The Space has now made available an XTools S1 Laser Cutter with 20W Diode Laser. Able to cut pine wood up to a thickness of 15mm, as well as engrave metal it includes a base for larger objects and lots of great features to ensure predictable and clean cutting and engraving.
You will need to talk to a member to be inducted in the use of any Laser Cutter, and pay a per minute charge for use, to pay for ongoing maintainance.
One of our directors has been recognised for his voluntary work with LAMM with two certificates from Lancaster District CVS. He didn’t win in either category, but it was great to get nominated! Maybe next year?
Are you a Student at Lancaster University? Would you like 24/7 access to the Space2 Makerspace?
Good news! you now have free access to the space whenever you need it. You don’t have to be an Engineer or Computer Scientist, just someone looking for a friendly and inclusive space to work on technology, art, or manufacturing projects.
To join, come to the space on any Wednesday open day and sign up as a student member, agree to the terms and conditions of the space, and attend any safety training needed for equipment. Storage space can be arranged for small projects, and specialist tools stored.
Would you like to say hello? Ask a question. Join the telegram channel and tell the other members what you are working on. Often members will meet up outside of the Wednesday sessions to work on specific projects, you might find a like-minded maker
Access to all equipment is free, except the laser cutter which is ‘pay as you go’ to fund laser servicing. The MakerSpace sometimes has free consumables such as printer resin and filament, but you may have to purchase your own.
Contact Space2 with any questions at https://lamm.space/contact/
Enabled with thanks to the financial support from the Faculty of Science and Technology, Lancaster University.
If you haven’t seen the space recently, and are curious about how many abandoned laptops are scattered around (Surprisingly, not as many as last year) take a look at https://lamm.space/about/ for updated images of the space, and the new PCs, 3D printers and equipment.
We have also been given a very kind donation of a dual extruder 3D printer. It is a bit dusty, but think of the possibilities!
Last night (Monday 4th October) LAMM was able to hold its first AGM in twenty months. Our rules state that the AGMs are an in-person affair with a set number of attendees needed to achieve quorum, and although we could have used on-line event conferencing during the lockdowns we held the physical meeting for a period when we could be truly in person.
As part of that meeting I prepared and gave a report, more a round up, from the board to the members. LAMM tries to be as transparent an organisation as possible, and in that light I present that report for distribution via our blog.
I wanted to start today with some meaningful quote, Like ‘it was the best of times, it was the worst of times’. However, to be honest, it’s been mostly just awful and we still seemed to be mired within issues so let’s skip that.
So while I quit moping I want to welcome you back to LAMM and our AGM. During the last twenty months since our last meeting you would think that life at LAMM would have been quiet. But we did not let a global pandemic and political upheaval stop us from showing how good a community we can be. Which allows me to segway into my first thanks.
I want to thank all the members who have stayed with us through these challenging years. I also want to especially thank those who were able to keep up payments. This in no way is meant to disregard those who could not manage, everyone had their own fiscal circumstances to navigate. But, those of you that were able to keep paying your fees kept LAMM alive. So you have the deepest regard and warmest thanks from the Board.
My second thanks goes to those who ran a successful campaign to get laptop and devices into schools and into the community. We had several hundred donated machines and over one hundred and fifty of these were repurposed for Schools. A further batch were given to those that are disadvantaged members of the wider community. You have our respect and grateful thanks. The continuing project will carry on as we hope to build on that in the future.
LAMM has moved in the last six weeks. We now have a bigger Space, SPACE 2, or Space Squared or Space to do. Whatever you want it to mean. A lot of you gave your time, your strength and mostly everyone gave their positivity to the effort. It has been greatly appreciated and the new Space is already looking great and we look forward to completing the organisation, bringing tools back online in readiness for re-opening to the general public. All members are welcome back into the Space and we’d appreciate any suggestions. Bil has already built a new moveable wood store. So that is my third thanks.
