"FabLab MIT" Educational and Production Centre
The "FabLab MIT" Educational and Production Centre (Fabrication Laboratory) is a modern, high-technology platform established on an open innovation model. It is a unique scientific, educational, and production space combining advanced technologies of digital manufacturing, engineering design, and prototyping. The Centre operates as a key infrastructural hub of the university, ensuring the integration of theoretical learning, fundamental and applied scientific research, and real manufacturing processes.
The Centre is oriented towards supporting students, master's students, doctoral students, young scientists, and independent inventors by providing them with the full spectrum of tools to realise the concept of end-to-end development — from idea to finished product. The Centre's infrastructure enables interdisciplinary research at the intersection of mechanical engineering, renewable energy, materials science, and information technologies. An important feature of the Centre is its focus on solving real industrial challenges with an emphasis on environmental sustainability, energy efficiency, and resource conservation.
1. Strategic objective
The global objective of the "FabLab MIT" Educational and Production Centre is to form a sustainable, inclusive, and high-technology innovation ecosystem that promotes the development of human capital, achievement of technological sovereignty, and a smooth transition to a "green" economy.
The Centre aspires to become a leading centre of competence in engineering creativity and knowledge-intensive design, where advanced ideas are transformed into commercially successful and environmentally safe products. The objective also includes cultivating a new generation of engineers and researchers who possess not only deep technical knowledge (hard skills) but also a high degree of social and environmental responsibility, an understanding of contemporary global challenges, and the ability to propose adequate technological solutions to address them.
2. Key tasks of the Centre
2.1. Educational and academic tasks:
Implementation of Project-Based Learning: Transforming the educational process by engaging students in solving real engineering challenges, thereby bridging the gap between academic theory and industrial practice.
Development of digital competencies: Training in advanced methods of computer-aided design (CAD), specifically in-depth study of SolidWorks for creating complex three-dimensional models and assemblies.
Development of engineering analysis skills: Training specialists in computer engineering (CAE) and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) for conducting virtual testing, aerodynamic analysis, and structural strength analysis prior to physical realisation.
Ensuring equal access to technologies: Creating an inclusive environment in which every student, regardless of year or discipline, has the opportunity to master the use of CNC machines, 3D printers, and other high-technology equipment.
2.2. Research and development tasks (R&D):
Stimulating applied research: Conducting comprehensive scientific research in the field of alternative energy, including the development, comparative analysis, and optimisation of aerodynamic profiles for Vertical Axis Wind Turbines (VAWT).
Commercialisation of scientific results and protection of intellectual property: Supporting projects at all stages — from drawings through to the obtaining of patents for utility models and inventions (including registration with national and international patent offices such as Kazpatent).
Development of innovative materials and structures: Seeking new engineering solutions aimed at improving the strength, durability, and energy efficiency of mechanisms while simultaneously reducing their material consumption.
2.3. Production and technological tasks:
Rapid Prototyping: Ensuring the rapid creation of physical models and experimental samples of parts and assemblies using additive and subtractive manufacturing methods.
Reverse engineering and import substitution: Digitising existing industrial parts, analysing their vulnerabilities, and refining technical solutions to create improved domestic equivalents.
2.4. Social and environmental-economic tasks:
Popularisation of science and DIY culture: Conducting master classes, hackathons, and open lectures for schoolchildren, students, and the local community with the aim of raising the prestige of engineering professions.
Promotion of circular economy principles: Implementation of lean manufacturing practices; use of recyclable or biodegradable materials in 3D printing processes; minimisation of production waste.
3. Main areas of activity
3.1. Digital design and engineering analysis (CAD/CAM/CAE)
The Centre is a hub of expertise in computer engineering. In-depth project development is carried out using software such as SolidWorks. Centre specialists and residents conduct kinematic, dynamic, and structural strength analysis of mechanisms. Special attention is given to computational fluid dynamics (CFD) methods for performing complex aerodynamic calculations, which are critically important in the design of turbine blades, aircraft, and vehicles.
3.2. Renewable energy and "green" technologies
One of the Centre's directions is the development of solutions for the alternative energy sector. In particular, large-scale scientific and research work is underway on the comparative analysis and design of Vertical Axis Wind Turbine (VAWT) rotors. Centre residents are developing innovative modular wind turbine designs distinguished by reduced noise levels, independence from wind direction, and the ability to be integrated into the urban environment. These developments go through a full cycle within the Centre: from CFD analysis in a virtual environment to printing of scaled prototypes and subsequent patenting of unique components.
3.3. Additive technologies and digital manufacturing
The Centre's equipment fleet includes a wide range of 3D printers operating on FDM (fused deposition modelling) and SLA (stereolithography) technologies, as well as high-precision CNC milling, turning, and laser machines. This enables the fabrication of parts of any complexity from various materials: from structural plastics and photopolymer resins to composites and metals.
4. Alignment with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs):
SDG 4 — Quality Education: FabLab provides open access to advanced manufacturing technologies, digitisation, and modelling for a wide range of students; training seminars, workshops, and professional development courses on SolidWorks, aerodynamic analysis principles, and additive technologies are conducted; the international IMPACT project is being implemented in collaboration with Purdue University (USA).
SDG 7 — Affordable and Clean Energy: development, prototyping, and comparative analysis of VAWT rotors directly contribute to the advancement of distributed energy generation technologies; the modular wind turbines designed at the Centre are intended for efficient operation in regions with complex aerodynamic conditions.
SDG 8 — Decent Work and Economic Growth: the Centre serves as an incubator for hardware startups; graduates who have trained at FabLab and mastered CAD/CAE systems and CNC operation become highly competitive specialists on the global labour market.
SDG 9 — Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure: reverse engineering and import substitution projects help local enterprises upgrade their production lines; patenting of unique developments (e.g., patents for modular vertical-axis wind turbines) directly contributes to the growth of the region's and country's innovation index.
SDG 11 — Sustainable Cities and Communities: design of small architectural structures with integrated renewable energy sources (integration of VAWTs into urban infrastructure elements: lighting, smart bus shelters, autonomous monitoring stations).
SDG 12 — Responsible Consumption and Production: the use of computer engineering (CAE/CFD) methods enables hundreds of virtual tests to be conducted before any physical object is created, radically reducing material consumption on failed prototypes; 3D printing adds material only where needed, minimising production waste; the use of biodegradable PLA-based filaments is also encouraged.
SDG 13 — Climate Action: every successful development in the field of energy generation created and tested at the Centre represents a step towards reducing dependence on hydrocarbon fuels; the Centre also serves as a platform for environmental education, demonstrating to students and partners how engineering solutions can contribute to climate preservation.
SDG 17 — Partnerships for the Goals: FabLab MIT actively cooperates with industrial enterprises and other universities; an international project is being implemented in collaboration with Purdue University (USA); exchange of open-source hardware, drawings, and methodologies with FabLabs worldwide is carried out.