Click the Give Now button above to help the College of Human Environmental Sciences raise $8,000 for this year's passion project, the Fab Lab!
As the only Interior Design program in the Southeast without its own fabrication lab, the College of Human Environmental Sciences invites you to contribute towards this year's Passion Project: the FabLab.
The opportunities that it would provide for our students are endless. The FabLab would be structured as an open environment for material-based learning and research through additive and subtractive processes. Various materials, such as foam, wood, metal, plastics, composite and smart materials, could be investigated. Students and faculty alike could even use the FabLab to produce scale models of interiors or buildings, prototypes of furniture, light fixtures, and much more.
In support of these pursuits, the FabLab would house the latest in digital fabrication technology, such as laser cutters, large format and precision CNC milling machines, 3D printers and scanners, and a wide range of traditional wood and metal shop equipment and the associated software.
We anticipate a cost of $10,000 for the first machines acquired. 3D printers have come down in price and can be purchased for $200-300 each. A professional glowforge laser that precisely cuts, engraves and scores hundreds of different materials is around $6,995.
We want to continue fundraising to add equipment and, ultimately, a lab manager to oversee the lab and equipment.
If you wish to support the College of Human Environmental Sciences in a different way, consider making a gift to the HES Capstone Fund by going to bamablitz.ua.edu/hescf.
