The Foundry, a new makerspace, is now open to bring creative ideas around campus to life.
The University of Texas at Austin has been an educational leader promoting “maker culture” for more than a decade. Successful spaces like the Cockrell School of Engineering’s Longhorn Maker Studio have been the envy of nonmajors itching to get their hands on a 3-D printer.
But the Foundry is the first space open to all students, faculty members and staffers — definitely the latest Longhorn perk. Anyone interested in game development, music production, digital visual arts or product development and design is welcome to use the facilities.
Located in the Fine Arts Library, the space will bring together students and faculty members from many disciplines to generate new ideas, research, art and inventions — both curricular and noncurricular. There are specialized labs and studios to support creative projects that involve recording, editing, design and fabrication.
Supporting collaboration and out-of-the-box thinking is a priority of the university in educating the next generation of leaders.
“The Foundry gives students the tools, technology and creative space needed to compose, research, record, design, print, program and create the next masterpiece or million-dollar invention,” said Douglas Dempster, dean of the College of Fine Arts.
$740,000 in new equipment came from the College of Fine Arts, UT’s library system and a grant from the Hearst Foundation.
Here are just some of the available tools:
Printing/Fabrication
- LulzBot Taz 6 3D Printers: Create art and prototypes from a variety of materials, including plastics, wood and stainless steel.
- 3-D scanner to replicate objects.
- 3-D mill that can carve wax used to create molds for metal sculptures.
- CO2 Laser for etching detailed designs and fonts into wood and other materials.
- 2-D router that can be used to make circuit boards.
Gaming/Video
- A Cintiq interactive display used for architectural renderings, product design, 3-D animation, design, live video and more.
- A video wall to display and test visualizations, and a multiscreen display that connects to a variety of devices.
- Several Mac Pros for rendering large files, motion graphics, sound editing and other things that require high-power processing.
- You can also rent a variety of things, from GoPros to drawing tablets.
Textile Lab
- Programmable sewing machines and embroidery machines.
- A 54-inch printer cutter for textile transfers, high-quality photos, vinyl and film.
Music Studio
- 10 inputs that can be used for professional recordings, podcasts and other audio recording.
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