Ask Slashdot: How Should I Build a Maker Space For a Liberal Arts College? 167
XxtraLarGe writes: I work for a small liberal arts college, and have been asked to research makerspaces. I have done a bunch of initial research which tells me a lot about equipment being used, as well as location, etc., but what I'm not finding are what to know before you start, or what it takes to make the effort worthwhile.
I'd be interested in hearing from other educators, staff, students and other maker community members on Slashdot that had makerspaces at their schools or community — can be any level — and what was the experience like? 3D printer, 3D scanner & Laser cutting machines seem to be a given, so I'd like to hear what kinds of think-outside-the-box equipment/materials did you have? We are considering putting it in our library, which seems to be a popular choice with most schools. There's also the possibility of having it somewhere in town that it could be more accessible to members of the community, maybe even as a co-op.
I'd be interested in hearing from other educators, staff, students and other maker community members on Slashdot that had makerspaces at their schools or community — can be any level — and what was the experience like? 3D printer, 3D scanner & Laser cutting machines seem to be a given, so I'd like to hear what kinds of think-outside-the-box equipment/materials did you have? We are considering putting it in our library, which seems to be a popular choice with most schools. There's also the possibility of having it somewhere in town that it could be more accessible to members of the community, maybe even as a co-op.
Makerspace.... (Score:5, Informative)
It's been called a WORKSHOP or some close equivalent in various languages for something like 2000 years now! Why the heck do we need to make up a stupid name for it?
Re:Makerspace.... (Score:5, Insightful)
Because if you call it workshop upper middle class guys will think it's a place where dirty. low-class, lowlifes work with old techniques like welders and stay away. As a makerspace they know none of that riff-raff will be around to question their choice of Sci-Fi/pop culture toys reproduced in plastic; so they will come. And since it's at a Liberal Arts college, most of the potential market are those annoying upper-middle-class white guys.
Re:Makerspace.... (Score:4, Interesting)
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And if you show up, and you actually know how to make shit with your hands, they don't say "great, does your experience with real world physics give you any insights into how we can make building stuff with our computers easier?" they say "what could somebody who bends metal know about the latest 3d printers that are designed to bend metal?"
Re:Makerspace.... (Score:5, Insightful)
As the son of a machinist, I still have a little trouble with the too-precious culture surrounding "makerspaces". My first job was sweeping up around his tool and die shop and if you wanted to see dudes who could make stuff, that was the place.
Re:Makerspace.... (Score:5, Interesting)
As the son of a machinist, I still have a little trouble with the too-precious culture surrounding "makerspaces". My first job was sweeping up around his tool and die shop and if you wanted to see dudes who could make stuff, that was the place.
Reminds me of a story my dad told me, he worked a lathe operator back in the 80's, and they had a few old guys who used to do all the tapping and die cuts by eyesight alone. They could turn out a threaded bolt that was so tight it would strip out the tapped hole from the air pressure. Or feel by touch whether or not there were imperfections in stuff they'd made. Something similar as my grandfather who was a bodyman, he could see and feel imperfections in a repair job that other people would miss even the guys who were doing repairs now.
The guys before all the computerized stuff were artists in their trade, because they had to be just that good.
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And they both had to walk up hill in the snow to and from the tool shop
You got a few of these "magic bolts" that can blow out threads with the force or whatever?
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Sure, go look at the gardner denver compressors built between 1972 and 1981, specifically made in Canada.
Here's a useful tip: If you've never done any type of machining, you'll quickly find out that cutting a thread that's near-to air tight will cause them to blow out of a bolt hole.
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My grandpa used to complain about the "college boy" engineers who had never worked in a machine shop. "You can't be a good engineer if you aren't a good mechnic first!" was one of his favorite phrases.
The man held a whole bunch of patents on aircraft engines and electronics, so I'm inclined to agree with him.
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Re:Makerspace.... (Score:4, Insightful)
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There is precedent for them though:
http://westphillytools.org/ [westphillytools.org]
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I am considering trying to design a place with areas for this, as well as areas to cook, and areas to sew, maybe an area for chemistry.
The point of a makerspace or workshop is to give access to expensive tools that would be cost prohibitive for someone to own themself.
