Fab Academy 2019
19 weeks of digital fabrication at Fab Lab CEPT, Ahmedabad. Each week is a new topic, a new machine, and a build that has to be documented to count.
Fab Academy is a distributed programme run out of MIT's Center for Bits and Atoms. Neil Gershenfeld teaches the main classes live each week; local instructors run things on the ground. I did the 2019 cycle at Fab Lab CEPT. My local instructor was Ohad Meyuhas (Stratasys); my global instructor was Francisco Sanchez (TECSUP).
The weeks below are the full build logs — scraped from the original submission and re-hosted here because the source CSS broke. Content is mine; the Fab Academy programme is by the Fab Foundation.
Weekly assignments
Principles & Practices — Project Proposal
Plan and sketch a potential final project.
Project Management
Work through a Git tutorial; build a personal site in the class archive.
Computer Aided Design
Model a possible final project using raster, vector, 2D, and 3D tools; explore at least two new tools.
Computer Controlled Cutting
Characterise a laser cutter; cut something on the vinyl cutter; design and cut a parametric press-fit kit.
Electronics Production
Make the FabISP in-system programmer; mill, stuff, test, and program it.
3D Scanning & Printing
Design and 3D print an object that can't be made subtractively; 3D scan an object.
Electronics Design
Redraw the echo hello-world board; add a button and an LED; mill, stuff, and test it.
Computer Controlled Machining
Make something big on a CNC router.
Embedded Programming
Read a microcontroller datasheet; program a board using multiple languages and environments.
Molding & Casting
Design a 3D mold, machine it, and cast material in it.
Input Devices
Measure something; add a sensor to a microcontroller board and read data.
Output Devices
Add an output device to a microcontroller board; write code to operate it.
Applications & Implications
Propose a final project masterpiece that integrates the range of units covered.
Networking & Communications
Design and build a wired or wireless network connecting at least two nodes.
Mechanical & Machine Design
Group project: design and build a machine including mechanisms, actuation, automation, and application.
Interface & Application Programming
Write an application that interfaces with a hardware input or output device.
Wildcard Week
Use a digital fabrication process not covered in another assignment.
Invention, Intellectual Property & Income
Develop a plan for dissemination of your final project.