Fab Lab

Center of Bits and Atoms of Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA, install a FAB LAB at Vigyan Ashram. FAB LAB is a collection of set of computer operated fabrication tool, which empowers you to almost makes anything ! FAB LAB is a brain child of Dr.Neil Greshenfield. Our rural areas are having lots of problems. Each problem is a opportunity to get some solutions. But it is true that many of the scientific institutions and big R&D Lab might not be interested in finding solution to our small problems. Reason is very simple, the potential volume for such solutions will be limited. Rather than looking at outsiders to help us to solve our problems, is it possible that village community will able to solve their own problems themselves? This is the idea behind FAB LAB. MIT put together various machines and computer programs, so that we will able to give concrete shapes to our ideas! Prototype it! And test it.
Equipment at Vigyan Ashram FAB LAB : Following equipments are installed at Vigyan Ashram : 1)      Laser cutting Machine 2)      Roland Milling Machine, 3 D scanner 3)      Vinyl cutting machine 4)      Scroll saw 5)      Computers (Norpix Operating System) 6)      LCD projector , Printer, Digital Camera 7)      Electronic table (Oscilloscope, Soldering equipment etc.) MIT also provided drawing tools and drivers written in open source software.
How will it be used at VA? We are training school dropout students at Ashram in using FAB LAB equipment’s. Engineers in ashram will train these students. DBRT students will be asked to work on a project using FAB LAB machines. We are encouraging students from Engineering college to come and work with our students. Projects can be anything from simply making T-shirt using screen-printing to making PCBs and toys. Following are the few projects on which our engineers started working: 1)      Milk sour test 2)      Diesel Engine tuning device 3)      Small wind mill 4)      Pop up boats 5)      Photocopy machine gears 6)      Electronic Fence 7)      Data Logger 8)      LED bulb holder 9)      Inverter circuit 10)  Battery repair FABLAB will be used for solving such problems locally, educating the students, for research and development purpose for local needs. Benefits to students & community from it? Dr. Neil Grashenfield says “Rather than buying gadgets, toys and clothes ready-made, consumers may one day prefer to download the designs and make them at home.” His idea is that one day a FABLAB will be a Factory where you can manufacture another FABLAB instruments, equipment’s and start replicating FABLAB’s which are governed by community and people will start making their own things at home. MIT’s role and amount invested? MIT is acting as a resource institute for this project. Equipment and tools worth of approximately US $ 34000 are invested by MIT in Lab at Pabal. Research at MIT promised to help us both online and periodic visit by Indian students at MIT to Pabal. Mr.Manu Prakash (Indian student, studying at MIT) stayed in ashram in March2004 for 7 days to install FAB LAB. He promised to call every Monday evening to review progress of FAB LAB. Further maintenance? Vigyan Ashram has to raise its own resources for running the FAB LAB and support the salary of Engineer in FAB LAB. We are trying to get support from DST/CAPART for the same. We are also estimating some job orders from community like making sign boards/ PCBs etc. Which will cover the cost of operation to some extend.  Following are the weblinks for additional information on FAB LAB : 9.10.04 Wired.com http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,1282,64864,00.html 12.04 Wired Magazine column http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/12.12/view.html?pg=4 01.05 Technology Review http://www.technologyreview.com/articles/05/01/issue/massave0105.asp 01.30.05 Boston Globe http://www.boston.com/news/globe/ideas/articles/2005/01/30/how_to_make_almost_anything/ 2.13.05 San Francisco Chronicle http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/12.12/view.html?pg=4 02.21.05 Newsweek International, By Rana Foroohar http://msnbc.msn.com/id/6959818/site/newsweek/ 3.23.05 The Economist http://economist.com/science/displayStory.cfm?story_id=3786368 03.27.05 India Daily http://www.boston.com/news/globe/ideas/articles/2005/01/30/how_to_make_almost_anything/ 03.28.05 Indian Express Village fab lab a model for India's rural future. http://www.indianexpress.com/full_story.php?content_id=67263 4/2/05 Ghana: http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/artikel.php?ID=78469