Topic outline

  • General

    Welcome to Digital Fabrication Studio!

    This course covers the development of your final project that is related to the skills acquired via the Digital Fabrication I, II and III courses. The Digital Fabrication courses are designed as an academic overlay for the Fab Academy.

    As said on the Fab Academy website: "The Fab Academy is a fast paced, hands-on learning experience where students learn rapid-prototyping by planning and executing a new project each week, resulting in a personal portfolio of technical accomplishments."

    Prerequisites

    You need a website for your final project documentation. Digital Fabrication I covers the development of a documentation website.

    Meetings

    There are two types of meetings: local and global.

    • Local meetings are there to discuss your final project progress.
    • Global meetings are an opportunity to join global Fab Academy recitations.

    Local lectures will happen hybrid or online mode depending on the latest COVID-19 restrictions. Hybrid mode means that you can join via Zoom or physically at the Aalto Fablab. You can find the Zoom link below.

    Global Fab Academy recitations will happen online only. Please find the Zoom link for global recitations below.

    Schedule

    Below is a list of meetings and recitations. Please check the official Fab Academy 2022 schedule page for recitation topics.

    • Jan 10 Local introductory meeting
    • Jan 17 Local meeting
    • Jan 24 Local meeting
    • Jan 31 Global recitation
    • Feb 07 Local meeting
    • Feb 14 Global recitation
    • Feb 21 Local meeting
    • Feb 28 Global recitation
    • Mar 07 Local meeting
    • Mar 14 Global recitation
    • Mar 21 Local meeting
    • Mar 28 Global recitation
    • Apr 04 Local meeting
    • Apr 18 Global recitation
    • Apr 25 Local meeting
    • May 02 Global recitation
    • May 09 Local meeting
    • May 16 Global recitation
    • May 23 Local meeting
    • May 30 Global recitation
    • Jun 03 Local final presentations

    Attendance

    Please mark your attendance every time you join a lecture. This goes for both, global Fab Academy recitations and local lectures. You can find the attendance sheet below.

    Final Project

    Your final project is a documented digital fabrication masterpiece that integrates the range of units covered by the Digital Fabrication I, II and III courses. The following questions have to be answered.

    • What does it do?
    • Who's done what beforehand?
    • What did you design?
    • What materials and components were used?
    • Where did they come from?
    • How much did they cost?
    • What parts and systems were made?
    • What processes were used?
    • What questions were answered?
    • What worked?
    • What didn't?
    • How was it evaluated?
    • What are the implications?

    At the end of the course you should have a summary slide and one-minute video explaining the conception, construction and operation of your final project.

    Your project should incorporate:

    • 2D and 3D design,
    • additive and subtractive fabrication processes,
    • electronics design and production,
    • embedded microcontroller interfacing and programming
    • as well as system design and packaging.

    You should make instead of buy as much as possible. Your final project must show individual mastery of skills covered by the Digital Fabrication I, II and III courses.

    The skills that you need in order to complete your final project are part of the Digital Fabrication I, II and III courses.

    Lab access

    You can use the Aalto Fablab for your final project development. You can be at the space during Aalto Fablab opening times. Special arrangements can be made to enable you to use the space outside the opening hours.

    The lab is used by other students at the Aalto University. With that in mind, keep the space organized and clean up after you have done your work. Use the available storage space and boxes to store your project parts. Label them accordingly with your name and contact information.

    Machine booking

    You should book the machines based on latest information available on the Aalto Fablab website.

    Evaluation

    This course is pass/fail. You should have a documented final project to pass. Credits are allocated based on your progress during the course.

    9 credits if you have been able to show progress in 90% of the local lectures.

    3 credits if you have a documented final project and have been able to show progress during up to 30% of the local lectures.

    • forum icon
      Announcements Forum
    • url icon
      Zoom link for local meetings URL
      Not available unless any of:
      • You are a(n) Student
      • You are a(n) Teacher

      Use the passcode DFAB2022 to connect.

    • url icon
      Zoom link for Fab Academy recitations URL
      Not available unless any of:
      • You are a(n) Student
      • You are a(n) Teacher

      Use the passcode 1234 to connect.

    • url icon
      Realtime communication URL
      Not available unless any of:
      • You are a(n) Student
      • You are a(n) Teacher

      Use this link to access the class real-time communication Telegram group.

    • url icon
      File sharing URL
      Not available unless any of:
      • You are a(n) Student
      • You are a(n) Teacher

      Use this shared folder to share files among your peers.

    • url icon
      List of student documentation pages URL

      You can find the full list of student documentation repositories and websites here.