Things like 3d printers, lathes, etc... and it's general non-consumables. Most people have access to the stuff needed to cook, sew and
perform chemistry experiments. Also most of that stuff is consumables which you would need to provide yourself anyways. An expensive
sewing machine might be something for a sewing space but if I had to guess those probably already exist. As
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Re:Makerspace.... (Score:4, Insightful)
Because if you call it workshop upper middle class guys will think it's a place where dirty. low-class, lowlifes work with old techniques like welders
Welding is a good way to make stuff, and even an upper middle class guy should be able to learn it. The equipment for MIG welding is simple and cheap. Any decent workerspace/makeshop should have one. You also want a CNC vertical mill, and lathe, even if it is just a table top, like a Sherline [sherline.com]. If you have a Techshop [techshop.ws] nearby, you should partner with them. If there is a Techshop a day's drive away, you should pay them a visit. You will learn a lot. You might talk to them about opening a branch in your town. Also, talk to your insurance company, and make sure what you are planning is allowed under your existing policy.
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This is true. In a real makerspace, if you know how to weld, you'll become popular pretty quickly.
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In a real makerspace, if you know how to weld, you'll become popular pretty quickly.
Yep. Twenty years of programming and engineering never made me popular. Then I learned how to weld at my local Techshop, and three days later a cute chick asked me to help her fix her wheelbarrow. I supposed I should have flirted or asked to go to Starbucks for a coffee. But I was so stunned that a girl was actually interested in my skillset, that I flubbed it.
Re:Makerspace.... (Score:4, Funny)
Is "fix her wheelbarrow" something I should look up on Urban Dictionary?
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http://www.urbandictionary.com... [urbandictionary.com]
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It's hard for a newbie to get used to just how useful welding can be. I was trying to wedge a heavy beam into a high, tight corner, and having to bear its weight all the time, all the while thinking, "this would be easier if there was just some sort of lip to rest the beam on". Then later, of course, "Oh duh, I can just weld one there in like 20 seconds, then cut it off with an angle grinder when I'm done". It's one thing like that after the next; it's hard to get a hold of the concept of "whatever you need
Re:Makerspace.... (Score:4, Insightful)
... a CNC vertical mill, and lathe, ...
Is that what being 'a maker' means? Who would have thought it. So it is all about spending a load on high-tech equipment and the pushing a button?
I may just be a sad, old hippie, but I think relying on heavily computerized equipment, where you can download a blueprint, push a button and out comes a finished product, that doesn't mean you're a 'maker' in my book. Yes, I know I exaggerate, but still. Or is 'maker' what you call yourself when you don't want to learn how to actually do things, you just want the finished result?
Whatever - rant's over - but I think there is a lot of real benefit to learn how to do it the primitive way, even if you later just use a machine; it gives you an insight, just like being able to write a program well in C or assembler gives you a good ballast, even if you later only write Python programs. It is sometimes quite surprising how little difference there is between using an electric tool and a manual one, if you are competent with the techniques. Just take the process of cutting a piece of plywood: it seems enticingly easy to just take an electric jigsaw and the result is guaranteed to be good, right? Except that it amazingly easy to produce a poor result. Then try the same with a handsaw - it is somewhat slower and it may be physically harder work, but it is not actually that much harder or slower, and it is in fact quite easy to do it well, if you don't try to rush it.
What I'm getting at is, don't just fall for the fallacy thinking that the only way is to set up a high-tech production facility. A very large part of the advantage of machinery is that you can produce high volumes of the same thing, but it also introduces a limitation in flexibility and will hamper your creativity. And it easily insulates you from the basic insight into what you are doing - it makes you feel helpless without your machinery.
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I may just be a sad, old hippie, but I think relying on heavily computerized equipment, where you can download a blueprint, push a button and out comes a finished product, that doesn't mean you're a 'maker' in my book. Yes, I know I exaggerate, but still. Or is 'maker' what you call yourself when you don't want to learn how to actually do things, you just want the finished result?
