PHYSCI 70: Introduction to Digital Fabrication
Tues & Thurs 3:00 - 4:15pm
Instructor: Nathan Melenbrink

SC 102 Lab Inventory

Course Description

A hands-on introduction to rapid prototyping, integrating physics and engineering, design, computer science and art. Students will learn to safely use software and hardware to fabricate programmable projects. Tools and topics will include electronic circuit design, 3D CAD, programmable microcontrollers, and wireless networking (Internet of Things). Additionally, students will learn operational principles for techniques such as laser cutting, 3D printing, and computer-controlled milling. Students will work with course staff to prepare their design files and remotely operate machines, after which the components will be mailed to them. Applications may include personal fabrication, product prototyping, fine arts and the creation of scientific research tools. The course will culminate with an individual final project, integrating as many of the topics as possible. Each student will document work on each weekly topic in a personal website, thereby finishing the course with an online portfolio that not only illustrates their new skill sets, but also contributes to a collective repository of knowledge that serves as a foundation for continued learning.

Course Notes

Attendance is mandatory since lab safety training will occur during class times. Class will meet twice each week. The first meeting will consist of a discussion of the previous week’s assignment, followed by a short introduction to the current week’s topic and assignment. The second meeting may include a short lecture but will primarily focus on a hands-on training session for the accompanying assignment. Meetings may also include appearances by guest presenters or experts on a particular topic.

Recommended Prep

There are no formal prerequisites for this course. Students are expected to provide their own laptop computer (tablets and Chromebooks are not sufficient for some of the software required for this course, but workarounds may be available -- please contact course staff with concerns).

Related Sections

In addition to the twice-weekly lecture times, the course staff will be available for lab sections scheduled throughout the week. Students are required to attend at least one lab section per week to check in with course staff on their progress, and are otherwise free to attend as many additional sections as they like.

Lab Access

Lab access will be 24/7 once lab safety training is complete. TFs will be available during flexibly scheduled lab times. For some topics, supervision will be needed as students learn to operate machines safely. For each lab session, students should take care to follow shop safety guidelines.

Shop Safety Guidelines

• RED training is required to use the shop.
• Never work alone or when tired.
• Wear lab safety glasses or goggles.
• Wear comfortable clothing and closed-toe and heel shoes. Tie back long hair. Remove loose jewelry.
• Read through the relevant documentation and have a plan for using lab time wisely.
• Only use equipment you’ve been trained on, and feel comfortable with. Ask shop staff for reminders if you’re not sure.
• Leave the shop cleaner than you found it.

Shop After-Hours Rules

• “After Hours” is defined as any time when trained staff are not in the shop (see calendar online for current schedule).
• You may never use equipment that you have not been trained on. You may not use high-power equipment (CNC, drill press, scroll saw) after hours.
• You may never work alone. If you’d like to use the shop when no one else is there, you need to bring a partner. Your partner does not need to be trained -- they just need to be able to call for help in an emergency. Of course, if they are not trained, they may not use shop equipment.
• Make sure both you and your partner sign in using the sign-in sheet at the entrance to SC 102. Remember to sign out when leaving.
• Don’t prop the door open.
• Neglecting shop safety guidelines or after-hours rules will result in revocation of after-hours swipe access.

Assessment

Students will be assessed on the basis of website documentation (60%), the documentation and presentation of the final project (20%) and attendance and participation (20%). Only work that is documented on the personal page will be considered for grading.

Attendance: Please don't email us about missing class. We take attendace every class; it's important to attend every class for essential safety and skill training, and it's important to us to know who's been trained on what. You're either present or you're not. If you do need to miss class, it's your responsibility to come to open lab times to make up what you missed.

Documentation: Thorough documentation on your personal page is required in order to earn full credit for assignments (60% of total grade). A well-documented assignment is one that provides sufficient information for someone else to fully recreate your project. At a minimum this requires photographs, screenshots, and a thorough written description of the steps taken, and may also require code snippets, movies, 3D models and/or links to outside resources. Here is an example of a well-documented assignment. Instructors will provide examples and precedents for each assignment. Documentation will be assessed throughout the semester, and instructors will provide mid-term feedback. If you're not happy with your mid-term grades, you'll have the opportunity to revise your documentation and request that assignments be re-assessed.

Extensions: Please don't email us asking for extensions. We effectively offer extensions to every student for every assignment, in the sense that documentation can be (re)submitted up until the end of the semester for nearly full credit. We'll look at assignment documentation each Thursday at 3pm when it is due. At the end of the semester, we will re-evaluate any assignments at the student's request for up to 90% of full credit (4.5/5). What we expect is that most everyone will have their assignments complete and ready to demonstrate for the class by Thursday at 3pm -- this makes the class engaging and exciting (interesting "failures" are also important to share!).

Assignment documentation grades are out of 5. Scores indicate the following:

• 3: you completed the minimal in-class example and documented it well.
• 4: you went beyond the minimal assignment and documented it well.
• 4.5: you made an excellent project with excellent documentation.
• 5: impressive to the point of overachieving. (This is a very high bar that is awarded infrequently).

Late work will be evaluated on the same scale up to a maximum of 4.5/5, which is still an excellent grade. However, in order to do well in the class, it is important to stay on top of each weekly topic; i.e., it's better to skip one week and make it up later than to be consistently ~1 day late on assignments.

Final Project: Students are asked to present an idea for a final project at the start of the semester, which is expected to evolve over the duration of the course. Students will have weekly opportunities for advising on final project ideation. Final projects should integrate most of the skills covered over the semester, including at a minimum:

• 3D design and fabrication (either mold/cast, 3D print, lasercut, etc.)
• Electronics (input and output)
• Microcontroller programming

Schedule

Week	Class
1: Sep 3	01: Introduction, Lab, Safety, Documentation / HTML
2: Sep 10	02: 2D design and cutting, Vinyl cutter/Laser cutter
3: Sep 17	03: Hand tools and fabrication, Mechanical design
4: Sep 24	04: Microcontroller Programming
5: Oct 1	05: 3D design, 3D scanning and printing
6: Oct 8	06: Sensors. Electronic input devices
7: Oct 15	07: Electronic output devices
8: Oct 22	08: CNC milling. Toolpaths 2D and 3D. Molding & Casting.
9: Oct 29	09: Wired, Radio, Wifi and Bluetooth communication (IoT)
10: Nov 5	10: Machine building, End effectors
11: Nov 12	13: Project integration
12: Nov 19	12: Wildcard Week: Circuit Board Fabrication, Composites, Sewing, etc.
Nov 26	Thanksgiving Break
13: Dec 3	11: Interfacing projects with computers, Computer programming
14: Dec 10	14: Project development (no class, office hours only)
15: Dec 12	15: (Exam week) Final project presentations