2015 MAKER FAIRE

The San Mateo MakerFaire
The Diablo Valley College Architecture and Engineering Department presented a variety of projects and research findings from courses in digital modeling, analysis, and fabrication at the Tenth Annual Bay Area Maker Faire in May.

The principle project this year was called The Diablo Valley College Pavilion, which was located inside the main exhibit hall at the Maker Faire. It was designed to showcase recent projects exploring digital modeling and fabrication as well as machine shop and industrial design programs offered at DVC. 

Project parameters
The pavilion featured an eight-foot by eight-foot panel that was modeled using a computer-generated sequence of steps and sent to a computer-controlled router. The Pavilion was fabricated using high-quality birch plywood and featured projects that used computer-generated molds for ceramics, 3D printing for industrial design, and machining methods for fabricating a variety of tools and advanced engineering projects.

The design was coordinated by Daniel Abbott, chair of the DVC Architecture and Engineering Department; and constructed by Charlie Hopper, student volunteer; Bob Logan, technician and cabinetmaker at DVC; and Tony Ortiz, student and woodshop technician at DVC. 

Designers and participants
Architecture student Rebecca Johnson worked with faculty member Qi Zhu to develop the software for the three-dimensional panel using Grasshopper, Rhinoceros 3D and RhinoCAM from previous work done by DVC faculty member Tatjana Polyakova. Polyakova first developed the concept and methods for three-dimensional modeling that used the campus computer numerical control (CNC) router for milling polyurethane foam panels.

Interdisciplinary work
There were several other projects by DVC showcased at the Maker Faire in San Mateo. 

Collaborative ceramic works by Juan Santiago, art faculty, and Chi Zhu, architecture faculty, were on display this year. These projects in ceramics used three-dimensional modeling and computer-controlled mold making for slip casting.

Adjunct faculty member Jeffery Smith presented work from DVC’s emerging Industrial and Product Design program using 3D printing of projects done in coordination with Brita water filters and filtration systems. 

Steven Johnson, adjunct faculty, also helped coordinate and deliver a presentation on machine technology and mTECH projects.

Interactive structures
DVC students Bachir Benkirane, Carlos Lozano, Francois Sabbio, Joseph Beltran and Cole Sicora-Friesen displayed their project, Tempos, from the Cal Poly Design Village 2015 competition at the Maker Faire. Tempos featured computer routed panels modeled and fabricated using DVC’s new technological lab facilities and equipment funded by the National Science Foundation. Arduino microprocessors were used to create a dramatic nighttime light show and featured hundreds of LEDs, which illuminated in sequences in response to motion and sound.

Participants from DVC used their presence at the Maker Faire to distribute 4000 flyers, designed by Hedy Lemus-Bird and April Datu, about course offerings at DVC.

This article originally appeared in the DVC news. For more information and the original source article, click here