Equipment & Resources
The MakerSpace offered a wide range of equipment, materials, and resources for our members to use, spread across three clearance levels, gated by our bespoke RFID lockout system - the first in the nation of its kind!
Tool Clearance Levels
Each tool, machine, and piece of equipment within the MakerSpace was given a clearance level of Green, Yellow, or Red; the 'Space was physically laid out into corresponding "zones" within which most (but not all) equipment requires the corresponding clearance level.
Green clearance equipment usually poses little to no risk to the user or others, requires
the wearing of only basic or no PPE, and can be used with minimal experience.
Yellow and Red clearance equipment poses a significant risk to the user without proper PPE and careful
use, and often has non-obvious functionality and/or safety precautions that require
additional training and experience to safely use. These levels are further differentiated
by the materials being worked with - Yellow equipment is mostly used on wood and plastic,
while Red equipment mostly works with metal, sometimes at extreme temperatures.
All members were granted Green clearance upon completing orientation; to unlock higher clearance requires a proficiency test administered by qualified staff.
Tools and Equipment
Materials
We offered a supply of filament, paper, wood, acrylic, metal, paints, and other materials for use with our equipment to the best of our ability and supply, but we couldn't guarantee the availability of a particular material or color of paint.
You were welcome to bring in your own supplies, but had to be aware that depending
on the kind of project you were working on we may have needed to check that your materials
were safe to use with our equipment. This was of particular concern when it comes
to 3D printing filament and laser cutting/engraving.
As of last we were open, we only 3D printed in PLA and PETG plastics.
As of last we were open, we only laser cut paper, cardboard, wood, and acrylic; we only laser engraved wood, acrylic, metal, and stone.