Equipment

“We have 300 computers in the basement, do you want them?”

Of course we want them: 6-core i5 CPUs, M.2 SSDs and 8 GB DDR4 Ram are a good basis for an office or gaming computer. As you know, we have been getting more and more involved in STEM education since last year. So this calls for a cool format where we can dismantle computers, assemble them back together and then give them to participants for free. Thus, we were happy to accept the offer.

But how do we transport 300 computers to the Fab Lab? That’s not only 1,800 CPU cores, 2,400 GB Ram and 150,000 GB memory in total, but also 2.1t total weight…
The Lions Club Siegen and the SIEGENIA GROUP were kind enough to help us. “We do not have a truck available, but we will rent one for you.”, said Wieland Frank, owner of SIGENIA GROUP. Two employees also came to support. Thanks again!

Now we are planning a new workshop series that (hopefully) launches in October:

“Build your own computer” (just a working title, suggestions are welcome).

The idea: young participants take apart computers with us, we look at the components and how they work and then reassemble them together. Afterwards an operating system will be installed and at the end the participants can take the computers home.

We can use your support:

  • Helpers to support the workshop implementation,
  • 300 mice, keyboards and/or monitors (could be used, but should be working and clean)

Schools are welcome to contact us. We heard that a few computer rooms here and there could be renewed.

We would like to do some research on the workshop as part of our EnvironMINT project to analyze the conditions for success of good STEM education in more detail. How can workshops be designed in an appealing way – especially to get young women and girls interested in STEM topics?

History lesson on STEM activities of the Fab Lab
With FAB:MAKE, we were able to purchase hardware that allows us to carry out workshops with smaller groups. As part of EnvironMINT, we are investigating the conditions for success of good STEM education with our partners (FAU Erlangen-Nuremberg, HS Rhein-Waal). In cooperation with Digitalum Bus, we are able to bring the topics mainly to the more rural areas in the old district of Wittgenstein.

From time to time, school classes also visit us and we carry out project days. But that’s not quite enough for us. We would like to build a strong network in Siegen-Wittgenstein with actors in the region: Schools, associations, companies, MINT partners and many more.

A lot of strong partners are already involved: Fab Lab Siegen, Digitalum-Wittgenstein gGmbH, FRids e.V., DRK Kreisverband Siegen Wittgenstein e.V., Bildungszentrum Wittgenstein, Lions Club Siegen, companies such as SIEGENIA GROUP and Pollrich GmbH, but also some schools as well as the Siegerlandmuseum.

We hope that the network will continue to grow and are excited about what we will achieve together in the future!

By Marios Mouratidis, ago

Aya – a Selfmade 3D Printer

Aya – that’s a 3D printer that students of the Human-Computer Interaction master’s program produced in the winter semester 2015/2016 as part of the “3D Printing” seminar.

At the beginning of the seminar, the students were first familiarized with the basics of digital fabrication: What manufacturing processes are there, what materials can be used for printing, what are the possible application potentials? They also learned more about the individual steps of 3D printing: from modeling, to slicing (the “translation” of a 3D model into instructions for the printer), to the printing itself. For the subsequent project work, four students decided to devote themselves to building their own 3D printer.

The project participants used a kit as a basis, which already contained most of the parts needed for construction. All blueprints as well as the control software are available open source and so the students first built the printer according to the distributor’s template. However, they quickly discovered that not everything was working properly. So they decided to print some housing parts themselves using a different 3D printer in the Fab Lab and made other changes to improve print quality, such as adjusting the holder for the consumable. This was followed by a longer calibration phase, because the automatic support systems, which the printer actually has for this, unfortunately didn’t work quite as well as expected.

The students spent an entire semester working on the printer, which they named Aya (after a Japanese movie character). Aya is a Delta Robot 3D printer whose distinctive feature is its design: The three-axis system, which differs from conventional printers with linear axis systems, enables fast, precise printing. In addition to smaller test prints, the first larger prints such as an owl or a vase have already been made. Initial test runs indicate that Aya can print at a fabulous speed of up to 300-350 mm/second.

Even though the study project has now been completed, the students want to continue working on optimizing the 3D printer. For example, the installation of the control electronics or the stabilization of the base frame is being considered here to make Aya more transportable. There are also plans to test Aya with other materials such as ABS – the plastic used to make Lego bricks, for example – because so far only PLA, an environmentally friendly plastic based on (corn) starch, has been used as a material.

The students themselves learned a lot about 3D printing during the seminar and by building Aya. On Technology Day, the printer was presented and used for the first time in front of a broad public.

Aya in full size:

By Marios Mouratidis, ago

The origin of Fab Lab Siegen

Efforts to establish a Fab Lab at the University of Siegen are not entirely new. On a smaller scale, similar activities have already been carried out at Faculty III:

The HCI lab there also provides infrastructure (e.g. 3d printers) to some extent. Even though the HCI Lab is also quite open in principle, there are no Open Lab Days here, the equipment is not extensive, the area is very small and, in addition, the room is often needed for chair activities and can then of course not be used by everyone. However, we explicitly mention the HCI-Lab here, as its operation has already created quite a bit of expertise, especially in areas such as 3d printing or also Arduino. The Fab Lab Siegen and the HCI-Lab will therefore collaborate closely (e.g. for courses and workshops) and possibly consolidate hardware and equipment in some cases.

By Marios Mouratidis, ago