Fabricating the Future

4-H students in Arizona are getting hands-on lessons in wide-format printing, as well as other digital fabrication methods, thanks to the Blue Ridge High School/University of Arizona 4-H Fab Lab, which opened in January 2018. The Fab Lab features various digital fabrication machines, including Roland’s MDX-40A milling machine, LEF-12 flatbed UV printer, SP-300i wide-format printer/cutter, and GS-24 desktop vinyl cutter.

Funded by the University of Arizona, the Fab Lab is an open-source, open-door K-12 digital fabrication facility geared toward providing real-world education of STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math) students. Students and community members have access to digital design tools, electrical platforms, hardware, software, coding, Roland’s , and training opportunities to create projects. The Fab Lab concept was launched by MIT’s Fab Foundation. Similar facilities exist throughout the US, but the Arizona facility is the first 4-H Foundation-sponsored Fab Lab.