Collaborations and Workshops, Bringing Fab Labs Together in Santiago, Chile

Fab13, the 13th International Fab Lab Meeting, was hosted in Santiago, Chile from July 31 to August 6, 2017. This year’s “Fabricating Society” theme was in action throughout the event. There were six strategic categories: city, housing, innovation and entrepreneurship, environment and energy, education, and decentralization–and each had clearly defined projects.

I …

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ShopBot Joins the 2017 National Scout Jamboree’s Makerspace

One of the many campsite areas from the 2017 National Scout Jamboree

The 2017 National Scout Jamboree at the Bechtel Summit Reserve in West Virginia was a huge event for makers and an opportunity for 40,000 scouts and scouters to learn how much fun a Makerspace can be. The National Jamboree set up a …

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Prototyping and Production Across Platforms: Laser and CNC at Digital Fabrication for Educators, July 2017

Slide together steps prototyped and produced during July’s Digital Fab for Educators.

 

Traveling to Durham, NC from Baltimore, MD with his wife and elderly dog gave one of the July 2017 Digital Fabrication for Educators Workshop attendees, Frank, an idea of what to create during the workshop at ShopBot. The old girl (canine) …

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Digital Fabrication for Educators: Your Place or Ours

Whether it takes place at ShopBot, or on site, a 2 – 3 Day Professional Development workshop gives teachers a chance to hone their skills with digital fabrication machines. Educators starting at all levels, from newby to someone with a year or more experience running their ShopBot CNC router, end up with new techniques …

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More than a tool!

Our ShopBot CNC has proved to be more than just an educational tool. Once they learned about the capabilities of the tool, students got excited about making something special for those they care about. In the 6 months since we received our Desktop MAX, students have made a multitude of signs for various people and …

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(Re)Visiting Digital Fabrication Labs in Middle and Upper Schools

Alberta shows off the sign she made on a ShopBot.

May and early June was the time to visit a number of digital fabrication labs in middle schools, high schools, and community colleges around the US. Some labs are fine tuning their plans after being in existence for a year or more, while some are just starting their journey.

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The Embracing of Digital Fabrication Technology in Polk County, Florida

Four Saxes: An original drawing (right) scanned and re-conceived with 3 different digital fabrication tools: Engraved in wood (ShopBot CNC router), 3D printed with ABS plastic (Ultimaker 3D printer), and laser cut out of thin acrylic (Epilog laser).

Early in May, I visited Polk County, Florida as a part of a TIES team. Polk …

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NYSTEEA and Chocolate Mold-Making for STEAM

The tastiness of making mistakes.

 

In the 52 years that the New York State Technology and Engineering Educators Association (NYSTEEA) has been meeting, there have been a lot of changes in the design software and equipment available to teachers and students. Schools have been adding digital fabrication equipment, including CNC, into …

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Digital Fabrication Education at USFLN in Edwardsville, IL

From March 13-15, 2017, ShopBot Tools attended the 2017 USFLN Symposium at Lewis and Clark Community College’s St. Louis Confluence Fab Lab in Edwardsville, IL. This year’s theme, “Stairway to Making”, featured a number of workshops and sessions highlighting the various steps that Fab Labs and Makerspaces can take to start, grow, and succeed in bringing digital fabrication …

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Our History, Our Future

We made a jig to CNC the tops and sides of our CO2 cars.

Hello, my name is Devin Wilson and I am excited to be a part of the ShopBot world! I am a first year Carpentry and Technology teacher at Rosman High/Middle School in Rosman, NC. There have been some ups and downs, but …

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