I think most "makers" that I've met are interested in how things work. That involves disassembling existing products and also
creating something new that doesn't exist and you can't buy. In many cases, yes, all they want is the finished result with that
finished result being a robot or other item that doesn't exist. The more tools that make it easier the better. If you can download
a blueprint and push a button for certain portions of the project, then that is great. It give you more time to work on the o
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Ugh, I don't want to hear how "simple" it's supposed to be, I've been spending way too long trying to stop the old MIG welder I picked up a while back from birdsnesting : I think I'm going to have to take it back to town and have it serviced because I can't figure out what's wrong with it. I've got the drive wheels set so loose that it slips a little just feeding the wire into the torch, I've got the feed tube brushing up against the drive wheels (couldn't get any closer), and it's still birdsnesting. May
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Because if you call it workshop upper middle class guys will think it's a place where dirty. low-class, lowlifes work with old techniques like welders
Everyone is different. I'm an upper Middle class white guy. I have multiple graduate degrees, I can also make damn near anything out of wood, plastic, or metal, and have a private workshop with the means to do so. Most of my equally upper middle class white guy friends, have old cars, motorcycles, or tractors and know how to service them and in many cases build them from essentially scratch. They aren't mutually exclusive.
Welding is a good way to make stuff, and even an upper middle class guy should be able to learn it. The equipment for MIG welding is simple and cheap. Any decent workerspace/makeshop should have one. You also want a CNC vertical mill, and lathe, even if it is just a table top, like a Sherline [sherline.com]. . .
This is an important distinction, at least for me. You need to have the stuff that people likely don't have in their own workshops and staff that knows how to use it. I have an abnormally well equipped personal workshop and the skills to use it. What I don't have is the things like a CNC Mill, and because of the cost, I'll probably never have one. I gladly pay the day rate at my (not so)local coop when I need to use one
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You say that as if it was a bad thing.
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you forgot the rough-looking-but-expensive tables to sip coffee on while chatting away on the macbook how you're at the makerspace.
also add to the list to buy expensive equipment that doesn't work well and that you don't understand how it works(makerbot 5th gens fit the bill quite well) and some stuff that's no good for anyone like the rotating table 3d scanners.
seriously though.. they should add a welding machine to the shop, a decent laser cutter, maybe a water jet cutter. a mill possibly. definitely a pc
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I mean seriously, are the looking to make things in this "makerspace" or just mash the go button on the 3D printer? I would say the 3D printer would just distract people from making things. You need welders, handtools, lathes, tablesaws, drill presses, lots of wood and metal, digital multimeters, wires. Probably most anything that you would find in the tools section of your local Home Depot or
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I'm in a club that built, back in the seventies, a Star Trek transporter console. It needed some repair after more than 35 years- new legs, complete strip-down of the finish on the console body and ding and dent repair with wood filler, fresh paint, complete rewiring,
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Jesus christ this thread is the biggest outpouring of bullshit and snobbery that I think I've ever heard on slashdot.
Let's take this:
As far as I'm concerned, if those in the room aren't required to have at least eye protection, if not hearing protection, then it may as well be craft night.
I take pride in my workshop. I don't work with metal much, can't weld and don't have a bending brake, but I can work with wood,
You always wear eye protection when using a plane? Does that make you just a "craft"sman becaus
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Fine. Call it an Atelier then.
you have art professors? (Score:2)
their space is typically nasty. scultping clay and cement. sand molds, and a furnace to melt old pistons and boat engines to cast aluminum into those molds. flying stone chips from sculpture. gobs of paint all over from "experimental" and "experiential" work. forges and anvils and hammers, oh my.
so there is a "makerspace" of traditional tools. your maintenance and boiler plant folks have similar dungeons that keep the joint operational. go ask them what they'd want to do small projects in.
I'd think a
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Thanks, beat me to it.
This is nothing really new, other than a generation who never got a chance to work with tools and has to come up with new names for old things.
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Logged in to say exactly this. Seriously. Please. In ten years the term "makerspace" will look as dated as Helvetica Neue Ultra Light.
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Which brings me to the original topic... OP... if you want good advice, go talk to some local shop teachers and maybe the nearest school of engineering (since they often
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God, thank you...I'm undoing my mod point just so I can say this. I'm sure a lot of others will upmod you, so it's all good. "Makerspace", lol.
