Mehmet's Fab Academy

Weekly Assignments

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

FabAcademy Weekly Documentation

This page collects all of my weekly assignments.
Click on the links below to explore:

Final Project

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

My FabAcademy Final Project

Sketch

Hero Shot

Description

My Project is an interactive learning device that takes inspiration from the “Quizlet” app and teaches students concepts that they want to learn using flashcards, questions, quizzes and even live competitions. Students can upload their notes through the website and an AI model can generate questions or flashcards for the user to study the material.

Feedback

xiao esp antenna positioning is important for wifi connection
vinyl cut wires between boards for height diff can be impressive cool additional feature
A, B, C, D, not flashcards.
First focus on one device, then expand to two for two player competition
Plan the game design and how game will be before starting (Creative competition learning games)
Hardcoded wifi
Use multiple fabrication methods and integrate as much as the weeks as you can with the final projects.

Ideas

Vinyl sticker on top.

Wiring Plan

Based on the datasheet information, I created a wiring plan that connects the ESP32-C3 to an RGB OLED display and four push buttons.

About Me

Sun, 21 Dec 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Hello, I’m Mehmet

Hello! My name is Mehmet Bener, and I’m currently a sophomore at Hisar School. As an active member of the ideaLab Fablab, over the past few years, I have contributed to FRC team #6431, done research on HCI and robotics.

I’m part of the 2026 Fab Academy class at Hisar School ideaLab Fablab located in Istanbul, Turkiye. It’s a place where we tinker, prototype, and bring ideas to life guided by the motto “Make, fail, learn, repeat”. From CNC machining to 3D printing, we explore all things digital fabrication in our journey to become better makers.

Pre Fab Academy Bootcamp at Aalto Fablab

Fri, 21 Nov 2025 00:00:00 +0000

I spent a week at Aalto University’s Fablab in Finland to get ready for the Fab Academy Program thanks to Mr. Krisjanis Rijnieks where we focused on electronic design, PCB milling, soldering and embedded programming.

In the 5 days I created a board that actuates a servo motor going through the whole electronic production process including designing with KiCad, milling with the SRM20 and soldering.

Below you can find a hero shot that shows the work I did during these 5 days.

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Fab Academy Student Agreement

The Fab Academy is responsible for:

Teaching principles and practices of digital fabrication
Arranging lectures, recitations, meetings, and events for the class
Evaluating and providing feedback on student work
Offering clear standards for completing assignments
Certifying and archiving student progress
Supervising class preparation
Reviewing prospective students, instructors, and labs
Providing central staff and infrastructure for students, instructors, and labs
Fund-raising for costs not covered by student tuition
Managing and reporting on the program’s finances, results, and impacts
Publicizing the program
Promoting a respectful environment free of harassment and discrimination
Encourage a diverse, accessible, and equitable community

I am a Fab Academy student, responsible for:

Input Devices

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

This week focuses on sensing physical input using electronic input devices and a microcontroller board.
The goal is to understand how physical interaction is translated into digital signals, how those signals are read by a microcontroller, and how they can be observed, processed, and debugged.

For this assignment, I used the custom PCB I designed for my final project and interfaced four push buttons as digital input devices.

Learning Outcomes

Demonstrate workflows used in sensing physical input with input device(s) and a microcontroller
Probe and interpret digital signals generated by input devices
Implement firmware to reliably read and process input signals

1. Introduction

Input devices allow physical phenomena, such as pressing a button to be converted into electrical signals that a microcontroller can interpret.

Week 1 Project Management

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

This week is all about planning, websites, version control, and documentation. Version control and git is important for Fab Academy because it allows an easy way to manage failures, control the versions and provide reproducabilitiy.

Learning Outcomes

Communicate an initial project proposal
Identify and utilise version control protocol(s)
Explore and use website development tool(s)

Laptop Specifications:

Device: Macbook Air
OS: macOS Sequoia 15.6.1
Shell: bash
Code Editor: VSCode

I used the terminal integrated in the VSCode editor.

