Tutorials - Fab Academy at AS220 Labs - Providence, RI

Providence 2013 Syllabus (evolving)

Providence Pre-Session

Student Portfolio Setup (Jan 10)
2D CAD & the Vinyl Cutter (Jan 14)
Open Lab / Version Control Setup (Jan 17)
Version Control (Jan 21)

Weekly Units

01 Principles and Practices (Jan 23-29)
02 Computer-Aided Design (Jan 30- Feb 5)
03 Computer-Controlled Cutting (Feb 6 - 12)
04 Electronics Production (Feb 13-19)
05 3D Scanning and Printing (Feb 20-26)
06 Electronics Design (Feb 27-Mar 5)
07 Molding and Casting (Mar 6-12)
08 Embedded Programming (Mar 13-19)
09 Computer-Controlled Machining (Mar 20-26)
10 Input Devices (Mar 27-Apr 2)
11 Composites (Apr 3-9)
12 Interface and Application Programming (Apr 10-16)
13 Output Devices (Apr 17-23)
14 Embedded Networking and Communications (Apr 24-30)
15 Mechanical Design, Machine Design (May 1-7)
16 Digital Fabrication Applications and Implications (May 8-14)
17 Digital Fabrication Project Development (May 15-21)
19 Invention, Intellectual Property, and Business Models (May 22-28)
20 Final Project Presentations (May 29)

Providence Pre-Session

Note that: The Providence pre-session classes combine two global Fab Academy units, comprised of 3 different topics: Digital Fabrication Principles and Practices, Project Management and Computer-Aided Design.

Student Portfolio Setup (Jan 10)

Covered In Class
  • Syllabus review
  • Student webpage setup, see GetSimple in HTML basics
On Your Own
Assignment
Begin building a personal website that describes both:

  • Yourself (due 01/11)
    • On your website - this will be your home page.
  • and your final project proposal (due 01/30)
    • On your website - label this page "01 Final Project Proposal"

2D CAD & the Vinyl Cutter (Jan 14)

Covered In Class
On Your Own
Assignment

Make something on the vinyl cutter (due 01/21)

  • On your website - label this page "03 Computer-Controlled Cutting"
  • Make a heading for "vinyl cutting"
  • This page will also contain documentation for your laser cutter project (to be added later).

Open Lab / Version Control Setup (Jan 17)

Version Control (Jan 21)

  • 01/21 - Intro to version control - Mercurial (Hg)
  • Cont. Cygwin Setup (Windows)
  • Note: Mercurial practice will happen every week throughout the semester.

Weekly Units

01 Principles and Practices (Jan 23-29)

  • 01/23 - Fab Academy officially begins with 1st Global lecture: about Fab Labs, the Fab Network and the Fab Charter.
Assignment
  • Assignment: Model (draw, render, animate, simulate, ...) a possible final project, and post it on your class page.

02 Computer-Aided Design (Jan 30- Feb 5)

Covered In Class
  • Intro to 3D CAD (Thursday / Monday, whenever we can fit it in)
  • Monday, January 28 - Laser cutter lecture with James.
  • Thursday, January 31 - Two sessions (students in two groups) with James, laser cutter machine training.
On Your Own
Assignments (2 this week)

  • CAD Homework (Due 02/05):
    • Neil's Assignment: Model (draw, render, animate, simulate, ...) a possible final project, and post it on your class page.
    • Anna does not care if you model your final project or model something else, this is up to you.
    • Anna does want to see both a 2D CAD and a 3D CAD design posted.
    • You should include and link to the actual files (if large 3D models - link from Thingiverse), as well as post an image of the designs.

  • Mercurial Homework (Due 02/04):
    1. Open terminal and navigate to your personal student directory (lastname.firstname).
    2. Within your lastname.firstname directory, create a folder called "mercurial_homework". Use an underscore between the words, not a space.
    3. Create a text file (.txt extension) called "02_homework.txt".
    4. Put some text in the file, it can be anything - a note to me, a poem, whatever.
    5. Save the file.
    6. Commit your changes.
    7. Pull from the archive.
    8. Merge with the changes you pulled down.
    9. Commit the merge.
    10. Pull again until there are no changes found. (If necessary, merge and commit again)
    11. After all changes are merged and committed - push your changes to the server.
    12. First use the Mercurial overview and Mercurial troubleshooting resources to guide you through the steps. If you are still lost - email Anna if you run into trouble.

03 Computer-Controlled Cutting (Feb 6 - 12)

Assignments
  • Design and create a press-fit construction kit project on the laser cutter.
    • No adhesives or hardware allowed, only friction fit.
    • Prototype in cardboard, then use more expensive materials.
  • Make sure to use the reservation calendar to book time on the laser outside of class.
Hg Homework

The current version of HTML Navigation plugin for GetSimple is not generating relative pathnames. Instead of creating relative links within the archive, the links for images and pages are linking back to the AS220 Hg server.

