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She Builds Robots

@shebuildsrobots

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⚙️ Fashioneering
⚙️ Founder of shebuildsrobots.org
⚙️ Chicago Public Library Maker-in-Residence 2024

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👗 “I’m a fashioneer,” says @shebuildsrobots (Christina Ernst). “I combine fashion and engineering to make wearable, magical technology.” Bringing together her two passions, Christina pulls inspiration from the world of fantasy to design and engineer her incredible creations. Her work combining engineering and fashion began in college, when she entered a hackathon with a bluetooth-controlled, color-changing dress — a true lightbulb moment. “I realized that fashion and e-textiles was an excellent vehicle for sparking girls’ interest in coding and electronics.” This revelation led her to develop a curriculum of art-based circuit and coding projects for young creators, now called She Builds Robots.

For Christina, technology is real-world magic. “Sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic,” she says. “With the right training and tinkering, anyone can bring their ideas to life in a way that, to me, is genuinely magical.” This inspires projects like this hand-sewn, self-twirling dress made from recycled fabric and a wearable circuit with motors to give it a life of its own. She always begins with her imagination: “If we lived in a magical world, what would the villain be wearing, or the hero? What would clothing look like?” she says. “Once I have an idea, I think through all of the engineering components I have available to me that could bring the idea to life.” When the vision comes together, she prototypes with cardboard, paper, and tape, moves on to 3D-printed parts, and then brings her creations to life.

What’s next for Christina? “Expect to see many more robotic fashion looks!” she says. “It’s a dream of mine to design for the Met Gala someday.” 🪡

Music by Symphonic Planet

#bespoke #FashionTech #TextileDesign #robotics #fashioneering taken in Chicago, Illinois by @shebuildsrobots

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a year ago

I’ve rediscovered free will this Halloween #3dprinting #robotics #engineering #coding #arduino #halloween #ratatouille #cosplay by @shebuildsrobots

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2 years ago

When @markrober invited me to cheat his casino, I was grateful for every hour I’d spent on my engineering degree! I brought together statistics, electrical engineering, programming, 3D printing, and sewing to invent this card counting garter.

As always, the physical design was more of a challenge than the algorithm. The mounts to attach the electronics to the garter were printed on the @formlabs Form 4 in Elastic Resin. This resin ended up providing a better flex around my body than TPU, and it’s just fun to squish! Affiliate links in bio if you want to try it out yourself.

Thank you Mark and the @crunchlabs team for having me!

#engineering #3dprinting #form4 #formlabs by @shebuildsrobots

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11 days ago

#ad My bunny rabbit needed his own conveyor belt sushi restaurant, obviously. This project involved a cool mix of materials (wood filament! A cheap and easy cardboard base!) as well as very tight tolerances, so this was one of my most design intensive projects. Learning CAD has been so worth it, and if you want to try it out as well, feel free to grab a discount with my SOLIDWORKS for Makers code SHEBUILDSROBOTS or the link in my LinkTree.

Original conveyor belt design inspired by Johannes Dorig on MakerWorld. While building out my own design, his interlocking belt pieces and drive mechanism added the missing pieces of my puzzle, and they are super fun to play with. Recommend checking out his modular design!

@dassaultsystemes @solidworks #3dprinting #engineering #bunny #rabbit by @shebuildsrobots

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21 days ago

I’ve been quiet but busy designing the mechanism for my jellyfish dress! Gears on a moving human body is a challenge I can’t seem to stop gravitating towards 🙃

Fabric gifted by @icefabrics__. I bias cut the gorgeous iridescent organza and finished with fishing line edges on my @babylocksewing serger.

I also want to shout out @ammaraproject, who contacted me after my first post to tell me about the jellyfish dress she was also in the process of developing! Please go check out her completed work, it’s stunning and uses an incredibly cool silicone painting technique.

