After having assembled an Open Source 3D printer and a CNC milling machine, we have had the chance to finally build our own Laser Cutter in November. Thanks to a workshop organized by Fab City Hamburg e.V., we managed to reproduce the famous Fabulaser, which was designed by Daniel Ingrassia, as a DIY Assembly Kit.
During this 5 days workshop, Florian, Piet, Werner and Sascha were able, not only to build the machine itself, but also to learn about open source hardware and related knowledge. This includes how to design 2D and 3D objects, and how to get the best results of laser cutting and engraving in different materials.
After the successful assembly, calibration and testing performed in Helmut Schmidt University, the Fabulaser was transported and installed in HoFaLab. In a separate room, we can benefit from the specific air ventilation, as well as special filtering, ensuring enhanced safety when using the machine.
We have been cutting and engraving all kinds of objects since then, gathering precious experience on how to parameter the laser cutter in order to get the best results. We are just so happy to now own this incredible tool, which has so much potential!
We have also participated in a Design Thinking Workshop called “Maker Island” in December. It was organized in Bürgerhaus, together with Q8 Wilhelmsburg and the “Jungen Tüftler*innen” from Berlin. The idea was to display in an open laboratory, what is possible with digital technologies, in order to develop the digital offer in Wilhelmsburg. Check the dedicated website, which contains a lot of exciting content. To be noted that Werner and Andre helped to produce the awesome interactive display window used to promote the event in the district!
Some very interesting results were produced by the participants from the local community, including the “Digitale Community-Advertising Pillar“. This great idea was competing in the Fab City Hamburg “Maker Challenge” a few weeks later, and even ended up winning the contest. This means a full scale prototype will now be built. We can’t wait to see how this will look in reality!
Furthermore, we have launched in May a new event called “Maker – Slam”. In this HoFaLab serie, we want to present regularly inspiring project ideas or techniques from the Makerspace world. The session is available in hybrid mode: presence and online. The first topic covered BlocksCAD, where Werner presented how this software allows to create 3D models in a very simple way.
We have even created our own HoFaLab Instagram account, in order to promote the upcoming event. So check it out and stay tuned, for the next Maker – Slam sessions 🙂
