Help us win - Vote for our Video!

The College of Business has submitted a video of the MakerLab for a competition hosted by Educause. This video competition focuses on six emerging educational technologies: the flipped classroom, learning analytics, 3D printing, games & gamification, the quantified self, and virtual assistants. These six themes were identified in the 2013 NMC Horizon Report, which featured our new lab on its cover! There are 21 video submissions by a variety of institutions, including the University of Michigan, Ohio State, and Penn State. Of these 21 submissions, six focus on 3D printing.

Help us share our approach to learning by making with the world, by voting for us. Our video (submission #17) was developed by Ana Said in the College of Business'eLearning Center. Voting ends on Tuesday, February 4. So, please vote today on the Educause website

You can view the video here, but you must vote at the link above. http://youtu.be/JV-owT85K68

"Make" it a Merry Christmas by Making Ornaments at the Lab

Come by the lab and make some programmable LED lit ornaments and pick up the block I ornaments to show your Illini spirit this christmas . Or you can pick any ornament from this list and make away merrily Tuesday, December 17, from 2:00 to 6:30 is the last chance to make ornaments before we close for winter break.

A limited number of Block I ornaments(orange color) are pre-printed and available to purchase for $1 each. if you need significant quantities, drop us a line at UIMakerLab AT illinois DOT edu, , so that we can have them ready for you tomorrow.

Film & Filament night (Thursday, December 12)

On Thursday, December 12 (from 6pm to 9pm), the MakerLab will host its first Film & Filament night. We will be showing National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation on our big 70 inch HDTV and designing and printing objects linked to the movie's theme, such as Santa figurines and holiday ornaments. This is a totally free event and open to everyone on campus(only 20 spots, First come, first served) . We will also be providing free food. So please stop by for some pizza, popcorn, and plastic! Share the news

Free Print Wednesdays

As a service focused towards makers who are new to the world of 3D printing, we are happy to announce Free Print Wednesdays!

Every Wednesday from 11 am to 1 pm, all prints (one hour or less) in the MakerLab are free of charge! In less than an hour you could print lots of cool and useful things such as one wrench, two iPhone cases, or three whistles.

We look forward to seeing you in the Lab on Wednesdays (or any other weekday)!

3D Printed Wooden Objects!

One of the questions that visitors to our Lab often ask is: "What types of materials can be 3D printed?" Most are surprised to hear that 3D printers can print a wide range of materials, including plastics, metals, ceramics, paper, food, and even biomaterials. However, most desktop 3D printers have been traditionally limited to various types of thermoplastics. For example, the MakerBot Replicator 2 printers used in our Lab mainly make objects out of PLA, which is a corn-based polymer. Although this material can be used to print a variety of both fun and useful objects, an expanded array of materials are in the process of development. We have begun to experiment with new materials. For example, we recently acquired a wood-based polymer called Laywoo from Inventables. This new material is fed through our printers just like plastic but produces objects that look like they were carved from wood! The photos below show a spool of this material and a wooden gnome that was printed from this material.

If you would like to print something out of wood (or plastic), stop by our Lab!

"Making Things" Class

During the upcoming Spring 2014 semester, Professor Aric Rindfleisch, Executive Director of the Illinois MakerLab will be teaching a new class in which teams of undergraduate students from Business, Engineering, and Art & Design will work together to conceptualize, design, prototype, manufacturer and market a new product. This class (BADM 395: Making Things), which was recently featured in both the Daily Illini and Illinois Public Radio will be taught in the MakerLab at 5-8pm on Wednesday and will make use of the Lab's digital design software, 3D printers, and 3D scanners. If you are interested in taking this course and are a junior or senior in Business, Engineering, and Art & Design, please contact Professor Rindfleisch (aric AT illinois DOT edu) for more information.

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