Digital Fabrication and Immersive Media Laboratories (DFIML)

Technologies in virtual and augmented reality, robotics, 3D scanning and printing, and motion capture

3D printer, digital fabrication laboratory

The Digital Fabrication and Immersive Media Labs present a step change in the delivery of teaching, research and innovation for the University of Plymouth and local community.

Based within the Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Business the labs offer access to cutting-edge technology such as motion-capture, augmented and extended reality and a wide array of digital fabrication tools which enable users to develop and prototype new products, services and experiences, create bespoke tools for complex and specialist research purposes and engage with new opportunities for innovative, interdisciplinary collaborations.

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Location: Roland Levinsky Building

For students

We are dedicated to building a new generation of alumni with high in-demand industry skills, while broadening our vision and understanding of how these technologies will be shaping our society.

Therefore, we encourage our students to gain as much hands-on practice as possible with the technology available to them, empowering them to experiment and use the labs to bring their ideas to life in entirely new ways.

For staff

This new technology provides an opportunity for staff to push the boundaries of their research through innovative collaborations, knowledge sharing and the potential for prototyping and immersion unlike anything the faculty has seen before. What's more, with access to the labs, our teaching staff have the opportunity to engage students in an entirely new degree if explorative, innovative immersive learning.

For business

We deliver bespoke training sessions to help organisations develop a strong understanding of the value, implications and impact these technologies can have on their businesses.

Through a combination of knowledge sharing from our world-leading academics in the field and hands-on support from our highly skilled technicians, participants will leave with a thorough understanding of all aspects and capabilities of these technologies and gain a common vocabulary to build a constructive dialogue across all levels of the organisation.

Access these workshops by contacting dfiml@plymouth.ac.uk

Digital Fabrication Lab resources

The Digital Fabrication Laboratory provides advanced digital fabrication resources to support design ideation, prototyping and product development This core facility supports research, enterprise and academic development in architecture, design and engineering. Through the use of cutting-edge technologies, the laboratory enables new solutions to close the gaps between digital media and physical production processes, forcing a step change in the way we design, make and build.

Digital Fabrication Laboratory hardware

Detailed information is available on the supplier's website linked from each item.

Fab Lab hardware resources

Universal Laser VLS6.60

60W laser cutter, bed 800x450mm, max 9mm cut depth

GCC X380

80W laser cutter, bed 900x600 mm

Ultimaker 3

Dual-extrusion FDM 3D printer

Ultimaker S5

Dual-extrusion FDM 3D printer with metal printing capabilities

Stratasys Objet30

Polyjet 3D printer for high-end prototypes

Formlabs Form3B

SLA 3D printer for high resolution and biocompatible prints

AXYZ 4008 ATC

Large-format CNC router for wood, plywood, MDF, Acrylic

Roland MDX 50

Precision 4-axis CNC mill for organic materials and non-ferrous metals.

Roland MDX 540

CNC mill for plastics and non-ferrous metals

3D Scanner (milimeters) - Artec Space Spider

Artec Space Spider 3D scanner: Up to 0.05 mm point accuracy, accuracy over distance up to 0.03% over 100 cm, working distance 0.2-0.3 m. (including Artec Smart Turntable)

3D Scanner (centimeters) - Artec Leo

Artec Leo 3D scanner: Up to 0.1 mm point accuracy, accuracy over distance up to 0.03% over 100 cm, working distance 0.35-1.2 m.

3D Scanner (meters) - Artec Ray

Artec Ray long-range 3D scanner: 110m distance, ranging error 0.7mm @ 15m, 2 integrated 5 mpx cameras.

Epson VT6

6-axis robotic arms VT6: 90mm reach, 3-5 kg payload capacity. This resource is operated in collaboration with the School of Engineering.

Brother ScanNCut CM 300

Monoprice Select Mini Pro 3D printer

Lab-in-a-box "portable" 3D printer

WASP 40100 clay

1-meter high Clay 3D printer

WASP 2040 clay

WASP Delta 2040 Turbo 2 Clay printer

Digital Fabrication Laboratory software

Detailed information is available on the supplier's website linked from each item.

