Taking production to the people

Science and technology minister Naledi Pandor unveiled a mobile fabrication laboratory (FabLab) at National Science Week.

“The DST [Department of Science and Technology] has established the Technology Innovation Agency to assist with product commercialisation in our country. New ideas often come from creative and innovative young minds. This is what our Youth into Science Strategy is for,” says Pandor.

As part of this strategy a mobile FabLab was unveiled. Pandor explains that the FabLab is a small-scale version of a modern production facility. To provide more people with access, the DST is piloting a mobile FabLab, with a sample of the facilities available in a full FabLab.

“While a FabLab cannot be used to manufacture thousands of assembly-line products, it can be used to build prototypes ranging from arts and crafts to engineering and architecture models.”

A FabLab consists of a suite of off-the-shelf, industrial grade, digital fabrication tools, an electronics workbench, seven computers, programming tools, and is supported by open source design software, says the FabLab Foundation at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), which hosts one FabLab.

The design or drawing open source software is used to create designs that are then automatically manufactured by an appropriate cutting, milling or forming machine, adds Pandor.

“Electronic circuit boards can also be designed and fabricated. It also provides access to prototyping tools that could, among many other things, enhance the quality of learners' projects presented to science expos and related competitions.”

The crosscutting nature of the fabrication technologies lends itself to basic science, engineering and technology (SET) education, which is needed to stimulate the “can make” attitude among the youth, especially those still affected by the digital divide, says the CSIR.

“Access to the FabLab gives any community a head start in basic engineering and design technologies, and an opportunity to experiment and learn from others while being creative and innovative.

“We hope that the mobile FabLab will encourage more partners to come on board and support the roll-out of hundreds of FabLabs in South Africa,” says Pandor.

The CSIR says with emerging technologies and industries, people and places with resources are the first to reap the intellectual and financial benefits of their development.

“The socio-economic gap widens daily and closing the gap is essential to the general economic prosperity of a society. In order to bridge this gap, the FabLab Steering Committee embarked on a strategy to establish and pilot the very first South African Mobile FabLab.”

The FabLab on wheels is a digital fabrication platform for technical education and invention, which can address inequalities between rural and urban environments, says the council.

It does this by providing tools; curricular resources for science, technology, engineering and mathematics education; and teacher and inventor support in places typically beyond the geographic or economic reach of urban, hi-tech facilities, according to the CSIR.

“The Mobile FabLab has the capabilities of becoming a universal technical resource on wheels, moving from school to school and community to community,” it adds.

The CSIR says the mobile unit is equipped with a laser cutter for 2D structure fabrication, a milling machine for making electronic circuit boards, and a vinyl cutter for sign making.

“For effective management and roll-out, the Mobile FabLabs will have a base/host FabLab attached to it. These can be existing FabLabs, their host institutions or Community Rural Development Programmes,” says the council.

It adds that these bases will be responsible for arrangement of the visits as well as activity programmes.

In describing a model of how a Mobile FabLab programme could serve interested groups, the CSIR says schools could use it for project-based activities.

It explains that two schools in a target area should be identified and they should have limited or no facilities.

“For frequency and consistency purposes, bi-weekly residencies at schools will be scheduled (ie, two-week visits per school).”

The council adds that the mobile labs could also be used for exhibitions for awareness purposes, science weeks, open days, technology weeks and national Olympiads and competitions.

The FabLabs can also be used to enable grassroots inventions by providing a platform where communities have access to advanced tools that can help people make products to address local needs, according to the CSIR.

“The environment created in the FabLab is that of peer-to-peer learning, which enables anyone with or without a technical background to learn and have a space to experiment and, as far as possible, make their imagination tangible,” explains the council.

It also says that due to the open nature of the facility, youth and the general public have access to the FabLab. This helps introduce them to the world of science and technology, an environment where most adults had to have a technical professional qualification to earn a right to access and experiment.

The CSIR says the initial concept for the FabLabs included a broad base of potential users. “However, in the time since they have been introduced, it has been recognised that, in South Africa, FabLabs can make a significant contribution to the participation of secondary school learners in technology programmes.”

There are currently six FabLabs in SA, according to the CSIR.