FABLAB
ABOUT THE FABLAB
The Fabrication Lab, or FabLab, is a center for empowering people with tools for making, prototyping, and construction at a range of scales, materials, and techniques. As the staff and students of the FabLab Team, we are dedicated to a creative and inclusive environment through access, training, consultation, and support on a range of analog and digital fabrication tools for UVA students, staff, and faculty. We engage projects and research from all the departments of the School of Architecture, connect to shop and lab partners all over Grounds through the MakerGrounds network, and develop research discovering new materials, tools, and fabrication processes related to the built environment.
The FabLab Team is run by Melissa Goldman, Trevor Kemp, and Andrew Spears — three full-time fabrication experts — and a Crew of undergraduate and graduate teaching assistants, all passionate about making and teaching. The team trains basic and advanced techniques and tools, develops and supports curricula, pushes and publishes research, and maintains a positively enthusiastic environment for investigation and high craft.
Our main FabLab within Campbell Hall was renovated in the summer of 2019 by Pancorbo Arquitectos in which we expanded to over 7500 sq ft of project and shop space housing a number of tools for analog and digital fabrication. This renovation greatly increased our capacity to build full scale prototypes, to push experimental fabrication research, and to expand our fleet of tools. From drop-in spots for model making to academic spaces for fabrication based studios and seminars housed within the Lab each semester, we always have a number of exciting projects happening.
Our spaces and tools are available to UVA students, staff, and faculty through training. Many of our programs within the A School embed these trainings into studios and seminars, and others are through our FabLab Short Courses which we offer each semester. Specialized equipment like our CNC routers, metal 3D printer, clay 3D printer, object and site scanners, CNC embroidery machine, and fleet of Kuka robots are available through consults and Short Courses.
If you would like to gain access in the Lab, want to talk about a project and how to get started, discuss an accommodation for access, or other fabrication related questions, please contact fablab@virginia.edu.
OUR SPACES —
THE OPEN LAB
The Open Lab provides 24/7 access to working space for assembly and small gatherings as well as access to our Universal laser cutters, many of our 3D printing fleet (Stratasys FDM and Formlabs SLA printers) and their post-processing equipment, electronics and soldering equipment, Bernina sewing and embroidery machines, a Formech vacuformer, a Wazer water jet, and a tool wall of hand tools. This allows users to make models and test small prototypes and projects on as flexible of a schedule as one can get.
THE WOODSHOP AND THE ELMALEH CNC LAB
The Woodshop focuses on the analog and digital tools and skills primarily for woodworking processes like cutting, surfacing, jointing, planing, routing, gluing, carving, and other analog techniques. Other materials and techniques, like formwork making and casting are also welcome. The Woodshop is open when staffed with a member of the FabLab Crew and that schedule is updated and posted on the door and on the MakerGrounds website each semester. Within the Woodshop is the Elmaleh CNC Lab, the home of our Onsrud CNC router, a 5’x10’ 3 axis router, perfect for making topographical site models, furniture pieces, formwork, full scale building components, and more. In addition to the indoor space, we open up onto the Workcourt for tools and processes best suited for an outdoor environment.
THE FABLAB STUDIOS
We know that making takes many forms, gets messy, spreads out, and needs to be flexible. Within the FabLab, we have three teaching spaces called the FabLab Studios for classes, projects, and research that are focused on materials and fabrication. Faculty and teaching staff can apply for FabLab Studio space for each semester including the summer. Outfitted with rolling worktables and adjacent to dedicated storage spaces, the Studios can morph throughout the semester as the work needs.
THE GARAGE
Just outside of the FabLab Studios is a larger, flexible space called the Garage. The Garage is set up with tools for the FabLab Studios, FabLab short courses, and other research work that can expand in size and scope as prototypes get built. It is the home of our fleet of Kuka industrial robotic arms with a 6-10kg payload for teaching and research, a Potterbot clay 3D printer, a Desktop Metal 3D Printer for steel, and other process specific tools.
MILTON AIRFIELD
About 20 minutes from Campbell Hall is the Milton Airfield, an interdisciplinary satellite experimentation site for classes to design and test on 172 acres of land with frontage on the Rivanna River. Among many programs, the site has a historic airplane hangar which houses a woodshop, research project labs, and gathering spaces shared by multiple groups on Grounds, including our Department of Landscape Architecture’s Milton LandLab. One of the runways is maintained by the Rivanna Radio Control Club, and is available for model airplane or drone flights. The land is an amazing mix of grassland meadow, forest, and riparian conditions, open for research and experimentation.
If you are interested in starting projects at Milton or going for a visit, contact fablab@virginia.edu and the Milton Operations Team at miltonairfield@virginia.edu for more information about access and support.