Bangkok Maker Faire 2018

January 26, 2018 | ProgressTH Last weekend was Bangkok Maker Faire 2018. Local makers, students, teachers, and local businesses gathered to show off their latest projects and products. Everything from 3D printing and electronics to robots and virtual reality (VR) were on display.

ProgressTH was represented as well, showcasing our latest projects including our newest opensource 3D printed DIYbio lab equipment, our portable tabletop hydroponics system, the latest results of our collaboration with Queen Sirikit National Children's Health Institute (QSNICH), our 3D printed rigid heddle loom, and a 3D printed Arduino-enabled USB volume control knob. All projects can be found on our Thingiverse account here.

Several things stood out this year. One was the high level of awareness and knowledge among young students pass through of 3D printing, hydroponics, and 3D design.

ProgressTH's Applied 3D Printing display this year at Bangkok Maker Faire.

Another was the amount of 3D printing used in projects not necessarily featuring 3D printing itself. For instance, we saw a rescue robot with many of its parts 3D printed. Pleum of Meplus Hobby showed us some camera equipment he used 3D printing on, some of which you wouldn't have even guessed was 3D printed unless he told you. 3D printing is being used so ubiquitously now by local businesses, designers, and makers that its use is almost a footnote if mentioned at all.

FabRacers: A Fun Introduction to 3D Printing

August 20, 2107 ProgressTH As 3D printing and its applications continue to work their way into our daily lives, more and more people are becoming interested in learning more about it and getting directly involved. And as 3D printing technology continues to improve and become more accessible, the number of ways people are developing to help encourage people to learn the tools and techniques involved continues to grow.

Bangkok-based makerspace, FabCafe located at the Thailand Creative & Design Center (TCDC) held a series of workshops aimed at introducing people to 3D design and 3D printing through designing, printing, and racing Tamiya electric cars.

Children and adults learned how to design their own custom car bodies in Autodesk Fusion 360, had them printed by FabCafe's many 3D printers, and raced them during the FabRacer event.

For many of the children involved, it would have been their first experience with 3D design and 3D printing, and hopefully a formative one teaching them that virtually anything can be designed and created using these emerging personal manufacturing tools.

Make Magazine, Biohacking, and 3D Printed Centrifuges

March 30, 2017 ProgressTH 

Volume 56 of Make Magazine recently hit the bookshelves here in Bangkok. The theme was biohacking and the powerful way technology and more importantly, collaboration is transforming the way we research, develop, and devise ways to improve our understanding of biology and how to apply it both for agriculture and human health.

We were particularly grateful to have our 3D printed centrifuge featured amid the many other incredible projects in this issue.

Also in this issue was an article written by Jose Gomez-Marquez who is co-founder of the MakerHealth and Maker Nurse projects. In his article he shares:

Over time, industry slowly black-boxed our medical technologies and discouraged makers from participating - but they never went away. Today, life science and health makers form networks like MakerHealth and DIY bio communities. They fuel open protocols and cheap instrumentation.

He then shares some advice on how you can get started:

Need a place to begin? Start with a teardown and remake what you see at the doctor's office.  

Jose captures precisely both the motivation that drives our projects, as well as the process we've gone about pursuing them.

The 3D printed centrifuge is just a starting point, and we shared it online for everyone to see and build themselves not only so they can make copies of it, but to also improve upon it or even use it as inspiration to tackle other pieces of essential laboratory equipment.

Bangkok Mini-Maker Faire 2017

January 24, 2017 | ProgressTH 

The 2017 Bangkok Mini-Maker Faire wrapped up last weekend. There were lots of participants and many more visitors. It was a great chance to meet and see the work of many people we only ever get to communicate with online. Some of the businesses we have heard of or even buy from online were there too.



We learned a lot from other people's projects they've been working on over the last year, as well as from thoughts and conversations with people visiting our stand. And still, while we were there both days, we didn't get a chance to check out everything going on. Hopefully we can catch up with some of the other participants now that the event is over.

We look forward to what else this year has to bring for Thailand's maker and tech community.

Check out some of our photos after the break...

