Yale-NUS Fab Lab: a hub for creative expression

While many may be familiar with conventional cameras, not many would have heard of a GIF camera, let alone built one themselves – which was what final year Mathematical, Computational and Statistical Sciences (MCS) student Eunice Loh created with Assistant Professor of Science (Physics) Ben Andrew Olsen.

Together with Asst Prof Olsen, Eunice built a GIF camera using a 3D printer in Yale-NUS College’s Fabrication Studios. (A GIF, short for Graphics Interchange Format, refers to a string of images that form a brief animation.)

The Fabrication Studios at the College, or more fondly called the “Fab Lab”, is a makerspace for students from varied disciplines to explore and build projects using techniques such as woodworking, 3D printing, laser etching, and sewing.

 

Inspired by a Science Skills class that she took with Asst Prof Olsen, Eunice approached him to work on creating a GIF camera. Apart from the 3D printed camera body, the GIF camera included a Raspberry Pi, a small single-board computer which allowed users to customise their own programme.

Eunice described the Fab Lab as an underrated gem. “Getting access to 3D printers amongst other tools gives us a chance to learn countless skills that I believe are so important in life — using the framework of design thinking, learning how to troubleshoot, and how to use the tools you have to create, innovate, and so much more!”

Apart from more technical projects, the Fab Lab also supported students and projects from other diverse disciplines. For example, Arts & Humanities major Au Hei Kiu (Class of 2024) relied on the Fab Lab to develop an art piece for one of her classes.

Hei Kiu conceptualised a renaissance-style gold frame for a painting which explored the idea of a “time-travel” experience in a museum. By cutting plywood into precise dimensions and etching a design on it using laser printing technology, the frame was customised to seamlessly fit a TV screen.

To complete her project, Hei Kiu spent around eight hours daily at the Fab Lab for an entire week. This included long consultations with staff on how to use Adobe Illustrator for her designs and operating the laser printer safely. Because of the intricacies of her art work, multiple prints for the complete etching of the plywood frame were needed.

Hei Kiu shared her art piece at the end-of-semester exhibition-performance with some members of the Fab Lab staff team present. As a token of appreciation, she presented souvenirs to the entire Fab Lab team. “Their support was instrumental in making the seemingly ‘impossible’ idea possible, and I genuinely believe the project’s success wouldn’t have been possible without them,” she shared.

Outside of school projects, the Fab Lab also supported personal and recreational projects, with many students using the facilities to personalise and decorate their residential college suites. Mark Wee (Class of 2024) was one such student who designed and made his own neon light signs – one of them in the shape of a halcyon, which is Yale-NUS College’s mascot.

For his project, Mark started with a rough sketch of his design on Adobe Illustrator before using a laser cutter to materialise his ideas onto acrylic. In order to achieve the glow-in-the-dark neon effect, Mark fitted neon light strips within the groove and wired the work.

Beyond this project in the Fab Lab, Mark hopes to create his very own pair of bespoke carbon fiber fins to use in freediving, which is Mark’s passion.

“Even if you don’t have anything that you want to make in mind yet, I’d highly recommend you visit the Fab Lab,” Mark shared. “You’ll leave with something of your own creation!”