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It's been called a WORKSHOP or some close equivalent in various languages for something like 2000 years now! Why the heck do we need to make up a stupid name for it?
We need to save something for the riff-raff. I vote we start calling them "3D Print-shops".
3D Print-shop: like silk-screening T-shirts, only in 3D!
In defense of "makerspace" (Score:3)
A quick Google(makerspace) brought me to the Wikipedia [wikipedia.org]:
A hackerspace (also referred to as a hacklab, makerspace or hackspace) is a community-operated workspace where people with common interests, often in computers, machining, technology, science, digital art or electronic art, can meet, socialize and collaborate.
I'd like to highlight the entire quote. It explains concisely how a makerspace is a particular kind of workshop in terms of what kind of work is focused on and especially the community aspects of socialization and collaboration. The distinction is important because people are encouraged to come to makerspaces to participate and socialize while workshops in general tend to be closed to the public and usually won't even lend you tools.
A car analo
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An unspoken rule is that casual conversation can and will be interrupted by power tools and other noisy processes without notice or apology. We're out there to work first an foremost. Conversation about the work is one th
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That's your own personal workshop by the sounds of it. A hackspace or the like is a community owned and run workshop, usually a charity or members club.
The London Hackspace is large enough that even operating very loud power tools in the basement workshop will not disturb converstation on the ground floor which is for lighter activities, such as crafts, laser cutting, 3D printing, sewing, knitting, electronics, programming and so on and, of course, socalising.
If you make enough noise on the ground floor to
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My workshop isn't for socialization at all. It's my space. Just mine. Occasionally my wife sticks her head in. Mostly it's me, the cats, and a lot of wood shavings.
Re: Makerspace.... (Score:2)
So Tim O'Reilly can sell books, magazines, and conference tickets. He invented the term as a way to rebrand making shit yourself.
But, if you read the magazine (don't but it, just read some of it at the library) you will see that most of the projects are really nothing more than taking expensive pieces that someone else has prepared for you and spending a few minutes putting them together. There are very few explanations as to how it really works. You just buy the parts, download some prewritten code, put it
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Yep.
That's why it's so important that people document this sort of thing w/ open licenses which can't be taken back.
I've been working on that sort of thing for the Shapeko: http://www.shapeoko.com/wiki/i... [shapeoko.com]
Anyone know of any similar wikis / resources?
- http://www.reprap.org/wiki/Rep... [reprap.org] --- I've tried to help out on this, but simply didn't get any help when I expressed how mystifying I found the structure / hierarchy --- finally just did a link dump of 3D printing stuff here: http://www.shapeoko.com/ [shapeoko.com]
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Well, a workshop generally conjures up images of places to do metal/wood working, while a "makerspace" encompasses fare more activities than that. These include electronics (with stations set up to do SMD rework, too), 3D printing, CNC and laser cutters, paper working, fabric, etc.
A well equipped makerspace would generally help everyone from som
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It's been called a WORKSHOP or some close equivalent in various languages for something like 2000 years now! Why the heck do we need to make up a stupid name for it?
Because a 'workshop' or 'shop' is something you would find at a trade or tech school for future blue-collar workers.
A 'makerspace', although functionally identical (except for the Starbucks cups laying around), sounds like place you can go to make cool stuff while you are waiting for your 19th Century French poetry class to start.
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Can I get someone to knit me a wool cap, that I can then wear all the time, even in the summer?
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liberal arts, you say? (Score:1)
mock up a fast food counter or burger station
Not your money (Score:1)
Staffing (Score:4, Insightful)
I work at an art school. The equipment you choose is important, but not as crucial as the level of commitment from your institution. Building a space isn't just picking and buying the equipment. The institution also needs to look at the cost of staffing the space with knowledgeable, dedicated staff who can help manage expectations and keep things running. Layman think that laser cutters, 3D printers and CNC machines are like laser printers, they're not. There are safety regulations to consider, as well as proper ventilation and dust filtering. In academic spaces, "maker" devices get beaten to hell and are constantly breaking down. Grad students can only be expected to do so much. If your school is committed to "making," then then need to commit an annual budget to build an appropriate home as well as staff and maintain the facility with at least one full timer who can train faculty, and manage grad students and work study.
