Even though the Dallas Makerspace has been closed to the general public due to the Covid-19 Pandemic, Expansion work still continued inside the building.
In the photo below, you see the entire Ventilation System for Ceramics, Jewelry, Lapidary, and the Glassmaking areas. There is a total of 12 ventilation hoods, 10 are brand new and installed, the other 2 will come from the old Ceramics area and be re-used. We are still missing the huge ventilation fan that will be located on the roof to reduce noise The HVAC contract for this fan is still in process. The main electrical panel, in the middle, is our new 400 Amp electrical service which is enough power to have all the kilns operating at the same time. The newly installed electrical system throughout the warehouse area had costs in excess of $100,000.
In the next photo we have the Ventilation Controller box which is located just to the right of the main electrical panel. This will automatically control the roof-top ventilation fan and all 12 of the electric dampers that are attached to the vent hoods. The toggle switches on the right side will allow for manual control until the system PLC processor is installed to control everything. All of the dampers now work under manual switch control.
In the next photo is the future Blacksmith area. You can see some tape on the floor where the 22 foot tall walls will be built. On the wall you see a small section of ventilation duct. Another roof-top fan will be connected to this duct in the near future. Once the walls for the Blacksmith Room are built then the final ducting and vent hoods will be installed. Wall construction contracts are still in process.
In the next couple of photos is the Machine Shop area. A majority of the tools have already been moved from their previous location. Work is still underway to connect all the compressed air lines and the electrical power cords. All of these connections will drop down from the overhead cable trays, very professional looking.
In the next photo we have the new Plastics SIG area. The equipment is still being placed and all the compressed air lines and the electrical power cords will get connected. Yes, you can see that the door behind our new plastic vacuum former has been permanently closed. You will just have to get accustomed to walking a little further to get to the new area.
In the next few days several other Committees will start moving to their new locations; Ceramics, Jewelry, Lapidary, Glassmaking, and Hatchers. This area will no longer look like a Warehouse, it will be quickly transformed into a working environment. As a result, there are a lot of items that belong to other committees. This is no longer a long term storage area. Committee heads will have to decide what to do with their excess equipment.
Pardon our dust…We are expanding!
@ Machine Shop!