Bangkok Mini-Maker Faire: January 21-22, 2017

January 19, 2017 ProgressTH 

If you are in Bangkok this week, be sure to drop by The Street on Ratchada Road (near Thai Cultural Center MRT Station) and check out Bangkok's second annual Mini-Maker Faire.

We've seen the line up and there are a lot of friends there from both Thailand and across Asia and beyond.

Click to enlarge...

ProgressTH will be at A6 displaying our work with local healthcare professionals and researchers as well as our completed weather station from FARM HACK 2.0 at FabCafe Bangkok last month.

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FabCafe Bangkok's FarmHack 2.0

December 13, 2016 | ProgressTH 

FabCafe Bangkok (Facebook) hosted their second FarmHack event last weekend, bringing together engineers, designers, and farmers to leverage the unique talent and technology that makerspaces bring together to solve agricultural problems.

Two teams formed to work on an Internet-connected weather station and a bee counter for measuring the health of beehives.

While being completely new projects, a lot of the knowledge acquired from the first FarmHack in October was applicable. For instance, the weather station, in its final form, will require solar power to operate. The first FarmHack event included a rooftop garden irrigation system that was solar powered and could be easily adapted to power the weather station.

In just two days, working prototypes of both ideas took shape.

The bee-counter team not only produced a working sensor for detecting bees, but also began creating an online application that visualized bee movements in and out of the hive. Employing the Particle Internet of Things (IoT) platform, they were able to send sensor data to the Internet.

The bee-counter team also branched off and created a beehive design that makes collecting honey less disruptive for beehive activity. A lot was learned about what works and what doesn't work, giving team members or future participants a clear starting point to move forward from if they decide to expand on this idea.

Raitong Organics: Advice for Organic Farmers and Makers

November 4, 2016 | ProgressTH Raitong Organics, based in Sisaket, Thailand, has provided a good example of just how far a single farm can take organic agriculture. Selling to customers both inside Thailand and abroad, Raitong Organics has been active in the organic farming community for years. 

We recently interviewed Bryan Hugill (pictured above, right) of Raitong Organics to find out more on how farmers interested in making the transition from conventional agriculture to organic agriculture could get started. We also wanted to know what he thought about the role makerspaces could play in developing innovations for organic farmers.

We begin by asking about Participatory Guarantee Systems (PGS), as this is the easiest certification for farmers to obtain when switching over to organic agriculture, and is the system used by several of the organic farmers we are currently involved in networking with.

Hackathon Connects Farmers with Designers, Makers, and Engineers

October 17, 2016 | ProgressTH Things like laser cutters, 3D printers, and electronic prototyping tools like Arduino are often in the news and attract a lot of attention. But after seeing demonstrations, art projects, and toys, many people ask themselves, "what next?"

FabCafe Bangkok's FARM HACK helps answer that question by taking the maker, designer, and engineering community out of their respective spaces and placing them together with real-world farmers and the challenges they face to see if an innovation solution can be developed.

Last weekend, four teams matching two farmers up with two designers, engineers, or makers set out to do just this.

The Game Plan 

The event was carefully planned, providing a viable template for other events like it covering not only farming, but many other aspects of life as well. It began by bringing in guest speakers to present how they are already implementing social and technological innovations to improve farming. The purpose of this was to give teams a starting point and some ideas.

At the FARM HACK event, we heard from FarmD Asia, who uses basic ideas of automation to enhance agricultural processes, and in particular, indoor mushroom cultivation. There was a professor from a local agricultural university describing advances in agricultural robotics. And finally, we heard from Heart Core Organic, a very large and successful urban agriculture network in Bangkok that links urban farmers together, organizes farmers' markets, and raises public awareness regarding natural, local food.

Then the teams formed up and began working on their projects. These teams included activists working on egg farming as a means to raise money for hill tribe schools, a team focused on rooftop farming, and a conventional farm looking for a way to automatically plant seeds in starter trays.