Lastly I want to single out Bil who also ran our first outside event post-pandemic last weekend at the Fun Palace. He once again engaged with young people and the wider community and had them destroying laptops. Every effort is appreciated and the board are grateful that we have a membership who are willing to get involved, organise and run events.
To the future we look to you. Hopefully we will now have more face to face contact. I encourage you all to use the Telegram channel and notice boards (when it is put up) to leave messages and suggestions and I dearly hope that we can all start to get our own projects completed. But we also need to grow our numbers and show what a great community workshop we can be. In the coming year we hope to form alliances and cooperative projects with other groups and with local academic institutions.
Finally, I want to say something personal from me. Not from the board. I want to share a fear. I worried at the start of the lockdowns. I felt that this may end our organisation. We would struggle to survive and this left me feeling helpless. But we have come through, we have contributed to a positive change in our local community and we are now in a stronger position to grow. So thank you all.
LAMM is very dear to me and to see it not only survive but become greater has been a very bright light in what has been a dismal time.
So you all have my personal thanks.
Last night (Wednesday 6th March 2019) Lancaster and Morecambe Makers held a very successful 4th Annual General Meeting of all members. The event is a statutory duty and a pleasure as we get to discuss our previous year and hopes for the coming year.
As a member of the board I wanted to make a quick blog post to thank all those who attended and all our members for the year 2018-2019. Published on this blog below is the official Statement from the Board.
Report from the Board
Hi LAMMers
The past year has been a stable one for LAMM, I think we all needed to take a deep breath after the first few years of starting the Space and let it find its feet.
On an organisational note, we have both maintained existing members (who rock) and added to the membership (with more people who rock). We have stable finances, and although we would love more enabling us to grow further we are happy that there is no volatility.
Accounts were filed as required by law, bills were paid on time (as required by serious folks in suits) and various board members have tidied up and sorted the admin tasks. We don’t name or individualise as the board works as a team. The occasional bag of cash was banked from the Snack Space and we would like to thank you all for your honesty in regards to every cash pot and the dropping in of at least (and in many cases more) than is needed to keep things afloat.
We are serious when we say our members rock. The board are merely members as well. Our task is to make sure the administration and day to day running of the org happens and to act as a guarantee for all legal and business proceedings. The job of the membership is to make LAMM.
Our Members did that this year. We took part in several local events including Light Up Lancaster and Make My Day. Thanks to all who gave their time and energy (and robots!). Thanks to those who took the initiative.
The Space has recently been rearranged (thanks to everyone who helped, suggested and came along to do the hard work) and the new layout gives a more open feel and more access to workspaces.
Thanks for a great year everyone and we look forward to the next year with renewed enthusiasm.
You wait a long time for a blog post and then three arrive at the same time…basically blog posts are like buses.
I want to talk about adding a guideline for members and visitors. There is some confusion as to allowing animals into the Space and I think we should clarify.
Therefore I propose we add the following:
This will clarify the position and allow everyone to be aware of what is considered acceptable and normal in the Space.
The new RFID system is almost fully operational, so now is the time to get your RFID key sorted!
We should be turning it on this Wednesday (26th July) So after this date you will need an RFID key to get in the upstairs door.
‘But I dont have one yet!’ I hear you cry. Well, if you come along this Wednesday Open Evening, we will be setting up anyone who does not have a key yet, with one!
If you are unable to make it down on Wednesday, then let us know! I (Tom) work only round the corner and so during office hours will be available to let you in and sort out your RFID Key.
If you are unable to do it during Office hours, let us know and we can organise a time to let you in and sort out a key.
To contact us, either message us on Facebook, in Telegram, or email the board at board@lamm.space and we will get back to you!
Hi All,
The time has come for us to all gather in one place for the Annual General Meeting ritual.
tl;dr:
When: Monday 15th February 2016 at 19:00 GMT
Where: Lancaster And Morecambe Makers, Unit 5 Sharpes Mill, LA1 4X
Proxy: If you can’t attend, let us know and we will arrange a proxy vote for you.
