Poultney
posted
Sep 19, 2012
Green Mountain College recently received a grant of $15,000 from
the Duke Energy Foundation for the College's renewable energy and
ecological design (REED) Program's development of a digital
fabrication laboratory called FabLab. The objective of the REED
FabLab is to provide GMC students, local high school students and
adults with the infrastructure to acquire skills using digital
fabrication technologies.
The REED FabLab, located adjacent to the REED program's shop in
downtown Poultney, will provide individuals the opportunity to
translate digital information into material products. Trained users
will use the lab to fabricate models, test prototypes, and explore
small-scale manufacturing processes. It will also support the
expansion of GMC's REED program that was previously offered as a
certificate program at the College. In January 2012, GMC's board of
trustees approved the creation of a new major, a B.A. in renewable
energy and ecological design.
One of the newly acquired pieces of equipment for the REED
FabLab is a computer numerically controlled (CNC) router. It can
cut, carve and engrave a variety of materials with pinpoint
accuracy.
REED Program Director Lucas Brown explains "The CNC router is a
very versatile tool. It is used in numerous ways including model
building, furniture and product design, and architectural
fabrications. The new machine will help prepare students for the
contemporary workplace. We offer students opportunities to affect
change through hands-on courses. The REED FabLab, in conjunction
with the more traditional set of tools, will provide them with a
diverse skill-set, both analog and digital."
Brown said "The CNC router expands design opportunities by
allowing students to create complex parts that would be cost
and time prohibitive to execute by hand."
The development of the REED FabLab builds on two
community-focused GMC Farm and Food Program initiatives supported
by the Duke Energy Foundation: the transformation of the College's
Solar Harvest Center's (SHC) residential kitchen into a
commercially-certified kitchen, as well as installation at the SHC
of an edible garden and the renovation of its front porch into an
educational venue. Additionally the REED FabLab will build on other
College initiatives to help restore the vitality of Poultney. These
initiatives include renovation of an historic home into a community
meeting building; establishment of a food co-op (Stone Valley
Market); and improvements to the Solar Harvest Center for student
and community use.
