University Day was a success!
Makers on University Day had workstation set up with sonar rovers, VEX robotics, Mirrix weaving looms, a Raspberry Pi photo booth, and a MaKey MaKey + power glove Mario game for students to try out.
Thanks for coming to our table! Come by the factory to experiment with more cool stuff 
Below are the pictures taken with the Raspberry Pi photo booth!
Celebrating April birthdays with individualized birthday cards created at The Factory with the Cricut!
Credit: Saffron Blaze, Wikimedia Commons
Being able to take a picture of an item and turn it into a 3D model can be a very useful skill. This is a multi-step process that begins with the picture, then utilizes photo editing programs, vector manipulation, and finally Tinkercad. First you need to take your picture and open it some kind of photo manipulation program… I prefer to use Photoshop because it has good selection tools. In the program you should work to cut out the background from the image (see P1). In this case, I simply used the magic wand selection tool in Photoshop and deleted the background.
P1:
Next, you will want to selectively remove an outline of any details you want to keep in your image… in this case, we’ll keep the eye, nostril and outline of the neck. (see P2). Then select all of the white areas of the image and use the inverse selection option to select the opposite area of the image instead. Now with this area selected, color the whole selection one color (see P3). After this… just clean up any of the rough edges and save the file as a .BMP file.
P2:
P3:
The next step is to change our .BPM image into a vector image, specifically a .SVG image. To do this I use the free program Inkscape, but you could also use Adobe Illustrator. Once you open the file in Inkscape, it will bring up a pop up window with some options to pick from. You should choose “Default import resolution” for DPI and “Smooth” for Image Rendering Mode. Click on your Image and go to Path à Trace Bitmap (see P4) and click it. A window will open up. Click the Update button and then Okay and you can close the window. Now delete the .BMP image (identifiable by the way it gets blurrier as you zoom in on it.) and save the file as an .SVG.
P4:
For this next step, we will use yet another free program… this time called Tinkercad. First you need to make an account, or sign in via Facebook, and then open up a new project. Now go and click the import button and upload the .SVG file to the program (see P5). Sometimes the file will be too large to import… if this is the case the just use the scale feature to reduce the scale until it will fit into Tinkercad’s plane.
P5:
Next you can scale the object to the size you want with white and black squares located in near proximity to the model (see P6). Holding shift while moving the white squares will uniformly scale the model to as to avoid warping the features. Once you have to model the size you want, you can export it (see P7) as an .STL (for 3D printing) or .OBJ (for more general purpose modeling) and save it to your computer. And you’re done!
P6:
P7:
My name is Jordan Barrett, I am a freshman student at UNT studying Computer Science engineering. As a computer science, major I focus primarily on coding and algorithms, my background in the military gave me a lot of experience with electrical engineering side of things. Both are what drew me to the factory, I felt that I had a skill set that could contribute and it would feel like I was back doing what I love, tinkering with electronics and soldering. My specialties at the factory involve micro controllers, soldering and dslrs. All of these skills are hobbies in my home life but the factory allows me to expand see other sides of the spectrum like laser cutting, 3d printing and game engine work. I’m very excited to learn every facet of the factory and expand my knowledge, who knows, maybe I’ll find a new hobby that I love!
One of my favorite machines to play with in The Factory would have to be the Cricut. We have created so many awesome projects with this di-cut machine. The Cricut is a computerized di-cut machine, where you can upload images that you would like to cut out and it can perfectly cut them out for you in a vast selection of materials.
RA’s have used the Circut to make door decals and Teachers have used the Cricut to make white board decals, paper cut outs for their bulletin boards but the possibilities are endless. Others have used it for DIY party decorations. The only limitation to the Circut is your imagination because the Circut can write, score, cut and engrave on about 60 different types of materials! 