#3dprinting #engineering #sewing by @shebuildsrobots

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a month ago

I love the look of LED noodles and wanted to see if I could make some fun special effects! With a little interfacing, this project is perfectly lightweight and wearable. I used clear nylon thread to tack down the plastic tubing, and it’s pretty invisible in the final result! #sewing #3dprinting #circuits #diy by @shebuildsrobots

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3 months ago

I find kinetic sculptures hypnotizing, and I feel like they have a ton of untapped potential for wearables and costumes. So of course I’m going to immediately stress test this idea with a full-sized, upside-down kinetic jellyfish sculpture that needs to handle gravity and human movement. What could go wrong? Follow along for the jellyfication of gear mechanisms 🪼

I’m grateful to @bambulab_official for sponsoring this build through their Let’s Make It Fund initiative. As you all know, adding fabric and sequins to what I make doesn’t change the fact that I’m doing engineering under the hood, even though some see it that way. It’s extremely validating to have Bambu’s support pushing the field I call fashioneering. And if you have a big idea, applications for Let’s Make It are still open on a rolling basis; link to apply is in bio.

Floramorph 3D print files by the talented @williamdarrell

Printed on @bambulab_official H2D with PLA Tough+ connectors, translucent PETG, silk PLA, and matte PLA.

#bambulab #BambuLetsMakeIt #bambulabh2d #3dprinting by @shebuildsrobots

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3 months ago

My dress that sews itself has been my most challenging project to date. Gravity plus moving human bodies introduce unique issues, but I know the final result will be all the more impressive if I can get it to work! Thank you to everyone who has kept up with my progress even when it’s slow; your accountability has kept me from giving up.

Of course, all that work doesn’t matter if the movement isn’t visible, so I designed some vintage-inspired patterns to make the fabric pop. Embroidery would’ve gotten caught in the rollers, so I did a quick prototype with my @xtool.official Apparel Printer. Since it was a direct-to-film heat transfer, it preserved the swirly details and popped against the dark fabric while remaining flat like I needed.

The geared prototype was printed on @formlabs Form 4 in Tough 1500 Resin V2 since my PLA prints have been splitting along the motor shaft. I’m confident that the gear + timing belt combo will make a comeback in a future project! Affiliate links in bio.

#engineering #3dprinting #xtoolapparelprinter #form4 #formlabs by @shebuildsrobots

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3 months ago

Adding propellers to arbitrary hats has incredible comedic potential and I have free will. As always, STL files for 3D printing are on my GitHub! You’ll also need 10mm round magnets and wire. #3dprinting by @shebuildsrobots

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4 months ago

#IEEEPartner Such an honor to attend the IEEE Laureate Forum and Honors Ceremony in NYC last month 🗽
As a former computer engineering major, it was surreal to be in a room with @ieeeawards recipients I’ve long looked up to as superstars in their fields. I have tremendous respect for the often-unseen work that advances the technologies we rely on every day.

@ieeeawards @ieeeorg #LiveFromIEEE #NYC #engineering by @shebuildsrobots

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5 months ago

🌟 New issue INCOMING! 🌟⁠
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From “fashioneering” to comedians with disabilities redefining representation through humor, this edition of #InnovatorsAtTheIntersection celebrates the people building creative, cultural, innovative impact. ⁠
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Hit the #LinkInBio to dive into the new issue and meet the innovators shaping what’s next! by @shebuildsrobots

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5 months ago

Being a maker means that my ambition often exceeds my skills, but I want to highlight some progress that felt really great in this Met Gala project. I haven’t used a variable power supply since I was a computer engineering undergrad, and it was fun to reconnect with this skill set I hadn’t touched in years. This was also my first time using a servo driver board and designing board mounts, and it really helped organize this project (even if it doesn’t look very organized in the back)!
If you love art or fashion but aren’t sure if engineering is for you, I want to remind you that there’s so much design and math in each, and you can absolutely find your niche in STEM. #metgala #fashion #robotics #arduino #3dprinting by @shebuildsrobots

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5 months ago