Making & Makespace February 2023
What is an Owner?
Maintain a piece of equipment - Owner. Ensure the kitchen is well stocked and fully caffeinated - Owner. Train other members - Owner. Run and maintain a piece of infrastructure (Database, IT, equip & training site) - Owner.
The world of MakeSpace does not turn without them.
Owners offered training during the course of February on the Domino joiner, Form3 printer, Metal Mill, Laser cutter, Embroidery machine, Tormek training & Woodworking Hand tools.
Likewise members who run events such as How to design electronics, Raspberry Pi Tuesdays, The Members meeting & social, Furniture making courses, Laser engraving workshop, 3D printer maintainer session, Robot club, BioMaker meetup, See the Space, CAD club, CoderDojo and General Inductions, encourage participation for all, pass on ideas and inspiration and grow the culture of Makespace.
Makespace lost a great deal of institutional memory during lockdown. Where we had many members who were in the space consistently and had been for years. Members who knew how the space operated and where help was needed. Memberships have changed to being a shorter span of time and with this change, member interaction is more important than ever. See something you think unsafe or not following best practice, Say something. Its OK to call things out. (Its why we encourage members to use the badger - easier to ask something when you know a persons name).
Why do members step up to help? It varies. For some its the want to build a better space, to maintain and grow what others have made and to give back to a space they have benefitted from. Others want to pass on what they have learned and know there is no better way than being guided by a person step by step to achieve what you want to do.
More than its equipment, tools or its premises are its members. Makers are what makes it a Makerspace.
Members who step up to do something for everyone to benefit from, is one of the driving factors of building a great culture. Growing Makespace in every direction whether that is infrastructure, aesthetics or helping others with best practice.
Its David T using his days off to seal the ‘flower beds’ & build a cable rack, its Matthew S using his holidays to rip out and redo Makespace networking infrastructure, Its Kester and Claudia decorating the hallway, It’s the directors on the board ensuring governance & compliance, Its Brian S upgrading the badger, Its Bruce teaching members to make tables and Lucian growing the leather working facilities.
These members move things forward.
Thank you for continuing to grow Makespace.
Jonathan Woolf
Have something to add or feedback reach me at [email protected] or come say hi in person.
In this edition:
Make the Space: Sealing the beds, 2nd coat & upkeep!
These recurring monthly events are part Maintenance, part upkeep and a project involving upgrading or changing an area for the better. They are also working towards bringing members together and get know each other.
After January’s Make the Space where the area was prepped & the first coat was put on, we needed to seal the ‘flower beds’ and then put on a second coat. In between January’s MTS and February’s one David smashed into action and did this!
That meant when Februarys MTS came around the rest of us could jump straight into painting (Thanks David! Really great work). Any member can run a make the space. If you’d like to help, have an area of the space you want to fix up or have an idea for - let us know.?
Next Make the Space is Saturday 25th March at 10am till 1pm
BioMaker: Digital Microscopes
3rd Wednesday of the month the BioMaker club meets in the classroom to Make, discuss and take things apart.
February’s meet-up was making a Digital Microscope using ply, perspex, a smartphone and laser pointer focus lens.
Assembled kit (cut at the Makespace) & red onion cells under the microscope
DnD, TTRPG, Mini’s & Board Games.
Kicking off a new monthly event is not difficult…. Finding an evening that suits the members organising it is way difficult.
Daniel, Owen, James & Jonathan got together with some others to discuss some OG geek topics.
While DnD, TTRPG, Mini’s & Board Games were the nerd factor in prior decades now its becoming the norm & growing into mainstream.
The group discussed prototyping of games, MTG & resin printing mini’s.
领英推荐
Projects for all
Projects that members can work either alone (laser cut clock), a Pan-Makspace project or Bruces tables and birdboxes woodworking course is an area we are looking to expand.
If a member makes something, anything, soon after joining the space they are far more encouraged to try more. To use other areas of Makespace, and help others.
Do you have an idea for a project that you think could benefit other members. Something to encourage making and experimenting with equipment and tools? Love to hear about it.
Laser-engraved wood inlays - workshop
Sunday morning workshop run by Matthias E. A collaborative morning where Matthias walked members through his methods for creating laser-engraved inlays in wood.
Working on both wood and resin inlays and producing intricate designs at a very accessible level.
Electronics cable rack & Sealing the flower bed.
Richard H (Electronics bench owner) announced at the members meeting and on the google group that he was looking for a cable rack for Makespace, and David T offered to design & make one…and he did! ???Thanks David!
What 5 things? (Not what 3 words)
If you could be told only 5 things to help get you started at MakeSpace what would they be? What 5 pieces of knowledge or 5 bullet points would help the most. They could things you were told that stood out, things you had to discover for yourself or something you read about. We give out a great deal of info particularly when you join & over your first month when you start to train.
What are the things that really helped make the space better for you?
Claudia & Kester add artwork (& you can too)
Makespace members Claudia?(Illustrator) and Kester (Artist) have been putting up some of their work around the space.?Kester?has some new work in the corridor and Claudia’s book is in the display cabinet.
They will also be doing the Artwork/Installation that will be on the newly painted wall in the main entrance hall. Have something you made that you would like to display - great. Please put it up. Unsure where it should go? ask away.
Makespace needs owners for:
For the Orange and Green equipment pop in for a chat, no experience with this equipment is needed. For the laser cutter maintenance please email Alaric or [email protected]
Now hear this!
In?April?Makespace?Cambridge Raspberry Jam?(known as CamJam) is an event and meet-up for those interested in the Raspberry Pi family of computing devices and other technologies which encourage making and education. There will be a series of talks, organised workshops for both the Raspberry Pi and Pico plus a “show and tell” area for people to show off their projects.
In?May 2nd?is?Unfinished Projects?Evening. As most projects leave the space when they are completed we are going to have an?'unfinished & in progress right now show....and if you want to, tell?'. The room will be laid out for members to display currents work and if you want to talk about it you can or just answer questions.
One of the?2023 aims for Makespace?is to show Making and all it involves to a wider Cambridge community and to involve Makespace in the wider Maker community. Have an idea, something you want to show, talk about, instruct or Make - we encourage you to do so. Need help? unsure how to start? drop us a line at [email protected] or come ask in person.
Making & Makespace February 2023.
Is there something missing? something you think should be mentioned in March.
Let us know using?[email protected]
Happy Making.