balboni designFabLab
Digital Fabrication Lab at RIT's College of Art & Design
Using industrial-grade plastics, precision hardware and a full-time support staff, industrial design students have taken concepts off of paper and into functional designs, engineering students have built end-use parts for RIT's Formula and Baja teams, and medical illustration students now print their anatomically-correct 3D models.
Critically, it saves students money. By using the CAD FabLab, prints costs on average 70-95% less than estimates from online services.
Three printers quickly became eight, including FDM and SLA machines from MakerBot, FlashForge, Formlabs and Rostock. Right before my graduation in December 2016, I was offered a full-time position to manage a larger lab, providing students access to both 3D prints and laser cutters.
Stage 1
Atlassian's JIRA and Confluence platforms are used to powers our service desk for print requests, and our design library that's packed with tips, material info and example projects. Our workflow even tracks granular details—including who's printing with which materials, how often, and how much the average student spends, per semester.
Additionally, we began supporting functional SLA materials and adopted a Markforged Mark Two, expanding our functional end-use design capabilities. Industrial design grad students soon capitalized on these additions, creating assistive devices and prosthetic limbs for Access Technology and Studio 930 projects.
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Some of our initial FDM printers from FlashForge and Cubify.
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Our first three Form 2 SLA printers, of which we still use today.
Stage 2
Providing students with guides that decimate the scope of trial-and-error required for a project has proven to be our best tool yet. Guides for living hinges, threaded inserts, designing molds, and post-processing have created limitless possibilities.
Results of the lab's growth are evident in the most recent wave of student projects, as noted in the subsequent section below.
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View of the lab from the entrance-side. The workbenches in the middle are arranged to promote collaborative working habbits, while providing each student ample workspace with access to power and the entire lab.
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Alternative view of the lab.
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Entrace to the lab, featuring posters directing students to online resources and guides.
Stage 3
New to this stage will be open-source electronics platforms, such as Raspberry Pi and Arduino, as well as dedicated soldering stations—all provided by the FabLab. This ties in to the self-service workflow, where students can freely come and go, utilizing the space and its many resources as they see fit.
With 38 printers (15 FDM, 15 LFS/SLA, 3 SLS, 2 FDM Composite), 2 laser cutters and a full-sized CNC spindle, the available overhead for students is insane. A vending machine from Fastenal will be stocked with materials, tools, consumables, and everything in-between, so students never have to worry about supplies.
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An early blueprint of the new space. Though this image is outdated, the space is intended to have 9ft-tall windows at the front, a separate sound-proof CNC room in the back, and dozens of workbenches for student use.
Stage 1
-
Some of our initial FDM printers from FlashForge and Cubify.
-
Our first three Form 2 SLA printers, of which we still use today.
Atlassian's JIRA and Confluence platforms are used to powers our service desk for print requests, and our design library that's packed with tips, material info and example projects. Our workflow even tracks granular details—including who's printing with which materials, how often, and how much the average student spends, per semester.
Additionally, we began supporting functional SLA materials and adopted a Markforged Mark Two, expanding our functional end-use design capabilities. Industrial design grad students soon capitalized on these additions, creating assistive devices and prosthetic limbs for Access Technology and Studio 930 projects.
Stage 2
-
View of the lab from the entrance-side. The workbenches in the middle are arranged to promote collaborative working habbits, while providing each student ample workspace with access to power and the entire lab.
-
Alternative view of the lab.
-
Entrace to the lab, featuring posters directing students to online resources and guides.
Providing students with guides that decimate the scope of trial-and-error required for a project has proven to be our best tool yet. Guides for living hinges, threaded inserts, designing molds, and post-processing have created limitless possibilities.
Results of the lab's growth are evident in the most recent wave of student projects, as noted in the subsequent section below.
Stage 3
-
An early blueprint of the new space. Though this image is outdated, the space is intended to have 9ft-tall windows at the front, a separate sound-proof CNC room in the back, and dozens of workbenches for student use.
New to this stage will be open-source electronics platforms, such as Raspberry Pi and Arduino, as well as dedicated soldering stations—all provided by the FabLab. This ties in to the self-service workflow, where students can freely come and go, utilizing the space and its many resources as they see fit.
With 38 printers (15 FDM, 15 LFS/SLA, 3 SLS, 2 FDM Composite), 2 laser cutters and a full-sized CNC spindle, the available overhead for students is insane. A vending machine from Fastenal will be stocked with materials, tools, consumables, and everything in-between, so students never have to worry about supplies.
CAD FabLab Confluence
Confluence
We wanted students to tackle design challenges without hinderance. Our Confluence guides allow them to do just that, including tolerances and step-by-step instructions, so all they need to do is drop one of our examples into their CAD and figure out their design. Each guide has been composed using materials and devices currently available in the FabLab.
CAD FabLab Confluence
Download Catalog
FabLab Catalog
Each semester, we update and distribute out catalog—complete with available materials, design guides and hardware specs—to professors throughout the college. It's now included in almost 30 individual courses, as more professors are requiring 3D prints for finals.
Download Catalog
Download Posters
Posters & Infographics
While the pictured prototype is only partially functional, Justin has been working with mechanical and electrical engineering students to bring his design to life.
View Justin's Portfolio
Sesame Street Bird Bath
Justin Dorland, 2019
Justin brilliantly applied the expertise he gained by working in the FabLab on his Senior studio project. Composed from over a dozen PLA prints, his prototype bird bath is an original perspective on the notorious Sesame Street brand.
While the pictured prototype is only partially functional, Justin has been working with mechanical and electrical engineering students to bring his design to life.
View Justin's Portfolio
“Without the help of Andrew Balboni, I would have never gotten where I am today. Andrew is not only a great mentor, but great friend!”
View Taylor's Portfolio
Redesigning Shoe Manufacturing
Taylor Clow, 2018
In Taylor's words: "Full scale soft molds for injection molding can be very expensive. With the assistance of the FabLab, I was able to create an Injection Molding process using FDM molds and Caulking tubes. In addition the FabLab and Director let me experiment with printing flexible filaments onto fabric, to simulate a textile back molding process.”
“Without the help of Andrew Balboni, I would have never gotten where I am today. Andrew is not only a great mentor, but great friend!”
View Taylor's Portfolio
Spar leveraged several 3D printing technologies—including FDM and SLA for functional prototyping, and SLS for the final product. Its inherent modular design allows Emily to use the handle with each new bike she rides, ensuring she always has the best experience possible.
Learning to Ride
Spar Patton, 2017
Learning to Ride is an assistive technology designed to help Emily, a little girl with a missing limb, ride a bike. It was designed by Spar Patton, ID MFA 2017, and is fully 3D printed.
Spar leveraged several 3D printing technologies—including FDM and SLA for functional prototyping, and SLS for the final product. Its inherent modular design allows Emily to use the handle with each new bike she rides, ensuring she always has the best experience possible.
Andrew Balboni
College of Art & Design, RIT
July 2016 - Present
Andrew Balboni
College of Art & Design, RIT
July 2016 - Present
