Inspiring Young Engineers,
Inventors, Artists, and Entrepreneurs

Explore Fab Lab

What is Fab Lab?

The CSUDH Mobile Fab Lab project is at the forefront of innovative STEM education.

Our fleet of 4 mobile fabrication laboratories will be used by K-16 students and teachers, pre-service STEM teachers, CSUDH faculty, and community members. We aim to provide participants with tangible applications of STEM to access and tackle real-world problems; teach students to learn by making and doing while creating opportunities for them to develop 21st century skills through project-based learning; promote equity within the Southern California region; and be a model for sustainable innovation in K-16 STEM education. The project will bring STEM into classrooms and communities by providing participants with access to fabrication equipment such as 3D printers, laser cutters, vinyl cutters, CNC mills, 3D modeling software, an electronics workbench, and a suite of other tools that will allow anyone to create almost everything. The CSUDH Mobile Fab Labs will inspire and create young engineers, inventors, artists, and entrepreneurs!

Our on campus Fab Lab will be a state-of-the-art facility equipped with all of the best and latest fabrication equipment. CSUDH students and faculty will be able to work together in the active STEM lab classrooms as well as the fabrication space. Rapid prototyping will be a breeze! This stationary Fab Lab will encourage collaboration, entrepreneurship, and creativity. It will be located on the first floor of the new science building.

1 million

By 2020, more than one million new STEM-related jobs could go unfulfilled (U.S. Department of Labor).

65%

65 percent of all jobs will require postsecondary education beyond high school (Center on Education and the Workforce).

26%

On average, STEM professionals earn 26 percent more than those in non-STEM jobs (U.S. Department of Commerce).
Background

Fab Labs in the Classroom

The CSUDH Mobile Fab Lab is a game-changer for STEM education. Not only does the specialized fabrication equipment give teachers and students a chance to explore STEM concepts in new and innovative ways, it also leverages art and design aspects to teach learners about the engineering design process. Using these machines to design a roller coaster, for example, allows students to use computer-aided design software to draw and visualize their product in three dimensions. Students can then take their 3D design and turn it into an actual object that can be quickly constructed, tested, and redesigned.

Students learn about the associated computer software, the iterative engineering process, the math and science concepts, and the mechanics behind the fabrication equipment all while engaging in curricula designed specifically for use with the CSUDH Mobile Fab Lab. It’s interdisciplinary, it’s fun, and you will find yourself fantasizing about the infinite possibilities. What would you create if someone told you that you could make anything you wanted?

Tools and Equipment

The CSUDH Fab Lab has a variety of innovative equipment that is currently expanding. We hope to provide the most modern equipment for students to learn and expand their knowledge. While utilizing the equipment students learn about its operation. Below you can find the most current equipment in our Fab Lab.

  • Carvey CNC Router

    Carvey CNC Router


    In the 3D carving process, a computer-automated machine uses various drill bits to hollow out various blocks or sheet materials like wood, acrylic, wax, plastic, and foam.

  • Formech 450

    Formech 450


    Vacuum forming machines use a vacuum to force sheets of heated plastic to take the shape of a mold. Thermoplastic sheets can be molded into almost any shape around wood, foam, wax, acrylics, or metals.

  • Epilog Zing Laser Cutter

    Epilog Zing Laser Cutter


    Laser cutting technology uses a computer-controlled high-powered laser beam to quickly cut or engrave flat-sheet materials such as cardboard, wood, acrylics, plastics, leather, glass, metal, and fabric.

  • Dremel 3D40

    Dremel 3D40


    3D printing, also known as additive manufacturing, refers to a process in which a digital model is turned into a 3-dimensional object by adding material to a platform layer by layer.

  • Brother Scan N Cut 2

    Brother Scan N Cut 2


    Vinyl cutters are computer-controlled machines that use a blade to precisely cut shapes from materials like vinyl, fabric, leather, paper, or foil.

Gallery

Partners