Fabrication Lab

Fabrication Lab

The fabrication lab is the physical side of my engineering setup — a small but fully networked space where I prototype hardware, print production parts, and test automation workflows. It runs much like a software stack: modular, containerized, and built for reliability.

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Core Infrastructure

• Unraid Server: Central hub running multiple OctoPrint containers through a single USB hub. This setup lets me manage three printers independently without juggling cables or devices.
• WireGuard VPN: Integrated directly into Unraid for secure remote access — I can start, monitor, or pause prints from anywhere.
• Pixel Phone Hack: A retired Pixel phone serves as an additional OctoPrint host. It’s been rock-solid for three years, and it solved both the USB mapping headaches and the Raspberry Pi shortage problem.

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Network Layer

• Pi-hole: Handles local DNS and ad-blocking, so all lab services live under easy-to-remember hostnames (e.g., print1.local, slicer.lab).
• NAS Storage: Acts as the lab’s single source of truth — storing 3D models, client documentation, fabrication logs, and photo archives of completed work.

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Lessons Learned

• USB mapping with identical printers is fragile; container isolation helped but didn’t eliminate quirks.
• Repurposed hardware like the Pixel phone can outperform “maker-grade” boards in stability and heat management.
• Phone-based time-lapse capture looks great but leads to thermal throttling — not worth the downtime.

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Current Focus

I’m building a fully containerized fabrication workflow — from CAD modeling and slicing to job submission and monitoring. The goal is a remote-first production pipeline that lets me move from design to print from any device with full traceability and feedback.

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Next Steps

• Expand container orchestration to include slicing and monitoring nodes.
• Explore lightweight, passive camera options for stable time-lapse capture.
• Continue refining remote workflows to support live client demos and scaled production runs.

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This lab is where digital design meets real-world fabrication — a quiet blend of code, hardware, and process that keeps evolving alongside my software stack.

5 Years of My 3D Printing Lab