About Digital Fabrication Showcase 2023

Digital Fabrication Showcase is an annual show where we present projects made with or in Aalto Fablab, Aalto Studios. It started in 2021 with the 10th anniversary of Aalto Fablab and proved to be a great platform to show the variety of ideas circulating at Aalto University.

Most of the 2023 showcase works are final projects of the Fab Academy and Digital Fabrication courses (AXM-E7009, AXM-E7010, AXM-E7011). Still, a fab lab is open to all departments of Aalto University, and a variety of different projects emerge from other contexts.

You are welcome to join the exhibition opening on 6 November at 13:00 in Väre main lobby. The show will be open until 16 November 2023. Also make sure you join the special workshop!

Workshop: SvgPcb (Design PCBs With JavaScript in Your Browser)

This open-source in-browser editor lets you design Printed Circuit Boards (PCBs) from using JavaScript. Think of p5.js but getting a real tangible circuit board out from the process. The result is an SVG that can be exported to variety of formats, such as the Gerber format used in the PCB manufacturing industry. Describing the board as code clearly shows you the relation between components and wires. It also lets you generate more complex circuits based on a set of rules (e.g., for creating an array or enabling optional components).

SvgPcb is about to revolutionize the realm of PCB design by leveraging the power of JavaScript, allowing users to design and manipulate circuit boards programmatically. A significant advantage of this approach is its compatibility with version control systems like Git. When PCB designs are expressed as code, they benefit from all the versioning, branching, and collaborative features of modern VCS platforms. This not only simplifies tracking changes and iterative development but also facilitates team collaborations and merges, making the PCB design process more fluid and integrated with modern development workflows.

In this workshop we will learn to use SvgPcb to create beautiful and functional circuit boards using JavaScript and SvgPcb software. You should have access to a computer for use during the workshop. No software needs to be installed, SvgPcb works in a web browser.

Schedule

Mon 6 Nov (15:15–17:00):
Introduction to SvgPcb by Leo McElroy at Otakaari 1, U135a U7 PWC
Leo (author of SvgPcb) is going to introduce the basics of SvgPcb and will show how to create a circuit board design with it from scratch. You will be encouraged to do the same on your computer.

Wed 8 Nov (10:00–16:00):
Producing PCBs at the Aalto Fablab
We will cover the PCB production workflow at the Aalto Fablab and use PCB milling to make circuit boards that you designed in SvgPcb. This workshop will also give you the permit to book and use the SRM-20 milling machine for you to be able to make your own PCBs in the future. You will produce a fully functional circuit board during this workshop.