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Low-Cost Desktop Fiber Extrusion Device (FrED) for Manufacturing Education

  • mitfredfactory
  • Jun 21
  • 1 min read

Russel Bradley & Brian Anthony


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There is a need for an affordable and accessible hands-on learning device to teach continuous manufacturing. Industrial machines are too costly (ten thousands to millions dollars) for conducting experiments and are not easily accessible to individual learners. Fiber Extrusion Device (FrED) is a desktop-scale system developed by students at MIT that mimics a continuous fiber draw process for hands-on learning in data analytics, control systems, and smart manufacturing. This low-cost (COGS <$200), lab-in-a-box solution aims to make hands-on manufacturing engineering education and research more accessible. At the same time, the development of this device serves as an educational experience in itself, involving multiple students applying concepts in design and manufacturing. FrED has been successfully used in educational activities at MIT and beyond, impacting hundreds of learners at various levels—from K-12 to undergraduate and graduate students. It has been used to teach concepts ranging from the principles of manufacturing to advanced topics and emerging technologies such as process modeling, advanced control systems, and computer vision. Throughout the MakeIt Session, FrEDs will be available for attendees to interact with. A short activity on extrusion process modeling will be demonstrated to show an example of how FrED can be used as a learning tool in manufacturing. This session aims to motivate students to explore manufacturing through FrED, encourage researchers to use it as a low-cost platform for research and development, and inspire educators to integrate it into their teaching practices.



Conference

Poster presented at Make It! Manufacturing Division Poster Session, 2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.


DOI


Publication Date

2025-6-22


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