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Fab Academy 2014

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I'm currently considering three options for my final project. I've made some sketches on paper, but really nothing worth uploading here (and I don't have access to a scanner at the moment while I am in Cairo), so for the time being I will just have a written description. I'm interested in creating a better desk, a home automation system, or an indoor aquaponics setup.

INDOOR AQUAPONICS
I haven't researched this much yet, but it seems like it could be a cool fab-esque final project. My wife and I are hoping to move into a new house soon, and she and one of our close friends/roommates are very involved in local farming. I think it would be great to expand the fab ethic of making almost anything to include making food indoors in New England when it's difficult to grow outside.

A BETTER DESK
Ever since I was a teenager I have been fascinated with building the ideal workspace. Several years ago I made a desk using a hollow door and a file cabinet. I bought some hollow desk legs from IKEA, used a dremel to cut a section in the back of one and to cut pathways for cables through the door and made a very neat cable management system built into the desk. I also snuck in a power cable for a lamp from my grandfather with a dimmer built into the desk and a USB hub for charging devices and connecting to my computer. It was a really fun low cost weekend project, but I think making a desk from the ground up could be a good way for me to get the desk I've always dreamed of and integrate more of the systems I hope to learn about.

design parameters

Here are some links to sources of inspiration/reference designs with details:
Primary Inspiration - A pneumatic desk with a desktop bed and pull up monitors. This is the structural inspiration for my desk project. I frequently need a lot of screen real estate, but I also value having a nice empty desk to work on. I'm less interested in the bed on top, but incorporating a clever pneumatic system like this would be fulfilling a lifelong dream of building the ultimate desk.

RON RESCH STUFF made a bunch of models experimented with 3D printed holder experimented with paper model and tape emailed bob gray made universal joint experimenting with 3D printed rack and pinion laser cut 3D rack and pinion followed this tutorial to get Inkscape working with gears (7th post): https://answers.launchpad.net/inkscape/+question/194132 laser cut rack and pinion used gear extension for gear cut out one tooth, then did tiled clone for rack





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