CPSfC Makers: Simple bare wire end stops

May 17th, 2013   

The CPSfC makers have another video, describing an easy way to make simple but effective bare wire end stops, for 3D printers or other motion-control tool.

 

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CPSfC Makers: How to make a hobbed bolt

May 10th, 2013   

Last Friday, we wrote about the CPSfC Makers, and they’re goal of not just building a 3D printer, but spreading the knowledge of how to do so. One of the things they’re doing is releasing a number of videos about making various components their project.

One important part of a 3D printer is the hobbed bolt that pulls the filament into the heater where it can be extruded. Here’s a technique for making one:

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We won!

May 8th, 2013   

Tuesday we received some big news: Splatspace was one of eight
hackerspaces worldwide to win a 3D printer from Lulzbot!

The Lulzbot hackerspace printer giveaway was intended to highlight
hackerspaces that have made a serious commitment to Open Culture and who had
creative ideas on what they would do with a printer.

We were honored to be chosen along with such well-known Spaces as:

We look forward to installing the AO-100 printer in our Space and to
using it to further our aim of promoting Maker culture and technical
education. Thanks, Lulzbot, and thanks to all the Splatspace members who had
ideas on our contest submission!

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This week’s schedule (May 6-12)

May 6th, 2013   

Here’s this week’s schedule:

  • On Tuesday, from 7pm, we’re having our usual Open Meeting; the first half hour or so will be our annual business meeting.
  • On Thursday, from 6pm-7:30pm there’s Libre Thursday.
  • Closing the week on Sunday night, from 6pm, we’re having Software Project Night.
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Central Park School for Children Maker Team

May 3rd, 2013   

We do a lot of cool stuff at Splatspace, but we’re not remotely the only group
in the maker movement in the Triangle. With the recent closing of Techshop, it
seems really important to highlight the work being done by other groups in the
local maker community.

One such group is the Central Park School for Children Makers, based out of
their namesake school in Durham. It’s composed of about 20 kids from grades 2
through 5, parent and teacher volunteers, and high school volunteers. They’ve also sought out help from other local groups, including some members of Splatspace. The kids have formed
teams, each responsible for vital roles like sourcing parts, accounting, and
other operations.

The group is building a 3D printer, sourcing parts from all over based on a
reference machine. It was started by the father-son duo Alex and Jacob
Franke, who were already enthusiasts about maker culture and wanted to
spread their interest. Here’s the video they used to initially pitch their
project and get the club going:

Their goal isn’t just to instill an interest in making among the students, but
to “pay it forward” and help other schools out. To that end they’ve been
putting together tutorials on things they’ve figured out like bare-wire end
stops and hobbed bolts; we’ll be featuring those here in the coming weeks. They’re also trying to get all of their content out in the public for others. Right now you can see what they’ve got online.

Like any good maker group, they’re already involved in the larger maker scene:
Alex and Jacob Franke recently attended the Midwest Rep Rap Festival and
produced this really cool documentary of their experience, where they talked
to makers like Josef Prusa:

Prusa also made a message directly for the group:

The CPSfCM is an amazing group, and we look forwards to seeing where they go,
and how they help build the maker culture in the Triangle.

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Report: BEST Fest

April 30th, 2013   

Earlier this month, Splatspace joined up with many groups at the NC BEST (Biology, Engineering, Science, and Technology) Fest at the museum of Natural Sciences in Raleigh.

The Fest builds on the success of 2012′s Biotechnology day, and was an all day festival focused on exposing science to the participants and hopefully inspiring others to get involved in STEM.

Splatspace was there with a demonstration of DIY engineering and education. We had squishy circuits on display. We also brought out the 3D printer, printing the ever popular CD hovercrafts as well as bracelets. We also showed off Scratch.

Approximately 6700 people came to the BEST Fest; we don’t know how many came by our stand, but we know it was a lot!

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This week’s schedule (Apr 29 – May 5)

April 29th, 2013   

Here’s this week’s schedule:

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This week’s schedule (April 22 – 28)

April 23rd, 2013   

Apologies for this being out a day late! Here’s this week’s schedule:

We hope to see you out at Splatspace!

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This week’s schedule (April 15 – 21)

April 15th, 2013   

We have a busy week at Splatspace:

We hope to see you out this week!

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This week’s schedule (April 8 – 14)

April 8th, 2013   

Here’s this week’s schedule:

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