Think back to yesterday's story on women (Score:2)
Advertise it as being socially responsible, and something that will empower poor, "developing nations" womyn.
Campus is plenty accessible (Score:2)
If the idea is to make it available to students, then it should be on campus.
It shouldn't be anywhere near the library, because it will be noisy if it's any good.
Sort of agree with the antimakerspace vibe, but... (Score:3)
"think-outside-the-box equipment/materials did you have"
No, you need the conventional tools that have been developed over the centuries, augmented by whatever 21st century stuff you want. But a hammer and a saw and a drill and a chisel will be far more use than most things that plug into a computer. having said that, you might buy a big box of Arduino clones and see what people do with them. They cost about as much as a nut and a bolt. (seriously, I just paid $2.80 for a nut and a bolt, the same as an Arduino Mini)
The solutions should be outside the box, do you really think you can invent or even need a better hammer?
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Not better than this one, no:
http://www.vaughanmfg.com/shop... [vaughanmfg.com]
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The solutions should be outside the box, do you really think you can invent or even need a better hammer?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H... [wikipedia.org]
Given the sheer range of both manual and mechanical hammers with different properties, I'd say yes.
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If there is a TechShop location in your area, I'd go on a tour and see what they offer. It would give an idea of options and how much real estate things take up in real life.
it's a "shop" (Score:2, Insightful)
You need a good supply of hand tools, work benches, raw stock to fool with (wood, metal, plastic). You need an enormous selection of fasteners (machine screws and nuts and washers from #0 or #2 up to 3/8"). You need adhesives (epoxy, contact cement, Spray 77, etc.)
You need consumable supplies (shop towels, sandpaper, dykem, pencils, etc)
You also need conventional power tools: band saw, hack saw, sanders, grinders, drill press, a lathe, a vertical mill (preferably with CNC capability, or at least digital
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Mod this up please, one thing most people forget is to order enough stock materials. You can buy a bucket of electronic components for 10 bucks, no one person would bother, but that is a terrific resource for just mucking about. Similarly for strip board you can buy it for absolute peanuts in bulk. Having enough stock that you can afford to make mistakes is very helpful, i routinely buy 5 when I need 2.
Well... (Score:1)
Going along with everyone else, you take your 'makerspace' shove it up your asshole and call it a workshop like everyone else has for the last 2000 years. Then you go research which tools will stand up to heavy abuse.
People, not tools (Score:5, Informative)
I've been involved with my local makerspace, Tangle Ball in Auckland NZ, for about five years now. The most important thing we have done has been to focus on the social aspect: we're mostly interested in how members and guests behave and relate to each other. So, obviously no discrimination, abuse or other bad behaviour is allowed. We do not focus on any particular technology or tools or activity, but instead think about how we run the place, who gets to make decisions (anybody can take part in debates, no committee with any real power) and who has access or doesn't. We don't exclude any particular activity, anything is permitted so long as it doesn't monopolise any of the resources, discriminate or exclude others.
That said, there are a wide range of activities, mostly around physically making things:
* Sewing
* Boat building
* Electronics
* Robotics
* Art
* Debate of social issues such as democracy, privacy, capitalism, urban development
* Software development
* Car painting
* Tool tutorials and safety
* A co-housing group
* A cycle repair group - tumekecyclespace.org.nz
* Cooking and baking
* Collectivism
There is a 3D printer, but suggesting a makerspace must have one is an odd and rather arbitrary decision: why would you focus on that one technology, it's terribly limiting? Why not sewing or brass casting or something else?
The question is this: what are you trying to achieve, and why? In our case it was to provide a social space for members, who then provided whatever resources were required. The tools or whatever will follow from there; trying to predict what members and users want will straight away close down what can and can't be done.
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I love this : ) I wish I had stopped in at Tangle Ball when I was in NZ last year.
Thanks for communicating "People, not tools". This can not be overstated.
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I was going to mod this "funny".
Then I realised it might not actually be parody.