The Results

In just two days several prototypes were created. A few years ago, not much more than drawing and maybe static models could have been created in a two-day hackathon. Today, thanks to the personal fabrication technology available at makerspaces like FabCafe, working prototypes are so easy to make, as one team pointed out, most of the time was spent on thinking of a solution, with digital design and fabrication almost an afterthought.

Makerspaces and Farmers' Markets Converge

How makerspaces are transforming into community centers where technology & people converge.

August 4, 2016 | ProgressTH  We recently got a chance to finally visit FabCafe Bangkok's monthly FabFarm farmers' market. Several have been organized so far, and more are yet to come.

Due to limited space, it is a relatively small farmers' market, lining the driveway into FabCafe. Around 10 or so vendors participated, but the event attracts a wide range of people from both the cozy urban neighbor FabCafe is situated in, to friends and acquaintances of FabCafe's growing network from all over Bangkok and surrounding provinces.

At least one vendor came from as far as Phetchaburi, about two hours away.

And despite its small size, it represents something very significant.

When last we wrote about FabCafe in 2015, one of its founders, Chutayaves Sinthuphan, shared with us the vision he and the rest of the FabCafe team had of creating a sort of local institution. We wrote:

Chutayaves sees a plausible future where people enjoy multiple interests, combining them together, and establishing highly localized communities thriving in self-sufficiency. Businesses and institutions like FabCafes and Fab Labs today, might become nodes in a patchwork of localized communities tomorrow.

A little over a year and a half later, that is most certainly what is happening at FabCafe now. Not only are designers, engineers, architects, and artists converging at FabCafe as one would expect at a makerspace, but now also farmers and the community attracted by organic farmers' markets are there too.

Makerspaces + Education

Makerspaces already run workshops, why not a full-fledged after school or weekend program to augment and accelerate technological education in their communities? 

May 22, 2016 | ProgressTH  Integrating technology and the skills required to use it into formal education has always been a challenge for education systems worldwide. This is because education systems are large and systemic changes require time and resources to implement which often cannot keep up with the advance of technology.

Students at Lowell High School, MA, US in an in-school makerspace.

A makerspace, on the other hand, is an independent local institution, tied to a larger, global network of makers and can easily learn about, adapt, and leverage accessible emerging technology. Makerspaces are also usually set up specifically to do workshops, it's one of the ways many spaces fund themselves.

Because of this, there are two options to consider when thinking about improving education ... at least education involving design, engineering, science, technology, and even art.

The Future of Manufacturing

May 11, 2016 | ProgressTH Singularity University, a California-based think tank focusing on exponential technology, recently held a 2-day event called Exponential Manufacturing. During this event, speakers from a wide-range of manufacturing-related backgrounds spoke to their experience with current manufacturing and where they saw it headed in the near to intermediate future. 

They included experts in supply-chains, investing, manufacturing processes like 3D printing and computer controlled manufacturing, the energy involved in driving the entire industry, as well as software including artificial intelligence used to design and manage the manufacturing process.

While opinions seemed to differ on some aspects of manufacturing’s future, there were several areas of common ground that quickly became apparent.

When Designers Do Production

April 30, 2016 | ProgressTH The division of labor has dominated the modern economic paradigm for quite some time, in fact, some would argue since around the beginning of the Industrial Revolution and maybe a little bit before it even. 

In a single lifetime, one could have conceivably seen a time when designers were divided into drafters, renderers, and model-makers, and of course, designers would take whatever it is they created, and pass it on to either a manufacturer, a prototyping shop, or a contractor.

With the computer revolution, design software streamlined and improved the speed and efficiency of the entire design process. Often creating plans, a 3D model, and renders could be done within the same software suite. The design would still be passed on to people bending metal, molding plastic, cutting wood, or otherwise taking it from the digital world, and building it in the physical world.

Today, with the advent of affordable and accessible personal manufacturing technology (CNC laser cutters, routers, and water jets, as well as 3D printing) designs can go from digital to physical inside the same studio, overseen by the very designers who created them. The division of labor that has defined at least the design world is looking more like a coming convergence.

