Digital Fabrication Studios

The Digital Fabrication Studio provides fabrication services such as vinyl cutting, 3D printing, and more. All Tyler students are able to and should take advantages of DFS services located in room B91.
 

                                             3D printed objects from the DFS

WHATS NEW:

  • Heat transfer vinyl and equipment for fabric design
  • Custom rubber ink stamps
  • Design your own 1.25" and 2.25'' buttons

See consultant for details!

Services available at the DFS

3D Printing

The Digital Fabrication Studio offers 3D printing to all Tyler students. We have several printers to suit students' different design needs and budgets. Please note that the 3D printers may take several hours per job, to better ensure your job is completed by a certain date please submit files well in advance.

The Makerbot Replicators

  • Print Material: PLA plastic
  • Maximum Build Size: 9 inches wide x 9 inches deep x 15 inches tall
  • Cost: $0.20 per gram

Stratasys Dimension Elite

  • Print Material: ABS plastic
  • Maximum Build Size: 8 inches wide x 8 inches deep x 12 inches tall
  • Cost: $9.00 per cubic inch

Form 2

  • Super fine detail, layers as small as 50 microns (.05 mm)
  • Print Material: Castable Photopolymer and gray resin
  • Maximum Build Size: 4.9 inches x 4.9 inches x 6.5 inches
  • Cost: $0.50 per mL (for gray)
  • Cost: $0.90 per mL (for castable)

FIle Specifications

  • All files to be printed must be in .STL or .OBJ format. Other file formats will not be accepted.

3D Scanning

  • Cost: Free
  • Service only includes initial 360 degree scan
  • Sense hand-held 3D scanner and next engine scanner available 

Please note that the initial scan may leave holes in the model, so either multiple scans, use of the provided software's tools, and/or further modeling in an outside program may be necessary to produce a watertight printable object.

Vinyl Cutting

The Digital Fabrication Studio provides affordable vinyl cutting in several different colors. Vinyl cutting is fast, and transfer paper is provided. Vinyl may be cut up to 22 inches wide and any length.

Pricing

  • $0.75 per linear inch

File Requirements

  • Files must be for Adobe Illustrator (.ai)
  • Text must have outlines
  • Overlapping layers should be merged by using the "unite" funcion in Illustrator's pathfinder window
  • Hidden layers should be deleted in order to prevent accidental cutting

Embroidery

The DFS operates an embroidery machine capable of embroidering custom designs onto fabrics. Designs should be limited to a maximum of seven colors.

Pricing

  • $2 for machine set up, plus $2 for every 5,000 stitches

File Requirements

  • Maximum size: 12 inches x 7 inches
  • File format: .SVG (save as from Illustrator)
  • Remove gradients, unnecessary layers, and clipping masks from your design
  • You are responsible for providing fabrics
  • Embroidery thread and stabilizer will be provided
  • Please bring a color print out of your design to be used for thread color assignment

Laser Cutting

The Digital Fabrication Studio has a laser cutter which can perform precise cutting and etching on many different materials. This service is billed by time and is extremely affordable for most materials and patterns, however cost will increase based on the complexity of design and the materials being used.

Pricing

  • $0.30 per minute

File Requirements

Patterns for laser cutting must be in Adobe Illustrator format (.ai)

  • Files must be in RGB color mode
  • Line thickness must be set to .001" for cutting, Etching may be any thickness.
  • Pure Red (R-255, G-0, B-0) will result in a cut
  • Pure Blue (R-0, G-0, B-255) will result in a scored line.
  • Grayscale images can be etched (see DFS consultant for more details)

Material Requirements

  • You are responsible for providing the materials
  • The material can not contain any glues or resins (masonite, plywood, etc)
  • We will not cut any acrylic which can not be identified. It must have the original manufacturer's identification or "Laser Friendly" label from the supplier
  • Materials must lay flat for best accuracy

Commonly Used Materials

  • Paper
  • Most Fabrics
  • All solid woods can be etched, however the ability to cut through natural wood depends on it's thickness and density
  • Laser friendly Acrylic
  • Leather
  • We are open to irregular materials however we reserve the right to reject materials if they would be harmful to the laser cutter

Guidelines
 

Vinyl Cutting

Click here to download the Vinyl Cutting guideline PDF

 

Embroidery

Click here to download the Embroidery guideline PDF

 

3D Printing

Click here to download the 3D printing guideline PDF

 

Laser Cutting

Click here to download the Laser Cutting guideline PDF
 

Templates
 

Rubber Stamps

Click here to download the Rubber Stamp template for Adobe Illustrator
 

Button

Click here to download the Button template for Adobe Illustrator