Fabrication Equipment Consultation

Digital Fabrication Lab (aka Hub 1) is an educational space designed to help the UIC community learn, explore, and use 3D digital design and modeling as well as fabrication technologies. We are dedicated to bringing your creative ideas to life.

When using our services, please note the following policy.

• Prints can take up to two business days as we strive to meet the needs of the entire UIC community. Print job times vary greatly due to factors such as size, complexity, design stability, and print queue length. Hub staff cannot guarantee exact delivery times.
• Prints may not exceed 4 hours of print time and must be completed before the Hub closes. For safety reasons, the Hub does not operate the equipment after closing.
• You may be asked to scale down the size of your object or resubmit your design as smaller files if necessary.
• 3D printing jobs must be monitored for 15 minutes before being left unattended. This helps prevent issues during the printing process and allows you to know the estimated print time. For embroidery projects, you must be present for the entire process and be available to fix issues that arise during the fabrication process.
• The Hub offers these resources at no cost for your first project. The type of PLA filament, plywood, or acrylic, used for your project, including color, is at the discretion of the Hub staff. If you have larger or concurrent projects beyond the scope of these designated resources, please bring your own material. 
• After the first project, you still have free access to our equipment and consultations. However, we request that you supply your own materials for your project. Materials must meet the specifications outlined in the Hub's documentation. If you bring in materials that are not on our recommended list, staff have the discretion to allow or deny their use. In such cases where it is determined that we can try using your material, the project might not turn out as expected or might fail.
• To learn more about the preferred file formats and approved materials, please see below.

• For cases where prints fail, other high-priority projects such as prescheduled consultations or workshops, take precedence for machine use. 
• The Hub cannot guarantee model quality or stability. Users may see slight imperfections in their prints. Small bumps, holes or rough edges on the object may occur with 3D printing. Some imperfections may be remedied using fine sandpaper. Additionally, objects with multiple pieces or movable parts may not fit together precisely.
• Excessive use or mass production may not be permitted under certain circumstances. 
• If completed prints are not claimed for more than a week, they will be removed from the Hub.