Fab Lab Rwanda · Group work
Wildcard Week
Wildcard work depends on the process each student selects. Our shared preparation method is to identify what is new in that process, establish its operating requirements and make the digital workflow reproducible.
Selecting a process
The assignment calls for a digital design/fabrication or computation process that has not already been covered in another assignment. We will compare a proposed workflow with earlier work before treating it as a wildcard activity.
The plotter's ordinary FDM printing and flat CNC routing are part of familiar fabrication workflows. Reusing those operations alone does not explain a new wildcard process. A proposed new operation should identify its distinct technique, requirements and transferable digital files.
Process planning
Once a process is chosen, we will identify the machine or computation tools, materials where relevant, software and input/output formats. The design needs a clear connection to the manufacturing or computational steps.
A small trial can establish the relevant limitation before the final piece. The record should retain the parameters, result and change made after that trial. A digital process does not always need a physical object, but it must be transferable and repeatable.
If the process is composites
For composites, the group must make test coupons. We will identify the actual fiber, matrix, layup and process, read the product safety and technical sheets, and define a controlled comparison. The coupon labels should link to the layup, batch, cure conditions and the observation or test used.
Comparing coupons requires a stated basis such as consistent geometry and a controlled layup change. Unspecified bending by hand cannot establish a numerical material strength.
Reproducibility and individual records
The final record should connect editable design files and process instructions to the actual result. It should explain what was tried, what changed and why the workflow differs from earlier assignments.
This page supplies the shared planning method. It does not assign an unconfirmed process to the group or replace a student's record of their own selected work.