Blog

Two 3D soon to be Three or Four…

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The Space in Lancaster has acquired a second 3D printer that can be used by Members who have completed the 3D Printing training. This machine is the property of Mark Keating who is allowing use of the machine by members as long as they pay for the costs of the material that is extruded.

The printer is a model of the Replicator 2 and has twin nozzles. This means that it can be used to print with two different maetrials at the same time and can utilise a variety of printing techniques. It should be possible to combine elements such as hard filament and ninja flex to print wheels with tires in situ on a single run.

The printer will take PLA and ABS and is being tested with other materials. It can also handle support material allowing for more complex prints to be achieved.

At this time Mark and Tom are calibrating and testing the printer, they will soon add a part cooling mdification which will further enhance the machine and will be looking to add a glass bed.

Hacking the space – March 2015

So this weekend on Saturday 7th and Sunday 8th of March we had our first major hack the space day, and much was achieved!

  • Workshop area now has a chip board flooring to prevent us causing damage to the laminate flooring in Unit 5
  • Kitchen worktops are cut to length and fixed to the units
  • Big shelving units are screwed to the walls
  • Donated equipment and parts were moved from the Shadowcat offices to the space
  • Laser was moved location along with the PC (including some comedy moments of Bob discovering how thin the metal was and bending it)
  • Laser modified to replace the USB cabling so the software licence dongle lives inside connected to a USB hub all nice and neat
  • Laser usage counter box purchased and wired up at one end. We worked out where to connect it in the cutter but didn’t quite get to connecting it due to lack of ferrels
  • Tested issue with datum button for Just Add Sharks – don’t press the datum button in Z mode with the honeycomb and slotted beds in as it will crash the head. The limit switch now needs moving
  • TV donated by Graham as spares or repair was mounted on the wall and the first signs of issue started to show with it. Percussive maintenance fixed this so there’s probably a dry or loose joint that we need to find
  • Blew up the new board for the 3d printer that Bob brought with him (whoops – looks like the power connector was soldered to the board the wrong way around)
  • Got the chip from the new board to work on the old Gen7 3d printer board gaining a working board out of two not working boards
  • PAT tested the pillar drill, which passed!
  • PAT tested a PSU from Ian’s house, which failed and went back home with him in disgrace
  • Realised that we can’t run the extractor past 21:00 in the evening as it’s too noisy for the surrounding houses – sorry to the people who rang up to point this out. Noted and we will stop at 21:00 in future.

So all in all a very productive couple of days! Massive thanks to Bob Clough from Hackspace Manchester (Hackman) who came up to see us to use the laser cutter and and help out. The A-Maze-Balls project is looking very exciting in the flesh (that’s what Bob was cutting out).

Come and see for yourself at our open evening this and every Wednesday from 18:00 onwards!

A-Maze-Balls box being cut:

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Laser cutter in new location on top of chipboard flooring:

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Challenge accepted

So this weekend saw many changes at the space. We received the go ahead to start moving in equipment and the White Cross team had installed many more electrical sockets, which we greatly appreciated.

Jim was renovating his kitchen and gave us his old kitchen cabinets, Ian and Tom collected them and installed them on Saturday. Other furniture also found its way up to the space including desks, chairs and other storage units.

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Sunday was the main event with our A2 Laser cutter arriving. Martin from Just add Sharks arrived at 2pm with a challenge: “Nobody has ever got one of the A2 lasers upstairs before”. Not a group to step down from a challenge, we called in more people to help, as it weighs just over 170kg. So the task began getting a metal box weighing 170kg up to the second floor – we knew that it would fit up the stairs but it was going to be tight. It helped that some of the extra help were engineers and a plan was formed. Ropes were attached, people psyched themselves up and the laser was rolled to the bottom of the stairs. 7 yes SEVEN minutes later the laser was in the space and we were patting ourselves on the back, or we were patting the people who had manhandled it up the steps on the back.

Next was fitting the laser tube and other extras like the air compressor, water chiller and extraction unit. Then came the calibration and training. I won’t go into the details of these here as there will be training documentation to come for everyone who wants to learn how to use the laser. Just to say it is really not that difficult to use which I proved by laser etching and cutting the LAMM logo on ply before the day was out.

A BIG thank you to Martin from Just add Sharks, for his excellent training, and an extremely big shout out to all those who helped over the weekend, I will name names as without their help we would have been stuck. Graham Hill, Darren Poulson, Tom Bloor, Ian Norton, Jim Mann and his friends. A hackspace is nothing without people rolling up their sleeves and getting stuck in.

-clj

A Code of Conduct

The Directors of the Lancaster and Morecambe Makers have today published a ‘Code of Conduct’ to the website that will also be posted in the Lancaster ‘Space’.

