How to Makerspace - Tools and Materials
Tools, Technologies and Materials
After you’ve selected the perfect space, the next step is choosing the tools, equipment, and materials your students need to start making and completing their projects. One thing that the Makerspace Playbook makes very clear is that, there is no such thing as a perfect list of tools for every makerspace. The tools should fit the business plan and needs of the maker community the venture is servicing. In the table on the right, you can see the most common categories of tools available in university makerspaces. These institutes of higher education have similar goals and needs to commercial ventures, so it provides a good overview of the kinds of equipment most useful to a startup venture or mature business. If there's one technology that virtually all makerspaces seem to have in common, it's 3D printers. These devices provide a very important role for the makerspace, they are ADDITIVE in nature. Most tools are REDUCTIVE, in that they reduce the materials by drilling a hole, cutting off a piece, or gouging out a track on the original material. 3D printers let you CREATE your own object in front of your eyes. The devices, make it possible for people to transform their ideas from digital renderings to physical objects. Recently, these devices have become rather affordable, and many makerspaces now possess several 3D printers. Adapted from High School Makerspace Tools & Materials Guide by Makerspace Magazine
Distributed by Maker Media, under a Creative Commons Non-Commercial, ShareAlike CC License An article in Campus Technology identified four categories of technology commonly found in makerspaces. The first is digital fabrication tools, which includes 3D printers, as well as CNC machines, laser cutters and the computer-aided design (CAD) software to draw the objects.
The second category includes includes 3D scanners to complement the 3D printers, as well as Xbox Kinects and stereoscopic infrared cameras that can do gesture- or touch-input tracking. Electronics devices make up the third category, including microcontrollers such as Arduino, system-on-a-chip (SoC) computers such as Raspberry Pi, soldering kits to connect components and workstations that are static- and heat-safe. The fourth category is dominated by recent technology. Virtual and augmented reality tools, such as Oculus Rift, Microsoft HoloLens and Google Cardboard, as well as the software tools, such as Unity and Unreal Engine, can be used to develop for those environments. Unity and Unreal Engine are video game development development platforms, but people can also use them to create interactive immersive virtual environments for devices such as Oculus Rift, holoLens or Google Cardboard. Regardless the defined purpose of your Makerspace, it’s best to start off by acquiring tools and materials for general use, rather than task-specific use such as metalworking or woodworking. As the Makerspace Playbook notes, “there’s nothing lonelier than a big expensive tool lying unused because nobody knows how to use it.” To brainstorm and come up with more ideas, consider taking a look at the High School Makerspace Tools and Materials Guide, created by Makerspace.com. Inside, you’ll find lists of recommended and suggested tools for all different types of Makerspace specializations including Electronics, Textiles, 3D Printing, Computers and General Purpose applications. Another document worth examining, although you will have to pay for it, is Make: Magazine’s special issue, the 2011 Ultimate Workshop and Tool Guide. |
Types of Equipment Available at University Maker Spaces
What a Makerspace is -Tools included (5 minutes)
An excellent short video that shows the tools and talks about how PEOPLE are the greatest resource in a makerspace MAKE Ultimate Workshop & Tool Guide 2011 (1.5 minutes)
Cost of tool sets - per 25 users
We have chosen tools and materials specifically for young people ages 14 to 18 working within a shared environment like a Makerspace. Basic The recommended equipment and materials to introduce this module into your Makerspace. Intermediate This level allows Makers to create more ambitious projects and work with a wider range of materials with greater precision. |