Next fall, Kelliher High School students will have the opportunity of working in a Fab Lab. Superintendent Jim Lutz said the district received a grant of $26,500 from First Technologies Inc. to develop and train teacher Eric Nord and Eric Carlson in the new curriculum.
A Fab Lab, or fabrication laboratory, is a small-scale workshop offering personal digital fabrication using flexible computer-controlled tools. Lutz said possibilities with the machines include laser etching and engraving, routers for woodworking, computer-assisted plasma cutters and 3D printing. He said industrial arts students already commonly learn skills such as plasma cutting, but the computerized equipment will make the work safer and more precise.
“The machines will be coming over the summer,” Lutz said. “We’ll be able to collaborate with industries like Potlatch and TEAM Industries.”
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