Illinois MakerLab Spearheads COVID-19 Campus Response Efforts

The Illinois MakerLab is helping fight COVID-19 by participating in several campus and community efforts aimed at producing personal protective equipment (PPE) for healthcare workers. Workers at the Illinios MakerLab as well as the surrounding community are collaborating in the design and manufacturing of this re-usable 3D Printed PPE. The Illinois MakerLab is aiding the efforts through 2 different initiatives: a re-usable N95 Masks, and comfort straps & adjusters for Face Shields. Printed in either PLA or PETG, the campus team is working on protocols for reuse and sanitizing the masks and shields.

CAMPUS WIDE COMFORT STRAPS & ADJUSTER INITIATIVE

The Illinois MakerLab is taking part in the campus wide initiative to provide PPE for healthcare workers. Currently production is underway to 3D Print, assemble and deliver face shields to local hospitals. To aid the initiative the Illinois MakerLab is 3D Printing adjusters and comfort straps. These parts allow the user to adjust the face shield for a more comfortable feel. As of April 25th, the Illinois MakerLab has printed 1,245 adjusters in PLA, 660 comfort straps in PLA, and 310 comfort straps in PETG.

CAMPUS WIDE N95 MASK INITIATIVE

Part of a campus wide initiative to help deliver personal protective equipment to healthcare workers and those who need it, the Illinois MakerLab is aiding by printing N95 Masks. Printing in PETG, this material is slightly different than the common PLA the MakerLab prints in so production has been slowed as the MakerLab identifies the best way to print these masks in order to maximize mask quality.

Stay tuned for MakerLab updates by subscribing to our newsletter, liking us on Facebook, or following us on Snapchat(uimakerlab),  Twitter or Instagram. Want to be featured in a blog post? If you have an interesting story that you would like to tell about making at the lab, share it with us by emailing UIMakerLab@Illinois.edu!

Illinois MakerLab commissioned for 3D Model of New UIC Complex

While the Illinois MakerLab works on projects for the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and the immediate Champaign-Urbana community, they also complete projects for other clients across america. One of these clients, the University of Illinois at Chicago, asked the MakerLab to make models of their brand new academic and residential complex.

Jason Maslanka, the executive digital director at the University of Illinois at Chicago, shares: 

“We were opening a new building on campus at UIC with a very unique shape that was set to have a significant grand opening celebration. The MakerLab not only made an amazing 3D model based only on pictures and satellite imagery, but provided amazing service in making small tweaks and working with me despite my relative lack of knowledge in modeling. We printed lots of the models for VIPs attending the opening and everyone was wildly impressed.”

The 10-story building is 151,000 square feet and houses approximately 550 students. There are many amenities within the building, including a fitness center, multiple social and gaming lounges, laundry facilities, and offices. UIC plans to continue to build at the scale of the new Academic and Residential Complex. Work will continue on the new Engineering Innovation Building and Center of Arts. 

UIC asked Illinois MakerLab to edit a model of the building with different text and symbols highlighted. Student guru, Karan Ruparel at the MakerLab made three STL files with varying degrees of text and symbols added to the models. 

Check out our design stories or create a new one by stopping by the MakerLab. Having trouble making your design come to life? Contact us for help at UIMakerLab@Illinois.edu! And don’t forget to like us on Facebook, or follow us on Twitter and Instagram.

Meet the Maker - Mengyang Li

3D printing has been around for more than 3 decades, but the technology is still relatively new to some people. Illinois MakerLab not only provides the opportunity for people with experienced to print for education and prototyping, but it also provides the opportunity for people to experience the technology through printing something they love.

University of Illinois student Mengyang Li came to Illinois MakerLab with no prior knowledge of 3D printing. She originally came to experience the MakerLab and printed a Harry Potter keychain. Upon experiencing the 3D printing technology, Mengyang decided to print a larger item related to Lord of Rings as a Valentine gift for his boyfriend because he is a big fan of Lord of Rings. She printed the Minas Tirith, which is a white castle in Lord of Rings.

The Minas Tirith model is separated into two parts. The top part is a hollow castle, and the bottle part is a light stand. Together, the maker can insert the LED light bulb inside and make the 3D printed Minas Tirith become a table lamp!

