KOCHI:Hovering over the CNC mill at Fablabs in Kochi, Tanvir is trying to bring his clock-cum-show piece to fruition. A mechanical engineer by profession, the Kozhikode-native does not think there are many places in Kerala where he could use the CNC mill to build the clock. “Fablabs offers access to machines which are not found everywhere,” he says. Tanvir had designed the clock on CADD and fed it to the machine, which would do the carving and cutting on the plywood he is working on, and, to perfection.
Tanvir has enrolled in the Fab Academy, a six month course, that would familiarise him with the machines that can do 3D printing, cutting and moulding among others. Fablab Kerala, a result of the collaboration between Kerala Startup Mission (KSUM) and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), was set up to provide high performance machines and tools for the innovators and learners. The two Fablabs in the state - at Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram - are equipped with laser cutters, CNC mills, 3D printers, mini NC mills, vinyl plotters and sand blasters apart from tools, electronic components and computers to help them see their designs through. Close to 180 colleges participate in the Fablabs training and more than 25,000 students have already been trained directly at the labs till date.
Creative workshops like Fablab assume importance at a time when manufacturing is considered the next frontier for development for the country. The governments and education experts are unanimous in their call to encourage creative thought among students which in turn could pave the way for innovation. However, not many strides in innovation can happen unless students are exposed to the latest in technology and lay their hands on the newest machines.
It is not just the aspiring engineer who benefits from Fablabs. The people behind the initiative say it is ‘a place to play, to create, to learn, to mentor, to invent’. Any person with a design for an object can use the facilities at the lab to build it. In these days of DIY (do it yourself) products, the facilities at the Fablabs are a boon to the technically-inclined. In order to make use of the facilities at the labs, a person can go to their website, select a time slot when the machines are free and get their design made at the specified time. Added to the attraction is the cheap charges for using the machines which starts from Rs 35.
However, the technicians at Fablab say that at times the expectations of the people are too high. The equipment at the lab are best suited to make models and not highly durable products.
Fab labs would open up a whole new world of innovation and problem solving to people from all walks of life and breathe a new life to the doemant manufacturng sector.