JuWilCu is a young design-build group composed of local designers JUwariya Abdul-Karim, Gabe Williams and Carlos CUlly.  Their focus on construction projects that address socioeconomic and environmental issues led them to become collaborators with us during the pilot phase of our fab lab initiative.  JuWilCu has been able to help demonstrate the potential for creating “green-collar” entrepreneurship and job training opportunities with the use of computer controlled (CNC) machining equipment.

A recent project they completed with the use of the ShopBot CNC router available in our facilities was the construction of a collapsible and portable street vending system, built from salvaged construction materials found at a supplier called Built It Green NYC.  The project was able to emphasize many of the core values of both SSBx and JuWilCu:  “upcycling” waste streams into products that have value, and the promotion of micro-enterprise. 

Customized, rapid protoyped vending systems can be of enormous value to street vendors and other small-scale merchants. 

The photos and video in this post show the system being used at the Dance Africa Street Festival. Aside from his involvement in JuWilCu, Carlos Cully is also involved in a small-scale fashion venture called YaKBlak, that collects and refurbishes vintage sunglasses and fashion accessories, adding value to what would otherwise be a waste stream. Click here to download the design portfolio for this project.

 The video embedded below highlights the project in more detail: 

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This past week we moved the trailer from The Point CDC down the road to the Jose E. Serrano Riverside Campus for Arts and the Environment, next to Hunts Point Riverside Park.  At the site we share space with a community boat building program called Rocking the Boat, which has done outstanding work in the Bronx over the past 10 years with hands-on boat building programs for youth. We’re excited about exploring possibilities for collaboration while we remain in the trailer during Phase 1 of SSBxFab and beyond.  Developing both small and large kits and projects that involve boats will be helpful for us as we develop outreach programs for SSBxFab, and could potentially help Rocking the Boat incorporate CNC (Computer Numerically Controlled) Technology in some of their program areas.

The ShopBot CNC wood router we have in the trailer was originally designed by the manufacturers as a tool for Boat Building.

Below are some of the boats on-site that were built by Rocking the Boat students and staff.  We’re looking to forward to seeing how our machines can assist with their ongoing work.

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Sustainable South Bronx recently co-hosted a neighborhood block party, as part of our work with the Active Living by Design Program. This was a great opportunity to have a good a time with our neighbors and also get the word out about all of SSBx’s programs, including our fab lab.

Ed Bringas, one our design fellows, worked on building a display table made entirely of cardboard. He used Google Sketchup to design the legs and base, lasercut the drawings, assembled it together. By cutting many copies of the same drawing file, he was able to glue layers on top each to form a strong structure.  Ed works closely with a non-profit design group in New York called Adapative Design, that specializes in building cardboard furniture for disabled children.

We set his table up at the block party in a visible place, and laid out some pieces of a cardboard toy called “GIK” on top.

GIK was developed at MIT by Neil Gershenfeld and his children, and is created using parametric design software that allows the pieces to snap together as a “friction fit” or “press fit.”

Click here to see the whole Flickr Album from the Block Party

GIK is currently being developed as a business by Neil’s brother Alan Gershenfeld, and partners Michael Angst and Larry Marder. A partnership between SSBxFab and this GIK business is being explored as a possible revenue raising strategy for fab labs.

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There’s alot of photos that have yet to make the SSBxFab blog, so I created a flickr stream with various pictures from the first few months here.

SSBxFab is still in phase 1. We’re doing fundraising and program development for Phase 2 (which will be in a permanent space, with more machines, including ones that will allow us to work with metal), and also working on projects to prove the viability and demand for community based design and manufacturing that is environmentally conscious.

Our Design Fellows have gotten the ball rolling on some great projects,  and we’ve also seen some great excitement and participation from youth and adults in the community.

Below are some photo albums from the SSBxFab Flickr stream, showing some initial work with making furniture from scraps, doing laser etching for printmaking, and teaching basic electronics to kids in the neighborhood.  Stay tuned for photo and video updates on other exciting projects, including concrete mold making for the South Bronx Greenway, urban irrigation pumps for NYC Greenstreets, rapid-protoyped wind harnessing devices, and solar powered robotics!

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The HASTAC/MacArthur Digital Media and Learning Competition recently announced the winners of its first Competition, and SSBxFab was selected!

Go to www.dmlcompetition.net for all the details.

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The deadline for applying for SSBxFab’s Fellow program has been extended to February 15th, 2008 (5 pm).

Application can be downloaded here

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Our lab has been up and running for a few weeks now, and given that it’s winter, we had kids and adults cut out paper snowflakes, which were scanned, vectorized, then cut out of wood and plastic. It proved to be a useful demonstration of desktop manufacturing/digital fabrication, and accessible to any age group, or level computer literacy.

In a Daycare center in the South Bronx called Eva’s Kids, Dolge demonstrates how to fold the paper and cut patterns.

Afterwards we scanned the snowflakes (with a blue paper backing for contrast), performed edge detection, and then converted the pixel based image to a scalable vector graphics image. This can be done with proprietary software, like Adobe Illustrator, or the open-source vector graphics program, Inkscape.

Once in vector format, the image can be sent to the laser cutter. The Epilog laser cutter reads any .001 stroke line as a vector, and anything thicker as something to be rastered. Here we do a vector cut out of thin wood.

Children at Eva’s day care center with their laser cut snowflakes.

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The SSBxFab Fellow Program will serve as an interface between people who have engineering and/or design backgrounds (at either an amateur or professional level) with residents of the community who wish to further their knowledge base in these areas.

In exchange for access to the suite of digital fabrication equipment for use on their own personal projects, the Fab Fellow will teach either a class or do one-on-one tutorial sessions with South Bronx residents. We’re particularly looking for those who have a passion for making things, but also enjoy sharing, collaboration, and helping others.

Application can be downloaded here

The FabFellow applicant should respond with a 500 word personal statement, elaborating on why they would like to be a part of the FabFellow program, and addressing the 4 questions listed at the bottom of this page. The applicant should also include a curriculum vitae, detailing relevant design experience. If the applicant has any background with teaching, (as a teacher, TA, a personal tutor, or lab assistant, etc.) that should also be noted.

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After some delay we were finally able to get the Mobile FabLAB from MIT to its temporary home at The Point CDC in the South Bronx. Miquela, her father Stephen (who flew out from Oregon to drive the trailer for us), and myself met up with the fab lab folks at MIT to test out the machines, go over some details about driving the trailer, and then hit the road! Amy Sun passed on to us all the wisdom she obtained while driving the trailer around the country this summer, help us arrive with the lab’s contents all intact. We’re working w/ electricians and people at The Point to get power to the lab within a week.

The Mobile Lab is currently parked at The Point, outside the theater.

As explained in the About section, the Mobile Lab is on loan to Sustainable South Bronx for a year, during which time it will help build the permanent infrastructure. In the present time it’ll be used as the space for fabrication sessions for the community.

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In a few weeks, SSBxFab will begin to offer laser etching services for cell phones, ipods, laptops, and other personal items. We’ll be taking over the clients of New York based Adafuit Industries, who have been flooded with so much demand that they want to direct people to us in order to have more time for their other projects. The proceeds made by SSBxFab for performing the etching services will go towards sustaining the lab and its outreach work in the community. Exact start date, pricing, and other details will be worked out over the next few weeks.

More pictures and some video are posted on Adafruit.

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