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You say people not tools, and I agree to an extent.
The experience at the London Hackspace suggests that the laser cutter and 3D printer are major draws which induce people to join in the first place. I, in fact, joined because they had a 3D printer that I could use and people around who would give advice.
The people is the core, most important aspect and without the people all the tools won't help. However, some tools are apparently more important than others.
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Amen. The thing holding people back from making things isn't usually lack of access to equipment, but lack of access to the knowledge.
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You've got it absolutely right. It's the people that make the space, not the tech.
I currently serve on the board of directors for Quelab in Albuquerque [quelab.net]. (We're a 501c3 org, so we have to have some formal structure.) Like you, I've been involved for about 5 years. It is ALL ABOUT the people. Get the right people in the door: they'll figure out what to do with what you've got, and they'll bring their own toys when they really get inspired.
My research for my Masters in Educational Leadership is exactly on
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There is a 3D printer, but suggesting a makerspace must have one is an odd and rather arbitrary decision: why would you focus on that one technology, it's terribly limiting? Why not sewing or brass casting or something else?
Because a 3D printer opens up a lot of opportunities for the other options. In my case, I used it to make the prototypes I used in making the molds for lost wax bronze casting. As it was the class was me using it as small batch manufacturing and a bunch of clay sculptures looking to make their sculptures into bronze. In the place where I did my 3D printing, it was used for several of the other items you listed in making custom cases for electronics, robotic pieces, and art. It's also a good introduction int
Fine tipped permanent markers (Score:4, Informative)
I'll offer a list of components I dearly missed when last using a shop.
0.01" permanent markers, very useful for drawing fine lines to cut or marking places to drill.
Thread gauge, because people will drop bolts and screws and get confused about which bin they go in.
Hot knife for cutting plastics, especially if it's hut enough to cut Teflon.
Velcro ty-wraps, especially those that come in the cheap big pre-perforated rolls.
Furniture clamps, for gluing bulky items.
Ziploc bags for keeping components together when people leave the workshop.
Voltmeter, one that can safely measure 120 Volt, and fuses for it when unskilled people misuse it.
Good pair of diagonal wire cutters.
Dremel tool.
Bins to put different projects in, rather than leaving them out on the bench.
Are you sure you don't already have one? (Score:1)
If you have an art department, they probably have a basic wood shop, and basic metal shop (welders, small foundry, etc.). If you have an engineering department, they may have small (or large) CNC machines for prototyping, solder stations, etc.
Maybe just open these up certain hours of the day / days of the week to people outside the departments?
What are your goals? (Score:2)
"what I'm not finding are what to know before you start, or what it takes to make the effort worthwhile"
No one can give you the answer to this until you can communicate what you want the space to accomplish. Think ahead one year, five years. What does your space look like? Who does it serve? What key points can you identify that tell you it's successful?
Write that down. Make it realistic, and make sure it excites you AND others. Start working back with what it takes to get there. Share this. Work on it with
Wellesley College has one right now. (Score:3)
You should talk to my wife, Private message me for her info. She works in the Instructional Technology group at Wellesley, based out of the library, and she has been managing the creation of their makerspace for a couple years now. They have two 3D printers, and 3D scanners, a makerspace "toy box" that they can bring around campus and setup on the fly. They have Kinects and Raspberry Pi's and even things as simple as Little Bits to get across ideas to students who have zero exposure to electronics.
There are several other universities she has interacted with that have similar setups, like Brandeis, Wheaton, and North Eastern. Ping me, she would be happy to talk with you to give you some info on how it has worked out.
Why are they interested in this? (Score:2)
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Are you being asked to do this because it's the hip thing to do, or because the school wants to turn out more well-rounded graduates who can actually do things with their hands?
That's quite a leading question, isn't it?
Given that makerspaces don't seem to encourage hands-on skills like workshops do, sounds like there's only one answer to the question posed.
Re:Why are they interested in this? (Score:1)
Given that makerspaces don't seem to encourage hands-on skills
That is complete ant utter bullshit.
I was going to be polite, but fuck it, I'm not going to be. Since joining one, I've learned to weld (mig and stick), learned how to make good dovetail joints, learned how to so SMD reflow, learned how to cast rubber and a whole bunch of other stuff all from people who were willing to share whatever they knew.
