthcare, custom housing, and rapid-prototyping of rapidprototyping machines.

Initially, Fab Academy 2010 - 2011 program will be held at the following Fab Labs among the global network ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( ( (

) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) )

Amsterdam Barcelona Boston Iceland Kenya Lima Norway Pune South Africa United States

Fab Lab Network: http://fab.cba.mit.edu - Fab Academy: www.fabacademy.org

FAB ACADEMY 2010-2011

courses

Fab Academy Diploma is based on the sum of individual certificates, this certificates could be taken individually from the diploma.

First Term. From October 6th 2010 to June 2011 1. Digital fabrication principles and practices (1 week) o digital vs analog + threshold theorems + universality + communications + computation + fabrication o survey + tools + processes + research o network + Fab Foundation, Fund, Academy + Fab Charter o safety + mechanical + optical + electrical + chemical 2. Computer-aided design, manufacturing and modeling (2 weeks) o design practices o hierarchical, parametric, procedural, algorithmic design o boundary, function representations o rendering and animation o toolpath generation o file formats o physical modeling

< Fab Lab BCN 2010

3. Computer-controlled cutting (2 weeks) o types + waterjet, EDM, ... o knife + tools + materials + speed, force o laser + types + materials + speed, power, rate + maintenance + safety 4. Collaborative technical development and project management (1 week) o version control o synchronization o merging o remote desktops o videoconferencing o scheduling 5. Computer-controlled machining (1 week) o types o tooling o materials o speeds, feeds o fixturing 6. Electronics design and production (2 weeks) o electricity and electronics o component types and selection o schematic design o PCB design o PCB fabrication o PCB assembly o test equipment

Fab Lab Network: http://fab.cba.mit.edu - Fab Academy: www.fabacademy.org

FAB ACADEMY 2010-2011

courses

7. Embedded programming (2 weeks) o processor types o microcontroller architecture o in-circuit programming o embedded programming languages o development tools and environments o debugging 8. 3D molding and casting (2 weeks) o types o soft tooling o mold design and manufacture o casting materials o composites 9. Interface and application programming (2 weeks) o o o o

interface protocols application languages graphics user interfaces

10. 3D scanning and printing (1 week) o types o formats o scanning o printing o materials 11. Sensors, actuators, and

displays (2 weeks) o sensors o actuators o displays

12. Embedded networking and communications (2 weeks)

13. Machine design (3 weeks) o motors and actuators o motion control o machine control o rapid-prototyping of rapidprototyping machines

14. Digital fabrication applications and implications (1 week) o o o o o o o o o

furniture housing transporation healthcare environment energy play art development

15. Digital fabrication project development(2 weeks) o o o o o o o

conception proposal review prototyping debugging, development presentation documentation

16. Invention, intellectual property and business models (1 week) o o o o o

copyright patents free and open-source models revenue models case histories

o networking fundamentals o network protocols o physical layers < Fab Lab Providence 2010

Fab Lab Network: http://fab.cba.mit.edu - Fab Academy: www.fabacademy.org

FAB ACADEMY 2010-2011

faculty The Fab Academy faculty is coordinated by MIT CBA's Director Prof. Neil Gershenfeld, and currently includes: Fab Academy Production Sherry Lassiter, Center for Bits and Atoms Program Manager sherry.lassiter@cba.mit.edu Fab Academy Production Vicente Guallart, Director IaaC Fab Academy Coordination Tomas Diez, Fab Lab Bcn Project Manager tomasdiez@iaac.net

< Fab Lab House, BCN 2010

Fab Lab Network: http://fab.cba.mit.edu - Fab Academy: www.fabacademy.org

FAB ACADEMY

Amsterdam

2010-2011

Alex Schaub alex@waag.org

local Fab Labs contact

Barcelona Tomas Diez tomasdiez@iaac.net

Iceland Frosti Gislason frosti@nmi.is

India COEP (in Pune) Professor Ahuja bba@prod. coep.org.in Vigyan Ashram (Pabal, near Pune) Yogesh Kulkarni (Director) vapabal@gmail.com

Kenya Kamau Gachigi kamaugachigi@yahoo.com

Lima Victor Freundt fablablima@gmail.com

Norway Haakon Karlsen haakon@fablab.no

Providence Shawn Wallace shawn@as220.org

South Africa Bongani Mdluli bongani@fabfolk.com

< Fab Lab Providence 2010

Fab Lab Network: http://fab.cba.mit.edu - Fab Academy: www.fabacademy.org

FAB ACADEMY 2010-2011

Tuition fee and Scholarships

Tuition fees are variable according to local fab labs.

Global Fab Academy fees are:

Fab Academy Diploma 5.000 (Eur or USD, depending on location)

Complete scholarships: To apply for a complete scholarship please send to coordination@fabacademy.org a letter of intent (no more than 250 words), explaining the conditions and reasons to be the beneficiary of this program.

< Fab Lab BCN 2010

Fab Lab Network: http://fab.cba.mit.edu - Fab Academy: www.fabacademy.org

FAB ACADEMY 2010-2011

graduation ceremony The last Fab Academy graduation ceremony took place at Fab6 World Conference in Amsterdam - The Netherlands in August 2010. This Fab Academy version is starting on October 2010.Fab7 Conference and Symposium will be held by Fab Lab Lima in Peru next August 2011.

Following South Africa, Chicago, India and Amsterdam, the 7th Fab Conference will gather together the international Fab Lab community for first time in latin America.

Different workshops, conferences and activities will be planned by the Fab7 team, with the support of Fab Lab Barcelona and Fab Foundation Spain.

< Fab Academy graduation 2010

Fab Lab Network: http://fab.cba.mit.edu - Fab Academy: www.fabacademy.org

The seventh international Fab Lab conference LIMA 2011

THE CENTER FOR BITS AND ATOMS

FAB LAB LIMA

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

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Institute for advanced architecture of Catalonia

Facultad de Arquitectura Urbanismo y Artes FAUA-UNI

FAB ACADEMY NETWORK