The KAVLI-PBBR Fabrication and Design Center (FAD) offers several options for prototyping custom equipment and devices.

Additive Manufacturing (3D Printing)

Commonly known as 3D printing, additive manufacturing builds parts by applying material onto a template. The FAD has several industry standard 3D printing technologies including FDM and polyjet. The 3D printers are capable of printing of several different plastics and resins including ABS, Vero (acrylic-like), and flexible materials.

Subtractive Manufacturing (CNC milling)

A retronym for traditional machining, subtractive manufacturing builds parts by removing material from a piece of stock material. The facility's capabilities include a bandsaw to section stock and CNC mills to assist users during the transition between 3D modeling/design to the physical prototyping. CNC milling is capable of machining a wide variety of materials including soft materials like plastics and resins, soft metals like alumimum, and hard metals such as stainless steel or titanium.

Suggestions for additional capabilities?

If there are manufacturing/prototyping capabilities missing from the FAD that will benefit the UCSF community, please contact us and we'll investigate the feasibility of incorporating those capabilities into our facility.