Digital manufacturing and additive processes have become more prevalent in recent years due to the increased accessibility of tools and the individualization in the processes of prototyping. In comparison to the past, the process was individualized, taking months and requiring detailed research and development made by physical therapists and small manufacturers. Until now, this process is still done in the same long and expensive process. MyOrthotics is an orthosis development using Digital M...
Assistive technologies for persons with disabilitiesOrthoticshuman factorsDIYdigital manufacturingembodiment devices
Digital Fabrication as an opportunity for social transformation in Cali Colombia
Jorge Ivan Montalvo Navarrete (Universidad Autónoma de Occidente - Cali, Colombia)
Fablabs, or digital manufacturing laboratories, are spaces of exploration and inquiry where new applications and implications of technology are investigated with a practical sense, applied in context, in function of social transformation, technological appropriation and entrepreneurship. The maker movement is an association of inventors, designers, thinkers, handcrafters, hackers and technology enthusiasts who seek to solve their everyday problems by using technology under a cooperative and c...
Digital ManufacturingInnovationMakerSocial Transformation Movement
Innovation begins with inclusion: Integrating the Fab Charter into a Code of Conduct at Fab Lab Wgtn
Wendy Neale (Fab Lab Wgtn, Wellington, Aotearoa New Zealand), Craig Hobern (Fab Lab Wgtn, Wellington, Aotearoa New Zealand)
We all commit to displaying the Fab Charter within our physical Labs but what does it actually mean on a daily basis? At Fab Lab Wgtn, we believe we have found a way to successfully integrate the charter in a meaningful way through developing a Code of Conduct. We work from a perspective of inclusiveness and of integrating indigenous perspectives into the ecosystem of Fab Lab Wgtn. Our Code of Conduct encourages specific behaviours or attitudes that set a basis for fabricating society; for cr...
Inclusivedecolonisingequitableparticipationfabricating society
BioLabs and Blanket Forts: creating the bridge between Fab Lab and DIYBio cultures
Wendy Neale (FabLab Wellington, Wellington, Aotearoa New Zealand), Alison M Stringer (Independent), Craig Hobern (FabLab Wellington, Wellington, Aotearoa New Zealand)
Similarly to the Fab ethos, DIYBio aims to make the tools and techniques of research available at low cost, in an open way that enables innovative solutions to developed. How does a Fab Lab engage with the Do it Yourself (DIYBio also known as biohacking) culture without embedded scientific knowledge? What are the steps we can take to adopt DIYBio culture and incorporate it into the Fab Lab culture? What are the legal issues involved and how do we build knowledge and expertise in a sustainable...
FabLab in Nigeria's Innovation Space: A Report from GreenLab Microfactory's DIWO Event
Babasile Daniel Oladele-Emmanuel (Institute of Production Engineering, Helmut Schmidt University, Hamburg, Germany), Antonia Bolajoko Akinola (Institute of Production Engineering, Helmut Schmidt University, Hamburg, Germany), Tobias Redlich (Institute of Production Engineering, Helmut Schmidt University, Hamburg, Germany)
The present overall impact of the FabLab initiative is tremendous, with records of its significance been recorded across different economic sectors, from the agriculture, energy, education, and to the health sector. However, with recorded advantages, Nigeria a country of approximately 200 million people does not have one. In lieu of this, on the 20th of April 2017, GreenLab Microfactory, the first registered FabLab on Nigerian soil, kicked off with a Do-It-With-Others (DIWO) workshop, appropr...
Project (and Problem) Based Learning in Engineering Education: The Fab Lab UTEC Experience
Isaac Robles (Universidad de Ingeniería y Tecnología-UTEC, Lima, Peru)
For the Last 18 Months, the Fab Lab UTEC has been, as part of the larger Educational strategy of the University, developing a structure of workshops, courses and experiences based upon Problem and Project-Based Learning as part of its role in the Education Process for the UTEC University students in Lima, Peru. The Paper discusses the initiatives deployed, its definite characteristics and results up to date, the intended approach for each initiative and the results obtained after three semest...
Fab labs as catalysts for sharing economies in Latin America
Emilio Velis (Fab Lab El Salvador), Isaac Robles (Fab Lab UTEC)
Sharing economic models have been the center of much attention and criticism in recent years. Their cooptation by the so-called "death star platforms" have put the concept under fire and have raised the question of whether these so-called "collaborative" models can live up to the expectations in terms of creating sustainable models that can create impact in their contexts. The present paper explores the development of platform-based cooperation within the fab lab network of Latin America and ...