# Overview

## Welcome to Fabricate!!!

Fabricate is a hardware program by [Hack Club](https://hackclub.com/) open to teenagers worldwide. Design and build original hardware projects, get funding to build them, and get whatever tools you need.

## How it works

Every project in Fabricate gets **Scraps**, a currency which you can exchange for a grant to fund your project, or convert to **Chips** once your build your project.

Here's how it works:
1. Your project gets accepted, giving you a certain number of scraps.
2. You exchange those scraps for a grant to fund your project, at a rate of 10 scraps = $5
3. You build your project, converting the leftover scraps to chips, which unlocks rewards from along our path.

Here's an example scenario:
1. John Hackclub submits a wireless split keyboard he designed, earning him 250 scraps.
2. He needs $75 to build his keyboard, so he uses 150 scraps on a grant, leaving him with 100 scraps.
3. He builds his keyboard and submits it, converting his 100 scraps to chips.
4. John is now at stop 3 on the path, he chooses a USB drive from stop 1, a soldering mat from stop 2, and a hot air station from stop 3.

![Reward path](Images/fabricate-path.webp)

The number of scraps you earn is decided by the complexity **AND** polish of your project. Here are our tiers:

## Project Tiers

| Tier | Scraps | Hours  | Examples                                                                                   | Max grant | Example projects                                                                                                                                                                                        |
| ---- | ------ | ------ | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | --------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| 1    | 1000   | ~67+   | custom 3D printer, CNC mill/router                                                         | $500      | [M.2 FPGA Accelerator](https://github.com/KaiPereira/M.2-FPGA-Accelerator), [HEX-B12](https://github.com/Josh4minee/HEX-B12.V1), [Spark 3D printer](https://github.com/HenryLi-0/spark)                 |
| 2    | 500    | ~34-66 | battle bot, custom robot arm, FPGA board, drone with a custom flight controller, Linux SBC | $250      | [Icepi Zero](https://github.com/cheyao/icepi-zero), [Meko, a Music Player](https://github.com/KOEGlike/meko/tree/v2), [Ultimate Bike Odometer](https://github.com/roc-ket-cod-er/Cpeedo-mk5)            |
| 3    | 250    | ~17-33 | complex dev board, full-size keyboard, smart home hub, small robot                         | $125      | [Cyberboard V2](https://github.com/notaroomba/cyberboard), [Mito Split Keyboard](https://github.com/KOEGlike/mito), [OpenLightingController](https://github.com/Crashandburn001/OpenLightingController) |
| 4    | 100    | ~8-16  | drone kit, custom macropad, USB hub, breakout board                                        | $50       | [Spotify Display](https://github.com/Dongathan-Jong/SpotifyDisplay/), [12KEMP Macropad](https://github.com/OakTreeWC/12KEMPV2.1), [Ninjahub](https://github.com/Ninjadude01/Ninjahub)                   |
| 5    | 50     | ~5-8   | 3D printed gadget, PCB fidget toy, PCB business card                                       | $25       | [The Branded One Card](https://github.com/Cocotrilito/The-Branded-one), [Mega Ramadaan Lantern](https://github.com/Randomcoder323/Mega-Ramadaan-Lantern)                                                |

**50% Bonus Scraps until November 18th!!!**
These scraps are not redeemable towards your grant, they must be saved for your build.

- Hour amounts are only estimates, we have no hard time requirements.
- Tiers are based on the effort and polish of your project, not how much its parts cost. An expensive part list won't bump you up a tier, so plan your project to fit your tier's grant.

Your project needs to be original, following a tutorial as a starting point is fine, but your submission needs a meaningful twist that makes it **yours**.


## Submitting

In short, your project will need to be **shipped**. Shipping is the process of making your project public, open source, and accessible. You can read more about what shipping is [here](/docs/what-is-shipping).

On top of shipping your project, we require regular journaling of your progress. You can read how to journal effectively in [Journaling your progress](/docs/journaling).

All the submission requirements can be found in [Submitting](/docs/submitting).