DECATUR, Ill. (WAND) - The Caterpillar Foundation partnered with the Fab Foundation to bring its "Fab in a Box" (FiaB) device to Eisenhower High School. FiaBs are mobile STEM devices that contain laser cutters, 3D printers, electronics kits and integrated computer programs. 

"The goal with digital fabrication devices like this is to put the concept of manufacturing into the hands of students and provide them with that rapid prototyping so they really can make just about anything on the cart," said Abigail McCune, an educational outreach consultant for the Fab Foundation. 

Students used the device to make prototypes of airplanes and determine how wind shapes and angles impacted speed and efficiency through the air. They compiled their plane elements on a digital program before they were cut by the devices lasers. 

"Usually we are doing more of a traditional approach on paper and printing our various designs, but with this new technology we can explore the digital side," said Prince Palmer, a student at Eisenhower High School. "I want to go into computer science so even looking over the code of the machine inspired me on new ideas I could implement." 

The Caterpillar Foundation said they bring this type of technology into high school classrooms so students can get a glimpse of manufacturing careers before they graduate. Bringing technology into the schools can easier then trying to bring high schoolers into manufacturing facilities. 

"We want to ensure that the schools today have the right technology and the right skills and the right training available," said Asha Varghese, the President of the Caterpillar Foundation. "For us, it's really important to ensure that we build that linkage, so that the students are equipped with the right job or the right skills for the jobs that are available." 

The technology also provides kids an opportunity to mess up and re-try their processes multiple times back to back, without worrying about production delays or completely restarting. 

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