Week 10 Output Devices

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Learning Objectives

Demonstrate workflows used in controlling an output device(s) with MCU board you have designed.

Hero Shot

1. Introduction

The goal of Week 10 was to add an output device to a microcontroller board I previously designed (Week 6) and program it to do something.
I used my custom ESP32-C3 board and controlled a continuous rotation servo motor using PWM.

2. Determining Power Consumption

For the servo:

Voltage: 5V
Idle: ~10–15 mA
No-load rotation: ~100–150 mA
Stall: up to ~700 mA

This showed the servo must run from a 5V supply, not from the ESP32’s 3.3V regulator, and that I needed a 3.3 → 5 V level shifter.

Week 2 Computer Aided Design

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

This week is an introduction to CAD (Computer-Aided-Design) where we model in both 2D and 3D. I learned parametric design, constraints and user parameters during this week, which are very important fundementals of Computer Aided Design. You can access my design files at the bottom of the page.

Learning Objectives

Evaluate and select 2D and 3D software
Demonstrate and describe processes used in modelling with 2D and 3D softwares
Demonstrate image and video compression

Hero Shot

Week 3 Computer Controlled Cutting

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

This week is our first machine week where we explore how to use a laser cutter and a vinyl cutter. The main tools I used were:

XTool P2S Carbon Laser Cutter
Cricut Maker 3 and the Roland Versastudio GS2-24 Vinyl Cutters

Learning Objectives

Demonstrate and describe parametric 2D modelling processes.
Identify and explain processes involved in using a vinyl cutter.
Identify and explain processes involved in using a laser cutter.
Develop, evaluate, and construct a parametric press-fit construction kit.

Hero Shot

Week 4 Embedded Programming

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Learning Objectives

Implement programming protocols.

1. Introduction

This week, the objective was to explore the microcontroller datasheet, understand its capabilities, and then write and simulate a program that interacts with local input devices and communicates with a remote device through a wired or wireless protocol.

For this assignment, I used the ESP32-C3 Super Mini, built around a RISC-V core.
My program reads four push buttons and communicates the button state to my computer via USB serial, which qualifies as a remote wired communication interface.

Week 5 — 3D Scanning and Printing

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

This week focuses on additive manufacturing and understanding what kinds of geometries are uniquely enabled by 3D printing.
For this assignment, I completed the 3D printing portion by designing and printing an object that cannot be easily produced using subtractive manufacturing methods.

Learning Outcomes

Identify the advantages and limitations of 3D printing
Apply design methods and production processes to show your understanding of 3D printing.
Demonstrate how scanning technology can be used to digitize object(s)

3D Printing

1. Introduction

Additive manufacturing allows the creation of internal geometries, moving parts, and enclosed features that are impossible or extremely difficult to achieve with subtractive processes such as CNC milling or laser cutting.

Week 6 — Electronics Design

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Learning Objectives

Select and use software for circuit board design
Demonstrate schematic → PCB workflows
Produce multiple custom PCBs for different purposes

Hero Shot

1. Introduction

This week, I designed two completely separate PCBs, each for a different purpose:

Board A — Servo Driver PCB (Learning Board)

A small board made specifically to learn the full electronics workflow:

Creating symbols
Selecting footprints
Correcting ERC/DRC
Fixing connector orientation
Adding a level shifter
Preparing files for milling

This board is not part of my final project.
Its purpose was entirely educational: to practice designing PCBs confidently before building the real final project hardware.

Week 8 Electronics Production

Mon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000

Learning Objectives

Described the process of tool-path generation, milling, stuffing, de-bugging and programming
Demonstrate correct workflows and identify areas for improvement if required

Hero Shot

1. Introduction

This week focused on electronics production: milling the PCB, soldering all components, debugging, and finally actuating a servo motor using the board I designed in Week 6.

Starting from the RML files generated in Week 6, I produced my custom PCB using the SRM-20 milling machine, then soldered all components, learned from several failed attempts, and eventually built a fully working microcontroller development board.