pictureBogdan Ganea (or the TIC teacher, as he calls himself) is a technical expert  in the educational Solidarity FabLab created by Terre des hommes Romania Foundation to the benefit of  certain categories of young people in Târgu Ocna. His purpose is to develop Bacău county teenagers’ entrepreneurial skills (technical, digital and IT) , and prepare them to enter the job  market. Thus, Bogdan will initiate in the digital world  high school pupils, students from Targu Ocna Technological College and neighbour schools, unemployed and/or  youth registered in the  „Second Chance” programme, youth from Targu Ocna Detention Centre, teachers from Targu Ocna Technological College and neighbour schools (from Târgu Ocna, Onești, Oituz cities), local community leaders.

Solidarity FabLab Târgu Ocna project is implemented by Terre des hommes Foundation in partnership with Orange Foundation, and Bogdan was glad to answer our questions regarding the usefulness of a FabLab (Fabrication Laboratory):

- What does a FabLab mean, in every body’s language, and what is its purpose?

A FabLab is a creative space. In fact, it is a digital fabrication laboratory. You come up with a product idea and you turn it  into reality with a large range of advanced digital machines, such as 3D printers, CNC (computer numerical control) processing machines, Laser engraving devices, 3D scanners, etc.

A FabLab is based on a simple idea: create a working space, skills, technology and materials in order to make things cheap and fast, anywhere in the world. And make all this available to anybody who wants to create something new and individualised.

- How does a FabLab course begin, with what type of information?

The course begins with your first question: What does a FabLab mean?, and a review of  the available equipment in the FabLab. Then, there are specific courses/ modules for each type of equipment. But, in principle, after a brief presentation, you realise that  3D printing and CNC processing would not be possible without a 3D model of the object. Therefore, you start to learn 3D modelling or look for models in the Internet data bases.

- Why is this Târgu Ocna Solidarity FabLab different from others?

Most FabLabs are created for entrepreneurship. This one is for educational purposes.  We want to produce a “wow” effect on teenagers, make them wish to discover more, specifically in the 3D printing technology field. Unlike traditional school education, here it is essential to try and fail: that ”trial and error” approach. We must let the teenagers play. They couldn’t make it? It’s fine, we try another approach and learn from mistakes.

- What type of objects can be produced in a FabLab and how fast?

We can make almost any plastic part with 3D printers: either we design it on computer, scan an existing part or use the free 3D model databases on the internet. We can make toys, we can build models – laboratory models for various fields of study (mechanics, biology, chemistry, mathematics, physics, geography, etc.).

Here are some examples we would like to try: a flower pot with automatic watering, a telephone sound amplifier stand, an office cable organiser, personalised souvenirs, topographic maps...  Imagination is the limit.

With embroidery machines we can customise and create clothes or accessories, for instance custom printed masks, as they are in fashion now. With  scanner and cut-plotter we can make a range of objects from labels, electronic circuits with stickers, pop-up photo albums, various decorations up to custom clothing templates. The advantage of the equipment is that we can draw anything by hand, scan and cut automatically on any type of material.

- What are the production costs, how much do the materials cost?

We use various materials. In general, the purpose of a FabLab is to produce cheap objects. For  example, with 1 kg of filament we can produce 47 gear bearings. This means a cost per bearing  of  approx. 2.12 lei (0.4 euro) , if we use PLA (plastic) or PETG (polyester). Or if we want to make a cake mould, with 1kg of filament we can produce 40 moulds with a production  cost of  2.5 lei (0.5 euro). However, 3D printing is not suitable for large series. It is perfect for prototyping, but execution time can be costly.

- This laboratory equipment, where would it be used usually, in what type of industries?

There is a large range of fields: advertising, textile industry, auto parts industry, medicine and dentistry, aeronautics, entertainment, architecture, art/carving/design, fashion, food industry, education.

The objects we can print in Solidarity FabLab are very diverse and funny: cookie cutter, flexible mechanisms that transmit force and movement through elastic deformation of the body, mechanical iris without joints, one-piece printed bearing with gears, device for fastening a milling cutter on a printer, robots that  draw on spherical or ellipsoidal surfaces, Easter eggs, „textile” material made of plastic, personalised souvenirs, etc.

- What is the minimum knowledge someone should have in order to work with this equipment?

It is important to be familiar with the computer. You don’t need to be an expert but you have to know how to organise folders and files, where to find them, to dare to press a button just to see what happens. You need to be relaxed, you should know you cannot break a computer by pressing a button. And i am telling this from my experience with secondary school and high school children.

Also, the teenagers should be skilful with their hands, although it is not essential. They should like to hold tools/ equipments and use them. At a certain point, the equipments will need maintenance. It would be recommendable for them to try to repair the equipment, under    teacher’s guidance. This way they will learn faster.

 

Bogdan Ganea was a lecturer at the Engineering Faculty in Bacău, but in the last 5 years he chose to work as an ITC teacher (information technology and communications). In his spare time he makes wooden kayaks and he is passionate about 3D; he even built a 3D printer by mounting parts on a wooden chassis.

Solidarity FabLab Târgu Ocna project develops in the period 2021-2023 and is funded by  Orange Foundation. Total funding granted by Orange Group and Orange Romania Foundation amounts to 53 213 euro.

Orange Foundation is a not-for-profit organisation which participates into community life by developing philanthropy projects that are meant to make positive changes in disadvantaged people’s life. Since 2012, Orange Foundation has invested over 6 million euro in programmes for  development of vulnerable communities and integration of disadvantaged persons by promoting and  implementing technology and digital methods in education, cultural and social inclusion  projects. For details, please visit www.fundatiaorange.ro

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