Transforming Our Communities Ourselves With Technology

April 20, 2016 | ProgressTH Many people may mistakenly believe that the future is something that others, like big companies or governments usher in and that they themselves play either a minor active role, or one that is entirely passive. In reality there are already groups of regular people just like you or I around the world literally building the future of their communities themselves with their own two hands and in collaboration with their friends, family, neighbors, and through the power of the Internet, with like-minded individuals around the world.

Instead of some planned community built by government or developers, we can add a layer of opensource technology over our existing communities, on our rooftops, in our offices, and at existing public spaces or markets. In addition to this added layer of physical technology, a little change in our mindset will go a long way in transforming our communities. 

Because of the exponential progress of technology, the impact of small, organized projects is increasing as well. Think about 3D printing and how for many years it remained firmly in the realm of large businesses for use in prototyping. It was only when small groups of enthusiastic hobbyists around the world began working on cheaper and more accessible versions of these machines that they ended up on the desktops of regular people around the world, changing the way we look at manufacturing.

Similar advances in energy production, biotechnology, agriculture, IT, and manufacturing technology are likewise empowering people on a very distributed and local level.

What we see emerging is a collection of local “institutions” giving people direct access to the means to change their communities for the better, bypassing more abstract and less efficient means of effecting change like voting or protesting. 

Makerspaces + Hospitals

April 13, 2016 | ProgressTH Taking care of human health is not like fixing a car or a computer. Not only is there a wide range of conditions that can inflict a human being, but each human being also has a unique personality and ability (or inability) to deal with that infliction. Navigating this complicated challenge are doctors and nurses all over the world who must confront and overcome these unique challenges on a daily basis.

(image: Popular Science)

Often these challenges require inventive solutions that are hacked together on the spot using material already on hand. For such solutions that deal with recurring problems, healthcare professionals might consult a biomedical design firm to produce a finalized and marketable solution. However, this takes time and money. What if there was a better way? A cheaper way? A faster way?

Makerspaces + Hospitals

Makerspaces are exactly what they sound like… spaces in which you make things. Beyond semantics however, makerspaces generally also imply the presence of modern prototyping and personal manufacturing technology ranging from opensource electronics and development boards, to computer-controlled laser cutters and mills, to 3D printers.

What Comes After GE-Backed FirstBuild Microfactory?

The next maker revolution will be the rise of the independent microfactory.

April 9, 2016 | ProgressTH GE (General Electric) in cooperation with opensource distributed automaker LocalMotors, MakerBot, and several other names in digital fabrication, opened FirstBuild, a microfactory that crowd-sourced design ideas, prototyped and manufactured them in small batches, before using GE's mass production and marketing power to bring them to the international market.

As of 2016, over 1,000 ideas have been created there.

One potential advantage of this business model is that it allows large conglomerates struggling against growing competition worldwide to cut down on R&D and marketing. Ideas that are crowd-sourced by the market itself are likely to feature things people already want and find lacking in existing consumer goods, saving (or putting out of a job) a marketing expert from having to research these needs, before handing them over to a team of engineers to develop.

Bangkok's Maker Community One Year Later

December 25, 2015 | ProgressTH It was just over a year ago that the first full-fledged makerspaces started springing up around Bangkok. We first covered Gravitech's Home of Maker on December 17, 2014. Little did we know how much would change between then and now.

Bangkok's maker community went from almost zero to impressive in just one year.

Before that, the best you could do was follow the expanding maker movement online and work on projects yourself or with a close circle of friends.

However, this changed when together with Home of Maker, Maker Zoo and Fab Cafe opened their doors. Finally, in Bangkok, the curious, the inventive, and the creative had convenient places to go to work on their projects, collaborate with others, catch a glimpse of personal manufacturing technology like 3D printing, and get their hands on opensource hardware like the Arduino microcontroller.

What is Do-It-Yourself Biology?

December 18, 2015 | ProgressTH Talk of DNA and biotechnology generally conjures up images of movie monsters or talk of large agricultural companies that use genetic engineering to modify organisms (GMOs). And for the longest time to ordinary people, biotechnology really was something they could only see in fiction or in practice in the hands of large, well-funded corporations and institutions.