So, basically you have no idea what you're talking about but seem to have some snobby up-your-own-arse a
Ventilation for that 3d printer (Score:2)
Someone will want to print ABS and that stuff stinks. You'll need something to pull fumes from the vicinity. You could just supply PLA, but even so, ventilation would be helpful.
Consider a sewing machine.
Workbench with a vise, and several panavise-like or third-hand-like holders.
Sounds to me (Score:2)
Sounds to me like you (or whoever you are doing the research for) need to figure out what you want to do first, If it's going into the library "because that's a popular spot" or "maybe in the community", it sounds more like buzzword chasing than education.
let it grow organically (Score:3)
I've been involved in a couple of maker spaces. One with a lot of machine tools and heavier machines. I've also toured a couple of hot metal oriented shops. My observation is that you really need to let the community guide the build-out and growth. Several reasons: 1. It's hard to predict what people will want until people start using it. 2. You need to have teachers for every tool. 3. Insurance issues will constrain some of your dreams. 4. You want things that people will actually use, because space for tools is a finite resource. 5. Your community may have different tolerance for tool learning curve.
You will find once you start that people will say: "Let's bring in an X." You should ask: Have you used one? Are you expert enough to teach others to use it? If not, can you find someone who is expert enough to teach it? Then after you have a potential teacher, you need to understand from that person the particulars of that machine and whether or not it is a good fit for your community.
Changing topics, here are some things I have seen at different shops, not all in the same shop:
CNC mill, CNC plasma cutter, small injection molding machine (these are all high-learning-curve machines requiring specialist insructors).
manual knee mill, metal lathe, wood lathe.
CNC router.
Sheet metal brakes/punches/english wheel -- surprisingly easy tools to get working with that enable very interesting projects.
Vacuum forming -- simple and versatile.
Hot metal casting -- simple, but needs specialist instructor and special spaces.
Industrial sewing machines and surgers -- enables really cool projects with heavy materials that would kill a home sewing machine.
vinyl cutter.
fiberglass/carbon fiber work set up.
powder coating, paint shop.
glass melting and glass blowing furnaces.
electronics shop for working with surface mount components.
screen printing.
wire welding, mig and tig welding.
I'm sure I'm forgetting some.
Finally: One of my favorite machines is the popcorn machine. I learn a huge amount just by hanging around in the lounge and asking people what they are working on and how they are solving their fabrication problems. You want to build in some space that facilitates interaction.
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With fiber glass/carbon there is a major problem: epoxy allergy. It doesn't seem to be similar to normal allergies, because most people will get it if they come in contact with enough epoxy fumes. If you have continuous epoxy fumes in your maker space one by one people will stop coming because they get sick once they are there.
Now this does not mean you can't allow it. It just means that the ventilation system should be good and once the second or third project starts with it you should start considering ge
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Thanks for making my case about having the expert first before bringing in the tool. I've done a little bit of carbon fiber, but did not know about epoxy allergy.
Up above in another comment, I read someone saying you need to ventilate laser cutters do work with ABS -- no, you need to *ban* ABS because it destroys the tool. Plastics containing chlorine release chlorine gas when cut, and it doesn't take much ventilation to make it safe for humans. But, the chlorine gas combines with moisture in the air to
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ABS does not contain chlorine [wikipedia.org]. The vapors of heated ABS are carciogenic but that has nothing to do with chlorine.
Plan for Expansion (Score:1)
Machinery wise
The basics everyone will want in a hacker space
-3d printer
-Laser cutter
-Drill press
-Bandsaw
What a machine shop/hacker space should have
-Mill
-Lathe
-Paint booth
-Grinder
-Welding equipment
-CNC mil
Mauve has the most RAM (Score:2)
This has got "The dean spoke to someone at a conference ..." written all over it.
It's a Liberal Arts college... (Score:2, Funny)
...so all you need to do is buy a few boxes of dried macaroni, white glue and some colored construction paper.
And maybe Play-Doh for the advanced students.
