Cool Links

Here are some interesting links you might find... well... Interesting!

The Fab foundation is the parent organization that makes up the Fab Lab network. Any true Fab Lab will follow to their vision and direction.

Dr. Neil Gershenfeld - Father of the Fab Lab

The video below is of Dr. Neil Gershenfeld who is a professor at MIT and the director of MIT's Center for Bits and Atoms. He is considered to be the father of Fab Lab's. In this video, he talks about what Fab Lab's are and how the idea started.

https://www.ted.com/talks/neil_gershenfeld_on_fab_labs?language=en

MIT Center for Bits and Atoms

This link goes directly to MIT's Center for Bits and Atoms, the place that Fab Lab's started.

The Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC) is an integral portion to the development and expansion of Fab Labs across the State of Wisconsin. Their mission as stated on their website is:

"WEDC leads economic development efforts for the state by providing resources, operational support and financial assistance to companies, partners and communities in Wisconsin. Working with more than 600 partners across the state, including regional economic development organizations, academic institutions and industry clusters, WEDC develops and delivers solutions that help businesses, communities and people maximize their potential In Wisconsin^®. "

WEDC collaborated with the University of Wisconsin-Stout to develop this evolving online community, the WiFAB Cooperative (WiFAB). At its heart, WiFAB is about people, connecting and supporting a network of Wisconsin’s digital fabrication laboratories in formal and informal learning environments. As a cooperative, we work together with the shared goal of supporting PK-12 educators focused on integrating fab lab tools in the delivery of curricula via the engineering design process.

Ultimately, WiFAB aims to advance educator efforts to amplify the intellectual and technical skills required to fuel Wisconsin’s innovation-based economy by providing a space to disseminate relevant curricula, champion best practices, address common challenges, and facilitate inter-lab communication.

The Friends of Wabeno is a community development initiative located here in Wabeno that we are partnering with. Their goal is to help expand local businesses, provide town attractions, organize community events, revitalize the downtown, and help the school district.

Onshape is a free online 3-D modeling software that is entirely web-based. So if you are looking for a free program where you can do some rather basic design work at home, this would be a good and simple program to use. However, be mindful that it does not have the same level of functionality as Solidworks and one cannot modify an Onshape model with a Solidworks model and vise versa.