Fab Lab software resources

PreForm

SLA print slicing software

Ultimaker CURA

FDM print slicing software

SolidCAM

CNC milling toolpath planning software

Roland DG - SRPlayer

CNC milling toolpath planning software

Autodesk Revit

BIM modelling software

McNeel Rhino3D

CAD software

Autodesk Meshmixer

Software for working with triangle meshes

Dassault Solidworks

Mechanical CAD software

Autodesk Fusion 360

Mechanical CAD software

Autodesk Mudbox

3D modelling and sculpting software

Pixologic Zbrush

Virtual 3d sculpting tool

Adobe Illustrator

The industry-standard vector graphics software.

Gravity Sketch

VR CAD sketching software

Autodesk Maya

3D modelling and rendering software for design visualisation, games, and animation

Vextrix Aspire 10.5

Aspire provides a powerful but intuitive software solution for creating and cutting parts on a CNC router.

Take a walk through our Digital Fabrication Lab

Our virtual tour allows you to see the space our students work in and the hardware they have access to. You can also watch videos about the cutting-edge technologies on offer.

Step into the lab and have a look for yourself

Screenshot of the virtual tour of the Digital Fabrication laboratory

Immersive Media Lab resources

The Immersive Media Laboratory provides facilities for 3D scanning and motion capture as well as a black box space to experiment with augmented (AR), mixed (MR) and virtual reality (VR) technologies. The space offers an opportunity for experimentation and interdisciplinary collaboration and is open to testing new games, products, immersive experiences, educational innovations and medical simulations to name a few uses. We welcome creative interdisciplinary collaborations from all sectors wishing to experiment with AR, MR and VR.

Immersive Media Lab hardware

Detailed information is available on the supplier's website linked from each item.

Immersive Media hardware

Motion Capture system - Shogun (Vicon)

Motion capture setup for 2 actors

Immersive 3-meter dome

semi-portable 360-degree projection screen

4k projector - Benq LK953ST

4K installation projector

VR/AR headset - Vive Pro Eye

360 camera - Insta360 Pro2 8K

InstaPro 2 8K 360 Camera and Farsight for remote control and monitoring

360 camera - Kandao Koocam 8k

360/8K Action Camera and dive case (30 meters)

3D Scanner - Intel Real Sense D435i

depth camera with IMU for robotics applications

iPad Pro

tablet computer with LIDAR scanner for enhanced AR applications

AR Headset - Microsoft HoloLens 2

VR headset - Oculus Quest

VR headset

3D Scanner (milimeters) - Artec Space Spider

Artec Space Spider 3D scanner: Up to 0.05 mm point accuracy, accuracy over distance up to 0.03% over 100 cm, working distance 0.2-0.3 m. (including Artec Smart Turntable)

3D Scanner (centimeters) - Artec Leo

Artec Leo 3D scanner: Up to 0.1 mm point accuracy, accuracy over distance up to 0.03% over 100 cm, working distance 0.35-1.2 m.

3D Scanner (meters) - Artec Ray

Artec Ray long-range 3D scanner: 110m distance, ranging error 0.7mm @ 15m, 2 integrated 5 mpx cameras.

Immersive Media Lab software

Detailed information is available on the supplier's website linked from each item.

Immersive Media software

Autodesk Revit

BIM modelling software

Autodesk Meshmixer

Software for working with triangle meshes

Autodesk Mudbox

3D modelling and sculpting software

Unity

Game engine/virtual environment development framework

Unreal

Game engine/virtual environment development framework

Pixologic Zbrush

Virtual 3D sculpting tool

3D scanning mesh reconstruction software

Resolume

Substance 3D

Adobe After Effects

VR CAD sketching software

Autodesk Maya

3D modelling and rendering software for design visualisation, games and animation

Autodesk 3DS Max

3D modelling and rendering software for design visualisation, games and animation

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Digital Fabrication Laboratory

dfiml@plymouth.ac.uk

Digital Fabrication Lab, Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Business, Roland Levinsky Building 112, University of Plymouth, Drake Circus, Plymouth, PL4 8AA

@PlymCreative

Digital Fabrication and Immersive Media Laboratories (DFIML)

Technologies in virtual and augmented reality, robotics, 3D scanning and printing, and motion capture

For students

For staff

For business

Digital Fabrication Lab resources

Digital Fabrication Laboratory hardware

Fab Lab hardware resources

Digital Fabrication Laboratory software

Fab Lab software resources

Take a walk through our Digital Fabrication Lab

Immersive Media Lab resources

Immersive Media Lab hardware

Immersive Media hardware

Immersive Media Lab software

Immersive Media software

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