F.Lab in Bangkok, Thailand is seeking to use DNA barcoding to identify, protect, and promote organic varieties of rice in Thailand. It uses its own DIY lab equipment 3D printed and assembled at local makerspace, Maker Zoo.  

But like computers, which also started out as an inaccessible curiosity to regular people, biotechnology is finally making its way into the hands of a much larger community.

Enter DIYbio 

That's where the DIYbio movement comes in. DIYbio is the local use of the tools and techniques of biotechnology by regular people who may not be trained scientists, but have an interest in biotechnology nonetheless.

PINN Creative Space, Bangkok

New makerspace joins Bangkok's growing maker community. 

December 16, 2015 | ProgressTH Want to make your own clothes? What about 3D print your own spare parts, toys, or devices? Maybe you have a project that requires precision cutting of acrylic or even wood? There is a place you can do all of these things and more for competitive prices right here in Bangkok, just a short walk from Rama 9 MRT station.

Open daily 10am-7pm, PINN Creative Space is located one floor up from the ground level of The Shoppes, right behind Central Rama 9 on Ratchada Road. It is one of the largest makerspaces we've seen so far in Bangkok and includes rows of sewing machines (PINN is usually associated with DIY crafts, especially sewing) as well as 3D printers of every variety placed throughout the space.

In the back room, there are computer-controlled large laser cutting machines perfect for acrylic and wood.

Bangkok-Based Makerspace Sets Out to Improve Prosthetic Limbs

May 12, 2015 -- ProgressTH Bangkok-based makerspace, MakerZoo, is working on improving existing, open source prosthetic limbs that have already helped revolutionize and empower many missing limbs either from birth or from accidents.

The original project called e-NABLE has created an open source 3D printed series of prosthetic limbs that have been printed out and distributed around the world through a growing network of volunteers and organizations.

Despite the many advantages including easier accessibility to prosthetic limbs, cheaper costs, and better customization, there are still many flaws in many of the designs. The e-NABLE project depends on people testing and improving the designs locally under various conditions to improve the overall quality of their growing line of prosthetic limbs.

หุ่นยนต์เห่ย เปิดประตูสร้าง Maker movement

20 เม.ย. 2558 - Progress Thailand - เริ่มเป็นรูปเป็นร่างมากๆขึ้นเรื่อยๆ กับภารกิจการสร้าง Maker Movement ที่ทีม ProgressTH พยายามผลักดันเรื่องนี้ร่วมกับ Makerspace ต่างๆ เพื่อเปิดประเด็น Makerspace คือ พื้นที่สร้างสรรค์ของคนที่อยากลงมือทำจริง ให้เป็นที่รู้จักในสังคมไทย

ล่าสุด ทีม ProgressTH ต้องขอขอบคุณ Maker Zoo ที่ให้โอกาสเราได้ทำงานเรื่องนี้ด้วยกันอย่างใกล้ชิด ทำให้เราได้เรียนรู้จากการลงมือทำเป็นอย่างมาก โดยเฉพาะล่าสุด กับภารกิจจัดการแข่งขัน “หุ่นยนต์เห่ยสร้างสรรค์ประจัญบาน” HEBOCON Thailand ครั้งที่ 1

ยอมรับว่าเมื่อเราได้ยินชื่อ การแข่งการแข่งขัน ทำให้เราถึงกับอึ้ง ว่า “หุ่นยนต์เห่ย” ทำไมชื่อแบบนี้ และวัตถุประสงค์คืออะไร จนกระทั่งได้รับการเฉลยจากทีม Maker Zoo ว่า เป้าหมายของการแข่งขันหุ่นยนต์เห่ยที่ว่านี้ จะมีความหมายอย่างมาก ต่อผู้ที่เริ่มต้นประดิษฐ์สิ่งต่างๆ ซึ่งบางครั้งต้องเจอกับความล้มเหลว ซึ่งหากเราพิจารณาและยอมรับเราจะเห็นว่า ความล้มเหลว ความเห่ย ที่เกิดขึ้น คือสิ่งสวยงาม ที่เปิดทางให้เราไปสู่ความสำเร็จ