There are strong reasons to set a basic code for behaviour in shared spaces and to announce in advance what measures can be taken to respond to any potential incidents. This is particularly true for the ‘Space’ as we wish to encourage younger members to attend and to make the ‘Space’ available to all sections of our society.

We’d ask all members, visitors and guests to be aware of the Code of Conduct which is based upon a principle of respect.

Founder Members

Great companies start because the founders want to change the world… not make a fast buck. – Guy Kawasaki **

The organisers of the Lancaster and Morecambe Makers have made a decision that there should be a Founder Member Donation available. A donation of £100 or more made during the first 3 months of the ‘Space’ 1st March – 30th May makes you a Founder Member for life.*

Benefits of Founder Member: To be honest there are none.

Seriously, none. This is a person who is willing to put money into the space to help us succeed and become financially solvent. members will love them for ever. Their name will be on the roll of honour as founder members. But they get nothing more. There is no rights of access or privileges, they still have to pay to be a member to use the ‘Space’ or pay the day rate/use an open day…

…though there are rumours that there wil be a special badge, and/or plaque, just because they are being so cool 🙂

The current list of Founder Members is:

  • Shadowcat Systems Limited
  • Mark Keating
  • Graham Hill

If you would like to become a Founder Member then please contact us for details of how to make a donation. You contact one of the members (see our About page for lots of contact details or to email us).

* Though since the organisation is taking memberships now and donations now you have an extra month or so to those dates.

** Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/founders.html#cMtuWYoyCgr5

The LAZOR has Landed

We had confirmation this week that the Laser has arrived in the UK and will be installed in the space within the next two weeks.

Currently we are looking at the installation to happen on a Sunday, likely the 15th February. All members will be allowed to come along and help fit and receive training on the laser. If you are not yet a member but would like to help out as you are considering joining the space then please contact one of the members (see our About page for lots of contact details or to email us).

We have a Laser

The Lancaster ‘Space’ will have an official opening in the Spring of 2015 and it is with great pleasure that I can announce that we will have an A2 Laser Cutter from the good folks at Just Add Sharks and Shadowcat Systems when we open our doors. The Laser Cutter will have extra water cooling and will be installed by the team who built it who will also provide an initial training session for the Hackspace.

The Laser will remain the property of Shadowcat Systems who will allow the Hackspace to charge for usage to visitors and members. Members will receive a 50% discount to all costs for usage which will be on a pre-booked hourly basis. We will invite any local businesses or individuals to also book usage on the machine at very generous rates. Businesses will be billed using a full invoice allowing them to make it a part of their day to day expenses. More details of this will be made available once the machine has been settled into its new home.

We think this will be an awesome contribution to the Hackspace and are indebted to Shadowcat Systems for sponsoring the laser.

Education

The Space will have a number of electronic and manufacturing machines and as more are gained educational courses, training and practical hands-on training will be provided between, and for members. The plan would be to offer these services, access to the machines, and broader technological/manufacturing collaboration between the Space and educational establishments in the district. These will be performed via membership, open days and special ‘education’ days to promote small-scale fabrication.

The Space will also work strongly to promote STEM (Female representation in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) and build associations with organisations such as the WISE Campaign.  

There is an increasing focus from the government to get more people, especially young people involved in Science and Engineering, hackerspace/maker ecology is particularly geared towards this as this article on the BBC news, from the ElectroMagnetic Field Camp in August 2014, discusses: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-29011889.

Industry as a Community Partner

Sole traders, Craft Traders, Micro-traders and Small enterprises do not usually have access to prototyping and electronic/digital fabrication machinery. The space will allow one-off usages, short memberships, or single item prototyping allowing small, new or innovative businesses to collaborate and innovate.

The Space will not compete economically on mass-produced items. However for smaller, agile, enterprises who need short-run, locally-accessible machinery for limited time periods it may represent a huge impact on their creative prowess and innovation strategy.

Hardware prototyping has been traditionally the largest stumbling block to the creation of a new product from smaller enterprises. A small digital fabrication shop with access to a varied array of tools, machinery and the knowledge and experience of its members may be the difference between a dream and a profitable enterprise.

Sole traders, craft suppliers and creative artists benefit particularly well from access to new fabrication process and machinery, but there is a benefit to established manufacturers and educational establishments from the input of the creative sector. Partnership between micro- and small-businesses, students and craft organisations is the focus of LICA at Lancaster University and LUMS.

A number of UK companies have already been formed from Community Hackspaces, such as Just Add Sharks, Folksy and Rattle Central. There is also the success of the Raspberry PI (UK designed and made) which is part of the Maker movement.