Meet the Maker : Sergio Poo-Dalidet

Sergio Poo-Dalidet is a Phd student in Education and Policy Studies at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He has a Master of Education at UIUC. His main interests are technologies on education and quality assurance systems in higher education. He is an avid maker and has been a frequent visitor and documented his latest project for us, where he repaired a caster for a chair at home. He is an honorary member of the lab. http://youtu.be/R-WXwe2OuNw

Find out what others are making at the Lab, and come make something.  The makerlab attracts majors from over 20 different units across campus, helping them "Learn, Make and Share".  Stay tuned to us on twitter or Facebook.

Will 3D printing Revolutionize Architecture?

Guest Post by : Therese F Tierney, PhD @tierneytooDirector, URL: Urban Research Lab School of Architecture, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Cross-disciplinary work encourages architects to reconsider their methodologies and in response, develop new strategies to anticipate, recalibrate and transform in uncertain conditions. [1] A similar context sparked Archigram’s speculative projects from the 1960-70s embodying a hands-on, DIY culture with a pragmatic mix of simple technology and social distribution networks. [2] That approach was adopted by the School of Architecture 573 Graduate Design Studio in collaboration with Business Instructional Facility’s MakerLab, where the project brief required a new interdisciplinary College of Design for the year 2030.   Over the course of the semester, students explored future spatial possibilities vis-à-vis digital design curriculum, including parametric software seamlessly realized through robotic fabrication, in this case, MakerBots. [3] The application of new tools and techniques resulted in creative solutions as well as innovative building typologies. Thus experimental pedagogy was not only the objective, but also the methodology of this architecture studio.

Project development was reinforced through collaborative practices, and in that respect, the MakerLab was instrumental to the success of the studio.  For example, MArch Candidate Jeremy Copley’s scheme was designed with numerous reconfigurable components.  He was quick to realize that invention and ad hoc experimentation were key to effective design solutions.  He began with 3D printing the individual components and then refining them as part of an iterative process.

For other students, the construction of physical models would have been difficult, if not impossible to build, such as Vincent Velasco’s futuristic scheme generated from a sound wave. The alteration between various expressive media – parametric software (Rhino and Grasshopper), 3D printing, followed by in-class critique, further revision, and additional prototype production, ultimately led to better resolved and crafted schemes. As a test bed for experimentation, the MakerLab enabled students to gain skills in rapid prototyping within the design process, and not only as final documentation, as is most usually the case.

[1]  Stan Allen, “The Future that is Now” Places 3/12/12. http://places.designobserver.com/feature/architecture-school-the-future-that-is-now/32728/

[2]  Beatrix Colomina, “Radical Pedagogies in Architectural Education,” The Architectural Review, 9/28/2012. http://www.architectural-review.com/essays/radical-pedagogies-in-architectural-education/8636066.article

[3]  Digital fabrication has significant implications for global architectural projects.  Buildings can be designed in one place and the digital files sent elsewhere to be fabricated on site – a method used to meet shortened construction schedules by Foster + Partners with the Beijing Airport for the 2008 Olympics.

Make your own Christmas Gifts!

Christmas is the season of giving. The things that we give to our friends and family during the holiday season are typically bought in a store and manufactured in a distant land. 3D Printing disrupts this pattern by empowering individuals to make (rather than buy) gifts. There is no need to go to a store since the manufacturing can now be done on your desktop!

As an example of this self-manufactured gifts, one of our Makers printed this giant Lego figurine (designed by Skimbal) for his son. This figurine is composed of seven different parts, which are printed in blue, red and yellow. Just like a real Lego, the head, hands, and legs have full range of motion and can be disassembled. The finished product is shown inside one of the MakerLab's Replicator 2 printers to add a dramatic background!

If you had a 3D printer, what would you make as a gift? If you don't own a 3D printer, no problem. You can stop by and use one of ours. The MakerLab is currently closed for the Holidays but will reopen on Tuesday, January 21.

3D Printer Repairs 2D Printer

Earlier this month, one of our faculty members had a problem that is common to many of us: His 2D Printer stopped printing! Upon closer inspection, he realized that one of the small plastic guides above the paper tray was broken. Unfortunately, a replacement guide was not available from the manufacturer. Normally, when this type of situation occurs, we would end up buying a new printer.  However, in this case, our intrepid faculty member enlisted the help of the MakerLab. He gave one of our Gurus the broken guide, which the Guru then used to design a replacement part using 3D modeling software and then printed the newly designed replacement using one of our 3D printers. The entire process took less than one hour and the cost of the materials was about 10 cents. With the help of one of our highly skilled computer technicians, our faculty member was able to attach the newly printed guide and his 3D repaired 2D printer was back in business!

This is another great example of how 3D printing can extend the life of the things we own by enabling us to repair broken equipment rather than replacing it with something new. Why spend $250 for a new printer when you can repair it for less than 10 cents?

Our Professor's 2D Printer

The broken part is on the right and the newly created 3D replacement is on the left.

The installed 3D printer replacement part (on the left) .

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Meet the Makers: Martina Pillay and John Jacobs

When you think of 3D printing, what types of students come to mind? Architecture majors, Engineers? Indeed, both types of students have been frequent visitors to the MakerLab. However, our lab has also attracted considerable interest from students across the University of Illinois, including majors in art & design, accounting, and finance. These students are eager to learn more about the Maker Movement and are interested in turning their ideas into reality. For this Meet the Makers spotlight, we introduce Martina Pillay and John Jacobs. Both Martina and John are seniors in Bioengineering and used the Lab's 3D printers to help complete their senior design project.

"For our senior design project, we were creating a device for GFP (Green fluorescent protein) detection in mice. We needed some sort of 3D printed casing to support the circuit and batteries for our device. 3D printing provided an affordable and simple method of designing our own case."

Come make something in the MakerLab this summer. We are open Tuesdays and Thursdays from 12:00 to 5:00.

Meet the Maker: Ben Riggins

Ben Riggins is an electrical engineering major, and a DIY enthusiast. He came to the MakerLab to build a faceplate to mount some cool electronics in his car.

"I'm building a device which will be mounted in my car's dashboard to display things like the temperature, the direction, and weather forecast information. It is connected to a Bluetooth module to communicate with my phone. The MakerLab allowed me to design and print a custom faceplate to mount the LCD screen and buttons. I've always felt limited to the parts I could make myself, but now so many things are possible. Thanks MakerLab!"

We encourage experimentation with electronics and open hardware in the Lab. To assist users, the Lab is equipped with Raspberry PI's and MakeyMakey Kits. One of the projects our lab guru, Danny, is working on is to enable queueing of prints on our 3D printers, using the Raspberry Pi. Send us a note using the contact form if you would like to work with him over summer on this or other fun electronics projects.

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