Champaign-Urbana Community Fab Lab

More at http://io9.com/what-does-a-record-made-out-of-wood-sound-like-501974403

We now have an additional scanner-printer available at the lab for color printing and color paper. Ask at the desk, we ask for 50 cents a sheet.

From the Open Education Database: http://oedb.org/blogs/ilibrarian/2013/a-librarians-guide-to-makerspaces/

Joan from the UIUC Women's Resource Center was kind enough to donate us some remote control toys and pine wood derby car sets. They're now available for free use in the lab!

Matthew Schroyer (www.mentalmunition.com) was kind enough to film a time-lapse of our UP!3D printer in action:

Here it is printing mounting for a sensor.

The tools and materials section has been updated to reflect our current offerings. I've also made the example creations page a little friendlier.

Luke, you will be happy to know that all pictures are now hosted on the Fab Lab server.

For the Maker Space Knowledge Café at Chicago Public Library.

The Fab Lab presented today at the 2013 University of Illinois Public Engagement Symposium. Thanks to Gary and MK Watson, Virginia McCreary, Andrew Knight and Jeff Ginger for showing the public some of our tools (live UP3D + Silhouette!), curriculum and collaborations. Additional thanks to everyone who stopped by to make something!

We would also like to extend our gratitude to the Office of Public Engagement for providing the grant that enabled the community Fab Lab installations at Stratton Elementary, Urbana Free Library and Tap In Leadership Academy.

Just a friendly reminder that the Fab Lab has 6 sewing and knitting machines of various sorts as well as unusual fabrics, like conductive and heat-reactive material. Come over and make good use of them in their new exapandable location in the break room.

We could use more patron-created art up on our walls. Anyone who provides us with some sizable art (or even interactive creations!) to put up will not only get mad props but also 5$ worth of material or laser time, courtesy of Jeff Ginger.

Photo credit to Gemma Petrie.

Have you ever just wished you could lift your pen off the paper and see your drawing become a real three dimensional object? The folks at WobbleWorks have created a 3D printer pen to do just this. Check it out:

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1351910088/3doodler-the-worlds-first-3d-printing-pen

Ever since we got our new UP! 3D printer our old Makerbot 3D printer has been sitting on a shelf collecting dust. We benched it because we never got it to print successfully for more than 20-30 minutes at a time and never could figure out what the problem really was with the extruder.

If you're feeling adventurous come in and see if you can fix it! We'll give you unlimtied time with it (during open hours) and as much ABS plastic as you need for it. Should you manage to fix it we'll figure out some kind of prize.

I've updated several modules and the core files of the Drupal install. The good news is that this should cut down on the spam messages we've been all suffering. The bad news is that this may have set your user navigation links back to their defaults.

As if 3D printers weren't mind-blowing enough, iRobot (yes, the company responsible for the Roomba) has just filed a patent for a robot-assisted all-in-one fabricator that can print, mill, drill, and finish a final product — and all without human intervention. Read more about it at io9.