Access & Assets · 2:41
GRIT Automation — UIUC School of Architecture
How the University of Illinois School of Architecture uses GRIT to manage tool access and asset tracking across their makerspace facilities.
What this video covers
How the University of Illinois School of Architecture uses GRIT to manage tool access and asset tracking across their makerspace facilities.
Published 2023-04-15. Runtime: 2:41.
Continue with GRIT
Use the related Solution page for product options, retrofit details, and the next step for your shop.
Video guide
Key points and full transcript
Scan the main points and chapter list, or open the complete transcript below.
Key takeaways
- RFID permissions help the UIUC architecture shop limit machine use to trained students.
- Usage records inform maintenance schedules and identify the shop's most-used tools.
- GRIT's adaptable blast-gate system supports the shop's mixed duct sizes at a practical cost.
Chapters
- The architecture fabrication shop
- The original training-control problem
- Dust collector and gate layout
- RFID tool permissions
- Usage and maintenance data
- Adaptable automatic blast gates
- Safety and efficiency outcomes
Read the full transcript31 timecoded passages
This machine-generated transcript was reviewed and lightly edited for product names, technical terms, and readability.
My name is Lowell Miller. I'm the Fabrication Coordinator here at the University of Illinois Department of Architecture Fabrication Shops. The shop's purposes are to allow architecture students to come in and fabricate, so realize their designs, so bring to life their creations. On average, we have about 600 students in the architecture program. During our open times, students can come in with the training that they have and work on the tools that they've been trained on. Initially, there was no way to determine which students were trained in what.
We still had to have visual confirmation of what tool they were on for their training, so it was very easy for them to slip from one tool to another if somebody wasn't watching. We have one dust collector, a five-horsepower dust collector. We have 14 machines on that dust collector. We use a Nordfab system. We have 4-inch gates, 6-inch gates, and 8-inch gates. The GRIT system, the way it works is that students now swipe in, then we tap an RFID card to a sensor to register the card to the user, and that is their key to power on the machines.
It's an added level of safety for our students. Part of the adaptability of a GRIT that I have found useful is that along with the swipe in. We're able to see how often they're in, which tool they favor, how often our tools get used, so we can see what our maintenance schedule should be set at. We can also see what the more popular tools are. Having a maintenance schedule set up for the tools allows us to have the tool for longer, minimize our wear and tear, minimize catastrophic damage that could
occur to the tool because of lack of maintenance, and keep the tools operational and safe for a longer period of time. As an adaptable system, GRIT allowed us to be able to fit gates where we wouldn't normally be able to put gates. Most automatic blast gates are set for residential use or if you find industrial blast gates they're gonna be much more expensive, more than a university can afford. So this is a system that is priced at a lower cost but still has adaptability for our needs. With the installation of the GRIT system
in my shop I've been able to increase the efficiency of our check-in process, implement better and more stringent safety procedures, and allow my tools to be better maintained for the safety and use of my students, all with an easy to use system.
Access & Assets · 2:41
GRIT Automation — UIUC School of Architecture
How the University of Illinois School of Architecture uses GRIT to manage tool access and asset tracking across their makerspace facilities.
What this video covers
How the University of Illinois School of Architecture uses GRIT to manage tool access and asset tracking across their makerspace facilities.
Published 2023-04-15. Runtime: 2:41.
Continue with GRIT
Use the related Solution page for product options, retrofit details, and the next step for your shop.
Video guide
Key points and full transcript
Scan the main points and chapter list, or open the complete transcript below.
Key takeaways
- RFID permissions help the UIUC architecture shop limit machine use to trained students.
- Usage records inform maintenance schedules and identify the shop's most-used tools.
- GRIT's adaptable blast-gate system supports the shop's mixed duct sizes at a practical cost.
Chapters
- The architecture fabrication shop
- The original training-control problem
- Dust collector and gate layout
- RFID tool permissions
- Usage and maintenance data
- Adaptable automatic blast gates
- Safety and efficiency outcomes
Read the full transcript31 timecoded passages
This machine-generated transcript was reviewed and lightly edited for product names, technical terms, and readability.
My name is Lowell Miller. I'm the Fabrication Coordinator here at the University of Illinois Department of Architecture Fabrication Shops. The shop's purposes are to allow architecture students to come in and fabricate, so realize their designs, so bring to life their creations. On average, we have about 600 students in the architecture program. During our open times, students can come in with the training that they have and work on the tools that they've been trained on. Initially, there was no way to determine which students were trained in what.
We still had to have visual confirmation of what tool they were on for their training, so it was very easy for them to slip from one tool to another if somebody wasn't watching. We have one dust collector, a five-horsepower dust collector. We have 14 machines on that dust collector. We use a Nordfab system. We have 4-inch gates, 6-inch gates, and 8-inch gates. The GRIT system, the way it works is that students now swipe in, then we tap an RFID card to a sensor to register the card to the user, and that is their key to power on the machines.
It's an added level of safety for our students. Part of the adaptability of a GRIT that I have found useful is that along with the swipe in. We're able to see how often they're in, which tool they favor, how often our tools get used, so we can see what our maintenance schedule should be set at. We can also see what the more popular tools are. Having a maintenance schedule set up for the tools allows us to have the tool for longer, minimize our wear and tear, minimize catastrophic damage that could
occur to the tool because of lack of maintenance, and keep the tools operational and safe for a longer period of time. As an adaptable system, GRIT allowed us to be able to fit gates where we wouldn't normally be able to put gates. Most automatic blast gates are set for residential use or if you find industrial blast gates they're gonna be much more expensive, more than a university can afford. So this is a system that is priced at a lower cost but still has adaptability for our needs. With the installation of the GRIT system
in my shop I've been able to increase the efficiency of our check-in process, implement better and more stringent safety procedures, and allow my tools to be better maintained for the safety and use of my students, all with an easy to use system.