The Digital Fabrication Laboratory, together with the Architecture and Interior Design Workshops, is part of the facilities for model and prototype construction at the Faculty of Architecture and Design. Here, students, staff and teachers receive professional support for the preparation and production of working, presentation and exhibition models in the fields of interior design, architecture and urban planning. Various CNC-controlled precision machines can be used for cutting or additive manufacturing of components from different materials. Data can be checked, corrected and put into production at flexible BYOD workstations. In this way, the lab enables a closed digital process chain to support the design process from the idea to the 1:1 prototype.
There is a charge for using the equipment in the lab. Payment is exclusively cashless with the student ID card at the helpdesk in the lab. Before payment, the student card must be topped up at the top-up counter (e.g. in front of the cafeteria in Building 1 or in the university canteen) or via Autoload with PayPal.
Room
Building 4, 4/U1.10
Opening hours
Monday to Friday 01:00 to 05:00 p.m.
Management
Prof. Dipl.-Ing. Andreas Kretzer
Collaboration
Dipl.-Des. (FH) Holger Bitterberg
Laser cutters enable non-contact machining cutting and engraving of various model making materials. The laser beam from a fixed CO² laser tube is directed in the X and Y directions via two mirrors and focused on a point with a lens. With high processing speed, workpieces can be produced from very thin material without fixation in high detail for architectural model making.
Machines and Workspaces
Currently, the following laser cutting systems are operated in the Digital Fabrication Laboratory of Faculty A:
• Epilog Fusion Pro 48 with 80 watt CO² laser source, working area: max. 1200 x 900 mm
• Trotec 8007 Speedy C25 with 25 watt CO² laser source, working area: max. 700 x 400 mm
• Mr Beam II dreamcut [s] with 5 watt diode laser, working area: max. 500 x 390 mm.
Materials
A basic range of suitable materials (maximum material thickness: 6 mm) is available in the laboratory and can be purchased on site (material prices according to current notice board).
• Cutting and / or engraving: paper (PP), gray cardboard (GK), Finnboard (FP), MDF, wood materials (HZ), Plexiglas GS (PX), Vivak (VV), leather (LD), cork (KO) • Engraving: metals with coating (MT), glass (GL), ceramics (KR)
Data
• vector file in landscape format
• file format DXF or DWG as 2D drawing (no 3D content!)
Costs
Billing according to time: per 15 minutes or part thereof € 5, i.e. € 20 per hour
Appointment allocation
Until our new booking system is set up in the course of the summer semester, appointments can be made a maximum of 2 weeks in advance and exclusively by email to laser(at)hft-stuttgart.de. A prerequisite for making an appointment is sending correct laser files to this email address. Failure to do so will result in no appointment being scheduled. Students pay for the assignment at the help desk and are usually present in the lab while the assignment is being processed.
Important notes for file creation and naming
• Export in old DXF/DWG version (2007)
• Format of the drawing must correspond exactly to the plate size to be cut (drawing elements not 1:1, but scaled to the desired scale!).
• All cutting data must be arranged within a black frame with the desired plate size.
• Apart from the frame, the file may only contain drawing data that is also to be lasered.
• Geometric shapes must be arranged with a safety distance of at least 10 mm to the frame and at least 1 mm to each other.
• Cutting and engraving data must each be created and colored as separate layers. Layers must be named accordingly: "Cut" layer = red lines, "Engrave" layer = yellow lines
• All line information as hairline (line width 0.001pt). The file must not contain any double lines. For the production of cleanly cut components, closed shapes or polygonal lines must be ensured.
• Syntax file name: "date-name-first-name-material-thickness". Example: Maria Musterfrau sends laser data in DXF format for 2 mm gray cardboard with the file name "231107_Musterfrau_Maria_GK_2mm.dxf" (further material abbreviations under "Materials") on 7.11.2023.
3D printing, or additive manufacturing, is a broad term for manufacturing processes in which material is deposited layer by layer to create three-dimensional workpieces. The Digital Manufacturing Lab has printers that use fused deposition modeling (FDM) technology. In this process, a wire-shaped material (filament) is fed through a heated nozzle, melted and applied to a building platform or a previously printed layer, where it solidifies again.
Machines and build spaces
Currently, the following 3D printers are operated in the Digital Fabrication Lab of Faculty:
• A: 2 x Ultimaker 2 Extended+, build space: max: 200 x 200 x 300 mm
• 1 x Ultimaker 3 Extended, build space: max: 200 x 200 x 300 mm
• 4 x Prusa Mini+, build space: max: 180 x 180 x 180 mm.
Materials
A basic assortment of filament is available in the lab. Special materials or colors have to be brought by yourself.
Data
• 3D object as STL file (binary)
Important notes for the creation of the files
• 3D object must have a closed outer shell. - individual elements of the object must not be thinner than 2mm.
• Further notes and tutorial videos: https: //moodle.hft-stuttgart.de/course/view.php?id=2881
Costs
are charged according to the weight of the material used. If you bring your own suitable filament, the use of the 3D printer is free of charge.
Appointments
Until our new booking system is set up during the summer semester, appointments can be made directly with lab staff.
With the hot wire machine, a tensioned and computer-controlled hot wire is moved in X, Y and Z axes through the material to be processed. By melting, two-dimensional contours can thus be cut from blocks of thermoplastics, such as Styrofoam, and shaped into the desired form.
Machines and Construction Spaces
Currently, the following CNC Styrocutter is operated in the Digital Fabrication Laboratory of Faculty A:
• CUT1000S PRO RTR, installation space: max. 1000 x 1000 x 1000 mm.
Materials
Styrofoam is available in the lab and can be purchased on site.
Data
file format DXF or DWG as 2D drawing (no 3D content!)
Important notes for the creation of the files
• Export in old DXF/DWG version (2007)
• Format of the drawing must correspond exactly to the desired workpiece size (scale to scale!).
• Contours must be closed (start point = end point).
Costs
are charged according to the weight of the material used. (100g Styrofoam = 1€) If you bring your own material, the use of the styro cutter is free of charge.
Appointments
Until our new booking system is set up during the summer semester, appointments can be made directly with the lab staff.
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