FrED and the FrED Factory:
The MIT Approach to Designing a Smart Learning Factory
Name
bradley-russelb-sm-meche-2025-thesis.pdf
Description
Thesis PDF
Size
29.24 MB
Format
Adobe PDF
Checksum (MD5)
cabef6074f018befe14582195a14b304
Author(s)
Bradley, Russel
Advisor(s)
Anthony, Brian W.
Date Issued
September 2025
Publisher
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Abstract
It’s hard to learn manufacturing without being in a factory. Existing manufacturing education approaches—including educational kits, machine shops, and learning factories—often fail to capture the natural variability and the flow of products, processes, and people inherent in volume production, which drive the dynamics of real manufacturing systems. This paper/thesis talks about the design and development of the learning factory at MIT, also known as the FrED Factory. FrED Factory is a fully operational factory within campus that produces and delivers manufacturing education kits, Fiber Extrusion Device (FrED), while simultaneously delivering education. The combination of a learning factory producing learning products creates a unique ecosystem of manufacturing education. The FrED and the FrED Factory ecosystem have impacted learners with authentic learning experiences. Project-based learning experiences are delivered through groups of students working to develop FrED and the FrED Factory. The products of this development, the learning device and learning factory, amplify impact by serving as platforms for manufacturing education. The FrED and FrED Factory initiative has impacted learners from K-12, undergraduate, graduate, and professional education at MIT and beyond.
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Mechanical Engineering
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In Copyright - Educational Use Permitted
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