Community (Score:2)
The liberal arts college I teach at is a little further along in this process. What matters most is community. You need to focus less on physical hardware, and more on finding faculty (and don't forget staff!) with hands-on skills, getting them committed to the space, and sucking in a critical mass of students to make it self-sustaining.
The fact that you were asked to do this by the administration is not a good sign.
And re putting it in your library: talk to your HVAC guys. Ventilation and noise are seri
Electronics and microcontrollers? (Score:2)
I would have all kinds of material on hand that people check out with a form of some sort that is then used to prepare an invoice to the users as well as an order list for replenishment.
Set up some kind of library of how-to documents to get people started quickly using the resour
Hackerspace / Makerspace Background (Score:2)
I'm one of the community directors at Louisville, Kentucky's community LVL1 Hackerspace. We're a 501(c)3 w/ a focus on education and outreach, and we're not tied or beholden to any specific school, commercial entity or large sponsor. I don't have the time this exact second to answer something this in depth thru the comment system here, but I'd be happy to provide any info I can if you want to reach out to us thru the email addresses or google groups listed at lvl1 dot org. Given our several year history, we
It's a Liberal Arts College (Score:2)
Casual Access and Listen to the Users (Score:3)
At the end of the day, there are two things to strive for, and they wont be easy.
The first is variety of tools and workspaces. It needs to be a place where people come to tinker and to get some idea out of their heads and into reality. So it needs to offer access to whatever it is that the actual local users are wanting to use. If they want metalworking, get a welder and a few milling machines. If they want woodworking, get some drill presses and chop saws. But dont invest it the cutting edge of everything up front. I recommend some kind of request system, so it can organically grow in the directions the users want. If they see the space is responsive to what they feel they are lacking, it will also go a long way to keeping them coming back, even if they dont have every little thing at first. This will be a balancing game between responsive acquisition and responsible budgeting. Fundraising drives can help, just like a high school that needs a new scoreboard, etc.
The second is casual Accessibility. Dont make them spend a hundred bucks and take a class that won't be held again for two weeks, just so they can drill a single hole. This is another balancing act between responsible safety and easy access, and the first solution is staff.
It also really helps to have a large scrap pile for free (or free-ish) materials.
To what purpose? (Score:2)
It the risk of coming across as being really dense, what are people gong to make in this here space or shop or whatever? If they are just going to modify some ill designed plastic stuff, then a couple of Dremels, a selection of bits, eye protection, and a vice may be all they need. If, OTOH, they are going to build a CubeSat http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C... [wikipedia.org] They possibly need some sophisticated metal working stuff and some basic electronic test equipment..
I'd start off by surveying the potential users
You could just call it a workshop (Score:2)
You could just call it a workshop and hire an actual you know shop teacher that is a master in the trades. They would actually know how to set it up and teach people how to use the stuff safely.
Not just tools. Get the art people as well. (Score:1)
Maybe not in a library. (Score:2)
Laser cutting and even 3D printing can be smelly operations. If you want to do some wood working, or have a metal shop, things can get pretty noisy. Forget about forges and blacksmithing. Aside from the noise, makerspaces can be pretty dirty- a lot of what goes on makes dust that might not be good for the contents of a library.
Excellent Book (Score:2)
The book Woodworking With Your Kids http://www.amazon.com/Woodwork... [amazon.com] has a misleading title. The kids in question are actually kids in his community and his school. The author set up a community and school workshop back in 1970 on a shoestring budget. He was teaching kids to make some pretty impressive furniture before they were old enough to drive.
We have additional tools now, but the same approach to setting up a maker space would still work.
the training matters, not the machines (Score:2)
I held a director level position at a nationwide chain of makerspaces for several years, and have worked with big tech companies building their own makerspaces. I'm not boasting, but I have more experience is setting up maker spaces than all but a handful of people in the country.
In some respects, the tools you select don't really matter; all you need to do is buy robust enough tools so they won't immediately fall apart, without blowing your entire budget. That part is easy. Honestly, the difference between
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Crude, yet insightful. Such non-PC crap is a refreshing change from the usual prim, blathering and just as crappy usual crap.
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Can be, if you're not careful.
I use the oven.