Champaign-Urbana Community Fab Lab

The CU Community Fab Lab had a table at the City of Champaign STAR Expo on May 18.  We met with many folks from community organizations.

Here's a strange personal fabrication idea.

The paleontology is somewhat shaky, IMO, but it's an interesting piece of 3D printing.

http://cunicode.com/neopaleo/

Fresh Paint is a 2 day long workshop (8 hrs on Saturday and 6 hrs on Sunday). We will build a 6’x4’ board (for the CuC Fab Lab) and smaller boards 6”x4” (one for each group of participant). These boards will have magnetic and conductive paint and you can use different color LEDs to bring them to life.

Information

A sylized "pteranodon", cut on the Epilog Mini.  Constructed of 1/4 inch plywood, finished with textured paint.

Size is approximately 1.3 meter wingspan, .6 meter nose-to-tail.

The original plans were published on the web at:

http://www.instructables.com/id/Build-a-6-0-tall-Wooden-T-Rex-Model/step7/BONUS/

The CUCFL was part of the Partnerships for a Thriving Champaign Urbana conference April 20 at the NCSA.  It was great to meet so many people who are working to create a more livable community.  I hope they make the Fab Lab a part of those efforts.  One example is the work of Christine Moore, who is working with the Prosperity Gardens project near the police station where the public market is open.  The lab might help by making a few wooden garden stakes and signs for the area.  Anyone have any great sayings for a garden that we can laser cut into a sign?  

On May 5, 2012, the Illinois State Science Fair will take place at the Assembly Hall.  Judges are needed to review the over 1000 projects submitted by school children around the state.  No experience is necessary and training will be provided.  It looks like your commitment is 8:00AM to 12:00PM on the 5th.  If anyone is interested they should contact Bob coverdill of I-STEM  (coverdil@illinois.edu) to volunteer.  Sounds like it might be fun!  you can see the science projects from 12:00 to 2:00PM as a visitor.

A recent project from Betty Barrett and Bob McGrath.

This is simple plastic "jewelry", laser-cut in acryllic (see image). 

The butterfly is orginally from a website (http://www.malindarogers.com) which has many drawings that could be used for similar projects.

The project is explained in a document [PDF].

Threadless.com is offering free 'reject' t-shirts to groups of 8 or more.  We will be hosting an event and want you to come!

Come to the lab on Thursday 26th from 5-9pm and we'll work on the shirts.  We'll post photos to their blog and our group might win gift certificates for all attendees.

YOU MUST SIGN UP FOR THE EVENT BEFORE NOON on FRIDAY April 13th (this Friday).  This is the date that threadless wants all group requests in by.  If we don't have your name, we won't have enough tshirts for you to attend.

For more about the event, click here: http://www.threadless.com/news/858616/We_re_hosting_a_Tee_Upcycling_Worldwide_Meetup

TO SIGN UP FOR THE EVENT, FILL OUT THE FORM HERE: http://cucfablab.org/book/attend-class

AND SIGN UP FOR THE EVENT HERE ON MEETUP: http://www.meetup.com/Threadless/Urbana-IL/672692/

Register both on our website and on meetup.com so we know how many people are coming and so that threadless can see who's coming.

Learning how to make and use QRCodes--here is a QRCode for the URL for this web site.  When you scan it, you get cucfablab.org.

This code can be put on handouts and posters, etc.

Also, download the PNG and put it on stuff you make.  Who knows how well it will work, say, etched onto the tail of a dinosaur, but we can find out.

The Fab Lab will participate in the University of Illinois Public Engagement Symposium on April 18, 2012.

Come join us from 3:00–6:00pm at the Activities and Recreation Center (ARC), Multipurpose Room 6, 201 East Peabody Drive, Champaign, Illinois.

The Fab Lab will participate in the Urbana-Champaign Mini Maker Faire on April 14, 2012.

Join us at the Independent Media Center,202 S. Broadway, Urbana, from 10AM to 4PM

The Fab Lab will be open regular hours, 12-6, on Sunday 4/8.

From the UIS CS Club:

On Sunday, April 1st, 2012 the Computer Science Club at UIS visited and created an LED edge lit sign using the Epilog laser cutter.

They have posted a full gallery of the trip on their website or check them out on Facebook.

The Empathetic Reformulator was invented as part of a workshop led by Federico Joselevich from Buenos Aires, Argentina.  The workshop was called "A Step Through Los Aparatos," which involved the combination of art, technology and creative expression.