Agenda: If you have any items for the agenda, email them to lammspace@gmail.com.
Deadlines: Monday 8th of February at 19:00 GMT is the deadline for agenda items, registering for proxy voting and for board nominations.
Details:
What is this? We are required to meet once a year for the board to present the accounts, elect board members and discuss any items of significance that the members wish to raise. This is your chance to have your say in how the hackspace is run and decide on directions for the future.
Why should I attend? We will be discussing the future of the hackspace and importantly will be asking you the members to approve a new legal document on how the hackspace is run. We need a 75% majority of the membership to approve this for it to pass and be adopted. Also we’ll have some snacks and drinks for socialising afterwards 🙂
What legal document? The running of the ‘Lancaster And Morecambe Makers’ like all limited companies is governed by a document called the ‘Articles of Association’. When we founded the company, we chose to accept the model articles which are generic which is why we now want to change them for articles that have specifically been written with the hackspace in mind.
Why is this legal document thingy important? The articles of association set out the terms by which the company operates, how and when we elect board members, the purpose of the organisation and importantly how we hold elections. This document is the agreement between the board and the members for how the board should run the company on your behalf.
Where can I find the existing articles of association to read them? https://github.com/lammspace/documentation/blob/master/articles/Lancaster_And_Morecambe_Makers_M%26A.pdf
Where can I find the new articles of association to read them? https://github.com/lammspace/documentation/blob/master/articles/Proposed-Lancaster_And_Morecambe_Makers_M%26A.pdf
Printed copies of both of these documents are available for review in the hackspace, please don’t remove them 🙂
What should I do if I have questions about the changes in the Articles of Association? Please email lammspace@gmail.com with your questions as soon as possible, we’d very much like to avoid discussion of the details on the night of the meeting and want people to read these documents well before the meeting. The motion in front of the meeting will be to accept the new articles so please ask your questions early.
Who are the board and what do they do? The board is the group elected members responsible for the legal aspects of running the hackspace. This includes sorting out accounts, making sure our bills are paid and ensuring we have somewhere to hack.
How do people get on the board? The board is currently made up of the inaugural members of the hackspace. Our new articles of association say that we have to all step down at this AGM so that the members have the option to nominate and elect different people.
All the board are standing down at the AGM, why is that? At the moment the board aren’t elected and as such, we will all be standing down at the AGM because we want the members to make the decision on who those people should be. This is stated in the new articles of association that we hope to adopt at the meeting.
How do I nominate someone for election to the board and is there a deadline? You need to send an email tolammspace@gmail.com with your nomination. Nominations will only be accepted from and for current members of the hackspace and only if the person nominated is willing to stand for election. The deadline for nominations is at 19:00 on Monday 8th of February 2016.
When will this take place? Monday 15th of February 2016 at 19:00.
Where will this take place? The Hackspace, Unit 5 Sharpes Mill, LA1 4XS
What if I can’t attend? Let us know and we will sort out proxy voting for you and give your apologies for being unable to attend. You need to let us know if you want to proxy vote by 19:00 on Monday 8th of February 2016 so that we can get you the paperwork and have it returned before the meeting.
I want to talk about a thing, what should I do? Reply to this email before Monday 8th of February so that your item for discussion can be placed on the agenda. The agenda for the meeting will be announced in advance of the meeting and we won’t be taking new items for discussion on the night to keep the meeting short and focused. The reason for the deadline is that we need to circulate the agenda in advance and allow those who are unable to attend the ability to vote.
Look forward to seeing you on the 15th of February for this important inaugural meeting.
Kind regards,
Ian on behalf of the board.
Hello all, and welcome to the new LAMM Space site! isnt it new and shiny. We will be slowly migrating everything over to this new site, if for now you are looking for the old content, it can still be found on http://lamm.hackspace.org.uk
