Walk into room A212 at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts and it’s hard to know where to look first. One side of the room, known as the Digital Fabrication Studio, hums with rows of 3D printers, churning out all types of different objects. Across the room, a large laser engraver etches designs into wood, acrylic and other colored materials. While the machines may seem daunting to newcomers, two seniors, Miguel Caba and Yaqi Cai, are aiming to change that with their newly launched Digital Fabrication Club.
The idea for the club grew from their own experiences — they both had been experimenting with machines at the Digital Fabrication Studio for a long time. “We were interested in creating a space where people could take what they knew about the machines and do weird things with them, … like find new ways to interact with the tools,” Cai said.
Both Cai and Caba were introduced to the Digital Fabrication Studio as first-years through mutual friends and a former studio manager. The studio, which aims to help integrate digital technology into student’s art practices, offers access to multiple laser printers, vinyl cutters, scanners and 3D printers. As newcomers, they were encouraged to experiment with leftover material scraps, a low-stakes introduction that allowed them to explore the machines more freely. Drawing on those early moments, one of the club’s main goals is to offer the resources for further experimentation and multifaceted uses of the machines.
“Costs [of material] can be a barrier to entry. With the money that the club gets, we’re able to buy materials that people can use,” Caba said. These materials can be used by students in the physical demos that the Digital Fabrication Club holds every other week, of which there have been three so far.
Their first meeting focused on mixing laser cutting with painting. “We made keychains for our first meeting. We made little rulers with measurements and people’s designs on acrylic,” Caba explained. “We taught people how to use the laser and … showed them how to paint on acrylic, which is something people don’t often do. They usually just cut shapes out of the acrylic and that’s it. But we wanted to encourage more interdisciplinary projects with the machines.”
In a recent demo, the club highlighted sustainability by showing how students can recycle and use materials that they already have at home. Students brought in old plastic bottles, which were transformed into 3D printing filament to use to print clay cutters from drawn-out silhouettes.
“The point of the club is it is really hands on. Our demos involve people leaving with things and going through the steps on their own, but in a way that’s guided. It’s less formal than a class, but has similar content and a lower barrier to entry, because you're learning from your peers,” Cai said.
Beyond the demos, Cai and Caba see the club as a way to build a larger network of collaboration across disciplines. “We were sort of filling a gap that we thought we saw at SMFA where not a lot of people were teaching how to use the machines,” Caba said. “There’s only one class dedicated to [the Digital Fabrication Studio] and oftentimes, it’s just a group activity that people have in other classes where they learn … very basic uses of the machines. … We didn’t think that people were experimenting enough.”
Their efforts have already drawn a notable amount of attention from faculty and peers alike. According to Cai, the club has received support from faculty who are interested in incorporating the Digital Fabrication Studio into their classes. Collaborations with other SMFA groups, such as the Clay Club, are also in the works for future demos. Both Caba and Cai hope that this growing visibility will prompt the SMFA administration to invest more in the studio.
“It would be nice if we could get more attention from [the administration] at SMFA,” Caba said. “Another problem in the DFS is that they’re hesitant about spending money on … upgrades to the machines, or new machines, [which] would be really helpful for students. So maybe if they see the things that we’re doing with [them], they’ll be more open to investing into both the physical machines and the teaching [of them].”
Cai echoed the sentiment, saying that increased support could also address the cost barrier, as SMFA students have to purchase their own material for usage in the studio. “If you’re learning a technology that you don’t understand, it is kind of nice to not have to pay to see what it looks like if you were to try it out,” Cai said. “Why isn’t it free at the SMFA?”
Ultimately, the heart of Digital Fabrication Club lies in making the studio a more approachable space for students. “Experimentation can look different depending on your skill level with the machines,” Caba said. “Just playing with a 3D printer when you haven’t really done that ever is experimentation to the individual. Even if we have our own visions of how people use the machines between mediums, we just want people to use the machines and enjoy using them.”
