I want to make some gears for a robotics project. We have TWO lathes in the machine shop. After the move, the original lathe sat in a corner, without power. After months of “we will hire a contractor”, “yes we will”, “bid was too high”, “no we won’t”, “can we get a better bid”, etc, I finally convinced leadership to let me do it, got with another Makerspacer (a big thank-you as this was a two person job) and ran the power. As it turned out, our smaller lathe is not geared properly to make the more common size threads. Ok, fine. So I went to the PlasmaCNC to cut some gears to re-gear the lathe. It wouldn’t even fire. No one was around to provide formal training. I was told the PlasmaCNC hadn’t worked at all in a while, and never worked properly since it was donated. In fact one of the committee chairs told me he was wanting to throw it away. Ok, fine. I am a technical person, and a good student, maybe better than most, so I picked up the books and learned the machine, talked to someone who had been trained a long time ago (thank-you), talked to welders (thank-you) , re-calibrated some settings and got fire. Worked around the Z axis autoadjust problem, ran my first design and discovered the X-Y linear calibration of the CNC is low by 20%. Power levels also were miscalibrated. At this point I got nervous about my authority to proceed further, or even go as far as I did. I told several people that were interested and had been wanting to use the machine how to use it, and noticed that people were starting to use the machine the next day. For my use, however I will need to closer to original manufacturer’s calibrations, and I have neither the authority or responsibility to proceed. I cannot forsee a circumstance that I would break something that I cannot fix, but without authority, if I actually do break something I am sure I would get creamed before I would get the chance. Also, without authority, I cannot represent makerspace to people outside the space as needed to make inquiries, and get information. Also without authority, I have no budget to buy even minor parts for repairs. This will be have to left to others.
So, the small lathe still needs gears, and the plasmaCNC also needs work.
A new lathe arrived. It was covered in decades of grease build-up. It needed power. It needed to be tested. I cleaned it up. I finally got approval from leadership to run power, but only to the outlet installed for the previous lathe. OK. Done. Tested, the lathe turns (that’s what they do, they turn metal). Upon review, one of the oil reservoirs was missing a little cap. I mentioned it to leadership, and the whole reservoir disappeared. After another month of waiting for it to return, I was informed by leadership that a rebuild of the lathe was wanted to be done. OK, fine, but the need for a rebuild didn’t happen overnight, can’t I turn just one part first, which I spent months trying to do? Anyway, as a good makerspacer I offered to assist in the rebuild, and then everone disappeared, not yet to be seen again, even so I can even ask if I could do the rebuild.
So we have two lathes which I can’t use to make a simple part that they are supposed to be able to do, and a PlasmaCNC that isn’t in a sufficiently maintained/repaired state to help.
Along the way, I took a class on the HAAS CNC-mill. To complete the class, a domino has to be made, and a designated supervisor has to be present. I am still trying to find a supervisor that will give me some time so that I can complete the class. The HAAS has some problems and needs repair, so it is not presently useful as a production machine, and its problems are very distracting even for training. I would just like to finish the class.
In the mean-time I had been aware of issues in another committee.
The concept of makerspace as I understand it, is that it is a place where people can come together to make things. Tools are a pooled resource such that because many people are contributing, more tools are available than someone could afford by themselves. That is what makes makerspace unique. A community workshop. It is a concept that I never saw shortly after high school, and a concept that the present generation deserves a lot of credit for making happen. At the same time, at makerspace, a lot of learning takes place, and although you-tube is available on-demand, and there are other places that can provide more depth, it is still useful and fun to have classes and it supports the IRS non-profit status.
This “other” committee does not have that quality that is the unique ability of makerspace: a pool of resources. What it does have, and is used in its space the vast majority of the time, is a single tool that can be purchased at a hobby store for less that the price of a tank of gas. While useful if already at makerspace, it is hardly a reason to make a special trip to makerspace. None-the-less, the need for this area is clear, if unfulfilled. I was in the woodshop the other day, and was shocked in amazement. I had come by previously, and the tablesaw was out of adjustment. Someone told me not to use it, because they felt it was dangerous. I quietly mentioned it to leadership, Alex, and he said he was"planning" to work on it. Yeah, whatever. Anyway This stuff happens. The equipment in makerspace is used a lot by us amateurs, and it should be expected to break from time to time. What is telling is that BEFORE I LEFT THE ROOM I SAW ALEX WORKING TO FIX IT !!!. I came back later, and a makerspacer there, ATTENDING THE MACHINE, and helped me WITH MY PROJECT. He asked me about my project, showing interest, ready to offer advice one-on-one. MASSIVE CUDDOs. This is a well run area. Competent people with interest and activity. If I got stuck on a project, I believe they could make the difference on successful completion. I wish I had more use for the woodshop area, because it is one area where you can get things done. With the right people, this could be done in other areas, machine shop, and an other area as well.
I hear people say makerspace is a do-acracy. If you think something needs to be done, then do it. In my experience though, makerspace is like a street with all of its lights stuck on authoritarian red. If you are spending a lot of money you are probably doing something wrong. Fixing all of the problems I have encountered, such as putting in power lines, repairing and maintaining of equipment such as the PlasmaCNC, lathes, HAAS, basic equipment for another committee, can all be done effectively and inexpensively without undue delay if handled by the right, competent people. As an example of what can be done, I recently built a shelving, which holds almost 400 boxes, cost only $2.50 a shelf, and takes up 10 feet of floor space. Someone commented in a public discussion, not realizing that it was finished, and said that the boxes will take up a third of a room.
For my part, I am still trying to make my one single gear for my robot project. Makerspace has the right equipment, and its not a hard part to build if you have working equipment.
So how do we good people in place to manage our equipment, which is so essential to makerspace?