To fix this, Anna rewrote the plugin so that it replaces all the absolute URLs with relative ones. Yay!

To update the plugin:

  • Go into your lastname.firstname folder > plugins in your personal copy of the archive.
  • Delete the html_navigation.php file there.
  • Download the new version of the plugin (same name).
  • Unzip the folder (html_nav_updated.zip)
  • Add the new html_navigation.php file to your plugins directory.
  • You can move it manually or using the command line. Whatever you like.

To get the updated plugin onto the server using Mercurial:

  • Open terminal
  • hg status
    • there should be a "M" in front of html_navigation.php
  • hg commit -m "updating html_navigation plugin"
  • hg pull
    • merge heads or update if needed, read the messages from Hg.
  • hg push

Then log back into your admin interface for GetSimple and delete / regenerate your HTML.

On Your Own

04 Electronics Production (Feb 13-19)

  • Each student will assemble their own fabbable in-system programmer (Fab ISP) for use in the class.
  • Learn to mill boards on the milling machine
  • Practice surface mount soldering techniques
  • Program AVR microcontrollers

05 3D Scanning and Printing (Feb 20-26)

  • Learn how to turn a physical object into code (as a mesh).
  • Then how to take that code, clean it up and print it as a physical object.
  • Learn to use the 3D printers at the Lab.
On Your Own

Start reading these chapters in Getting Started with MakerBot:

  • Chapter 1: Introduction
  • Chapter 6: Getting Started Printing
  • Chapter 5: Meet the MakerBot Replicator 2
  • Chapter 9: Scanning in 3D
  • It is to your benefit to read the entire book (it is a short book and you have much of it already), but those are the vital parts for this week. 
In Class / On Your Own

06 Electronics Design (Feb 27-Mar 5)

Assignment
  • Modify the Hello Echo example board by adding an LED and a button.
In Class / On Your Own

07 Molding and Casting (Mar 6-12)

Assignment

Design a 3D mold, machine it, and cast parts from it.

On Your Own

Review these materials and decide what you want to use. You must read the data sheets for how to mix and cure the materials. All the materials have different set up and curing times.

Be careful of the pot life times! If a material has a 15 minute pot life, after 15 minutes, it will begin to set and you will be unable to work with the material to pour it into your mold.

Here are your options for making mold forms, molds and casting parts:

Machining the Mold Forms:
Mold Making:
Casting the Final Parts
Some of Anna's molding and casting examples:

08 Embedded Programming (Mar 13-19)

Assignment (2 parts)

Part 1: Read a microcontroller datasheet

Part 2: Program your board to do something, with as many different programming languages and programming environments as possible

In Class / On Your Own

09 Computer-Controlled Machining (Mar 20-26)

Assignment

Make something big on the Shopbot 4' x 8' CNC router out of plywood or foam.

In Class
  • We will have a in class Shopbot training session on Thursday 3/21.
  • Additional sessions will be added as needed.
On Your Own

10 Input Devices (Mar 27-Apr 2)

Assignment
Measure something: add a sensor to a microcontroller board that you've made and read it.
In Class / On Your Own

11 Composites (Apr 3-9)

Assignment
Make a 3D mold, and produce a fiber composite part in it.
In Class
  • Thursday: Vacuum bagging demo
    • Bring a glass or metal bowl (or other form) to lay up your composite.
    • Bring fabric of your choosing.
    • Everyone should make one form in class to understand the procsess.
  • Monday: Vacuum bag or wet layup over a form of your choosing.
On Your Own

12 Interface and Application Programming (Apr 10-16)

Assignment
Write an application that interfaces with an input device.
In Class
  • If you don't have a working input board, make one (or hook up a sensor to your Arduino).
  • We will also discuss composites week's successes and failures and student's current documentation status.
On Your Own

13 Output Devices (Apr 17-23)

Assignment
Write an application that interfaces with an input device.
In Class / On Your Own

14 Embedded Networking and Communications (Apr 24-30)

Assignment

Build a network with at least two nodes.

In Class / On Your Own

15 Mechanical Design, Machine Design (May 1-7)

  • Assemble the electronics and mechanical structure of a machine
  • Projects can be joint or individual

16 Digital Fabrication Applications and Implications (May 8-14)

  • Learn about the broader applications of digital fabrication and what Neil Gershenfeld and his graduate students at MIT are working on.
  • Guest lectures from MIT grad students and other industry professionals.
  • Students work on their final projects

17 Digital Fabrication Project Development (May 15-21)

  • Using the skills you have learned, plan and document a final project that integrates at least 3 of the topics covered in the course (digital fabrication, electronics, programming).
  • Students work on their final projects

19 Invention, Intellectual Property, and Business Models (May 22-28)

  • Guest lectures from experts in the field.
  • Students work on their final projects

20 Final Project Presentations (May 29)

  • Labs around the world meet for student final project presentations.