After the print finished, we conducted an interview with Mengyang. She talked about how she learned about the Illinois MakerLab and her experience with the MakerLab in a greater detail. She also mentioned that she would like to print the Alma Statue in the future. Check out the following videos for more information!

• Alma Statue and Minas Tirith Time Lapse

• Meet the Maker – Mengyang Li
  

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Stay tuned for MakerLab updates by subscribing to our newsletter, liking us on Facebook, or following us on Snapchat(uimakerlab),  Twitter or Instagram. Want to be featured in a blog post? If you have an interesting story that you would like to tell about making at the lab, share it with us by emailing UIMakerLab@Illinois.edu!

Illinois MakerLab Completes 3D Printed Hand

The Illinois MakerLab has recently completed a 3D printed hand to be part of the e-NABLE Community to work towards making prosthetic hands for those in need. The goal we have with this project is to get the Illinois MakerLab qualified as a chapter by the e-NABLE Community with the production and assembly of the Phoenix hand. Becoming qualified will allow us to be a provider of prosthetics to those who don’t have the privilege or accessibility towards devices that will improve their everyday lives. 

Feiyin Xue and Andrea Amador, Gies College of Business Students and Volunteers at the Illinois MakerLab, made the completion of this project possible with guidance from Mavisha and various gurus. 

“3D printing and this fun project is a brand new experience for us as business students. The actual work is far more difficult when we do it ourselves than watching someone else do it on Youtube. This assembling project improved our problem-solving ability as we are self-motivated to frequently ask why something failed and how we can get it fixed.” 

“Also, this project is more about the future. We are happy to be part of putting smiles on kids’ faces when they get to use it to help their daily life or having fun learning how to create a cool e-NABLE hand.”

It was challenging to overcome successful prints to assemble the phoenix device due to repetitive structural print failures. A possible cause of this was the orientation of print that affected the quality or strength of the part. A setback we also had was the need to reprint many of the parts. Something that we will keep in mind for future assembly is being able to adapt to the requirements so that we can ship in time. Due to the grinding and screwing of parts, we may resize our prints, so that the other parts seamlessly fit into another. Making these changes early on will allow us to prevent having delays throughout the process.

Illinois MakerLab Makes Replica of Nobel Medal in Chemistry

The Illinois MakerLab was commissioned to make a replica of the Nobel Medal in Chemistry for the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. To make the replica, Illinois MakerLab poured epoxy material in a silicone mold made from the original medallion. In this process, the mold is reusable and more replicas can be created in the future. Through the use of 3D printing and flexible material, Illinois MakerLab was able to print a portion of the mold that made the two halves align. 

William Casey Jones and Adam Sporluck, two student gurus at Illinois MakerLab, worked on this project. William shared that “The project was unique because it really wasn’t a 3D printing project directly. We used a different method (silicone mold and resin) to create a replica, whereas usually we would scan a model or create a model from scratch and use 3D printing to produce it.”

This method came with many challenges: William and Adam had to get the right colors using paint, other methods proved to be a trial and error process, and they had to work through the learning curve. 

The project raised questions about the use of 3D printing in the mold making process. Since there was no existing 3D model of the medallion, it would have been possible to use a scanning technology or standard 3D modeling practices to make the mold. 3D printing can be useful in small projects like this because it improves efficiency and creates a more precise result. 

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Manufacturing Day at the Illinois MakerLab

The Illinois MakerLab hosted tours as part of the National Manufacturing Day events that took place in Champaign County on October 4, 2019. National Manufacturing Day celebrates modern manufacturing with a goal of inspiring the next generation of manufacturers. As a manufacturer, the Illinois MakerLab was given the opportunity to give tours of their lab, explain the ways 3D printing can advance manufacturing, and answer questions.

The Illinois MakerLab created 3D-printed keychains inscribed with the hashtag #MadeinCC (Made in Champaign County) for the tours they hosted on Manufacturing Day. Because of the speed and efficiency of the 3D printers, the Illinois MakerLab is able to manufacture small-scale products like keychains in bulk. This emerging technology has implications for many areas of business, and can improve consumer education about manufacturing.