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Oswego East High School InventTeam Wins Grant

Oswego East High School InventTeam Wins Grant

Oswego East High InvenTeam Members next to their Algae Air project.

Doug of Fox.Build got the opportunity to visit  Oswego East High School and to see the student team present their "Algae Air" project to MIT for the Lemelson MIT InvenTeam mid-grant technical review. They won a $7500 grant from MIT to pursue this idea and MIT reviews the projects midway.

These are the students that have been making stuff at Fox.Build. Their project aims to improve school air quality because over 50% of our schools have poor air quality. The idea is to pass air through a tank of algae. The algae consume the impurities and let clean air escape. The team has additionally found ways to use the algae to make plastics, fertilizers, etc.

He was quite impressed by the work they've done and all the angles they have considered. And, they gave great Kudos to Fox.Build! This photo is two of the students with their prototype algae air. Note the logo on the prototype and the projection screen in the background!

Way to go team!

To read all about their project visit the Lemelson-MIT Blog.

Unboxing Our Biggest Summer 2019 Member Giveback Item

Unboxing Our Biggest Summer 2019 Member Giveback Item

Each month we purchase equipment and supplies/consumables that our members request. This summer we saved several month’s worth of funds and bought something big! It is a benchtop mill. It will let us machine metal, including steel. As purchased it is a manual mill – similar to a drill press. We have a donated digital readout system that we’re hoping to install so we can do very accurate machining. Long term we plan to upgrade it to CNC (Computer Numeric Control) so it can machine parts that were drawn in a CAD program. The photos below show the unboxing – a future blog post will cover installation and use.

In the box as it came from the FedEx depot
Got the crate side off!
And the top
Packing stuff cleared away so you can see the mill!
Ready to go to Fox.Build! We had to disassemble it into 2 pieces – otherwise it was too heavy to safely lift out of the truck.

New Equipment – Brake, Press, Slip-roll!

New Equipment – Brake, Press, Slip-roll!

Dan, one of our members, recently donated a combination shear, press brake, and slip-roll that can do all kinds of cool stuff to sheet metal. In order to use it, we needed to put it on a stand, and due to the weight, the stand had to be sturdy! As luck would have it, a different member had donated some cabinets that fit the bill. The photos below show us building the cabinets into a stand for the shear, press brake, slip-roll.

Two cabinets attached to each other with a back and stand to raise them off the floor
With spacer for door clearance and end supports added
With 2x12s for top strength
And a nice hardboard top
With the shear, press brake and slip roll in its new home
Completed!

New Tools, February

New Tools, February

This month, our friends at BOSCH Tools donated a brand new 14" abrasive cut-off machine. We also purchased a number of new accessories for the media lab and vinyl cutter. Come see for yourself! Our next tech social is on Friday, March 1st.

Fox.Build Synthesizer Interest Group Inauguration

Yesterday was the first session of the Fox.Build DIY Synthesizer Interest Group. If you missed it, don’t worry! We will have another one soon. Follow us on Twitter, Facebook or Meetup.com to be notified of our next meeting. You can also reach out to us directly if you have any questions.