My name is Josh Zamudio, I am a sophomore at UNT. I am an Electrical Engineer major, with minors in Math and Computer Science & Engineering. I would say that I am innately curious. I am a CNC Machinist, a beginner in programming, and a micro-controller enthusiast among many many other things.
I have worked a lot in my short life, but that’s just because of the opportunities I’ve been given to do so. My roots are in Engineering, as such I am someone who likes to try new things. I think that’s what really drew me into The Factory. The combination of a workplace that incorporates technology and creativity into one package.
The hobby-grade technology and the possibilities in The Factory pulled at me and the prospect of learning new things left me in awe. I work with micro-controllers, I can work with CNC, and as of late I am working on the LEGO Mindstorms. I look forward to the bright future in The Factory. We’re getting more and more recognition and I’m proud to be a part of the team that brings technology to the students at UNT.
TinkerCAD is a free web-app based introductory 3D modeling program designed specifically for use with 3D printers and to create models that can be 3D printed, although it can also be used for more general purpose 3D modeling. Despite the fact that TinkerCAD an introductory program it is actually quite versatile in what you can do with it and it provides a good number of options and tools for making your own 3D files. You can use to model basic geometry and make complex compound objects as well as subtract areas you don’t want. These features are well developed and are a lot simpler to do than in many other 3D modeling programs available. Because it is designed for 3D modeling TinkerCAD uses real world measurements for all of its units, rather than arbitrary or abstract measurements like “points.” This means that TinkerCAD is an excellent choice to design a model that has to be a specific size such as a case or box. Just about the only feature that TinkerCAD doesn’t have that other programs would is 3D sculpting. However, the lack of sculpting tools can be remedied by the fact that TinkerCAD also supports importing outside 3D files and .svg files and allows quick and simple editing of these just like it was created in TinkerCAD from the beginning. To top it all off, TinkerCAD also has a lot of community developed content that you can utilize to do all sorts of things not normally possible in the program.
John has been working on an Radio Controlled (RC) Aircraft, which is getting its final beauty treatments soon! We will present an in-depth feature post of the entire RC aircraft project in March, so stay tuned. To brief, RC aircraft is a term that is generally used to describe model airplanes that are built as scaled down models of real aircraft. These models are controlled by a handheld radio controller from a stationary position on the ground and generally flown via line of sight. RC Aviation has been a fairly niche hobby for most of its existence, owing to the delicacy of the models, cost of components, and skill requirements for operation. John is building a flight-capable display aircraft for the Factory.
My name is Armando Cardona, I’m a transfer student that is a junior by credit hours and a freshman by classes, pursuing a computer science degree. As someone who had a lot of free time and not a lot of friends growing up, I would spend all my time on YouTube and social media learning videography and special effects. My skills and practices revolve around a multitude of trades from wood working to producing music. My interest have truly come into fruition due to me having the internet and dedication. I’ve taken 1st place in a film festival, run a YouTube channel, and have many entrepreneur ventures across many mediums. I’ve been homeless for the majority of my college career and I’ve always found a way to reach my goals no matter the adversities I face or the difficulties that may lay ahead of me. The Factory is a haven on campus for creative and business oriented people. It’s a space that allows art to meet capitalistic ventures.
Armando specializes in working with DSLRs, Audio Equipment, music production, video and sound editing software, film making and wood working. He is learning more about online marketing and resources to grow his YouTube Channel.
Jeffrey has been working with our new vacuform machine, which uses a simplified version of thermoforming; a sheet of plastic is heated to a pliable temperature, stretched onto a single-surface mold, and forced against the mold by a vacuum. For example, this process can be used to form plastic into permanent objects such as turnpike signs, masks, and protective covers. As senior Maker, Jeffery was given the task of learning the vacuform machine, as well as developing a workshop and starter project. He has been working with the idea of using aluminum foil to shape customized faces, and using the vacuform machine to mold a plastic mask over the foil face. Still hammering out the finer details, the masks made from this workshop could be painted and used in all manner of events. 
