The second edition of PS:One’s DIY CNC night (Automation Station: One) is this Wednesday, August 10 at 7pm. All 3D printing, CNC mill, laser cutting, and any other CAD/CAM tool enthusiasts are welcome (members and non-members alike).
Feel free to bring things to show off.
Image by Thingiverse user rotoscan.
The desktop manufacturing revolution has been gaining traction at PS:One over the past few months.
We had the recent reprap build event, and now the hacked vinyl cutter, makerbot, PS:One’s own RepRap Mendel, and the brand new CNC tool (it’s extremely cool, but I’m not allowed to announce it on this blog yet) have taken over half of the electronics work area.
To complete the CNC takeover, PS:One will hold a monthly Automation Station: One event where people are encouraged to bring their in-progress projects for building in a communal atmosphere and completed projects to show off.
All CNC tools are welcome: additive, subtractive, mills, lasers, printers, frosters, plotters, RepRaps, and even egg-bots. There will be an emphasis on open source hardware/software tools, but not exclusively so.
This first event will be on July 20th at 7pm at Pumping Station: One. Non-member CNC enthusiasts (and any projects they wish to share) are welcome to attend.
Update (2): run time clarification – this workshop runs from 10am to 6pm (or really, until the machines are complete). These are complex machines – expect for this to take a while.
Update: just to be completely clear: this event is open to anyone who signs up via Eventbrite. PS:One membership is not required.
We’ve got a fever, and 3D printing is the cure!
On June 18, PS:One member Chris Jansen will be holding a build-your-own RepRap Mendel Prusa 3D printer workshop. Workshop cost will be $100 (for materials).
If you don’t know what it is, a RepRap is a 3D printer that can print many of it’s own parts. A REPlicating RApid Prototyper. If you have one RepRap, you can make more RepRaps, and even give them to your friends!
At the workshop, we will receive the parts and support to build the X-Y-Z gantry for a RepRap Prusa – all the plastics, mechanicals, belts, pulleys, MDF build platform, etc. At the end of the day you will have a fully-built XYZ body and build platform that just needs electronics installed and programmed to get up and running.
PLEASE NOTE: To complete the build, you’ll need to purchase another $200-$300 worth of electronics and stepper motors and hot ends (price varies depending on the bells and whistles you choose). Please see the wiki page for a listing of electronics not included in this workshop. If you bring your own electronics along with you, assistance may be available to get your electronics installed (no promises).
What: Build your own RepRap Mendel Prusa X/Y/Z gantry and build platform
Where: Pumping Station: One 3354 N. Elston Ave, Chicago, IL
How much: $100 per person (Limit 20).
A great introduction to 3D printing and the RepRap Mendel Prusa we’ll be building on 6/18:
I’m starting a company that makes campfire scented cologne, and to solve a problem in my production process, I built a transmissometer. Here is the video Aaron Kowalski and I made with Element 14‘s support:
Transmissometer from Pumping Station: One on Vimeo.
Here are more details on the device, including photos, schematics, and source code.
Thanks to everyone who helped out with the build and filming!
We just received a very generous gift of a Nilus LeClerc Loom, dubbed Weaving Station: One.
Jen is working on getting it set up and learning how to use it – if anyone out there knows about setting up looms and weaving and would like to have access to ours, please contact us.
We have a new equipment labeling and tracking system!
Here’s how it works – every major piece of equipment has a wiki page and a label.
The label has 5 pieces of critical info:
The Wiki page is a place where you can learn more about the tool, whether it is functioning, safety documentation, person to contact, certification information, etc.
Feel free to go into the equipment pages and add detailed usage information.
Thanks to the generous folks at LVL1 and Labitat for sharing wiki code and labeling schemes with me – I stole a bit from both systems to come up with the PS:One system. Thanks to Dan Meyer, Shawn Blazak, and Tim Saylor for putting in a few hours of hard work Sunday afternoon to get the system up and running. Thanks also to Nathan Witt and Jim Burke for smoothing out bumps in the wiki template and creating video, respectively.
Today, January 18, 2011, is the last day of my tenure as President of Pumping Station: One, and I’d like to take this opportunity to say to the PS:One 2010 Board of Directors, PS:One members new and old, our community, our friends, and our neighbors:
Thank you.
Thank you for giving me the opportunity to serve your community for the past year as president of the City of Chicago’s hackerspace. Thank you for the hard work, enthusiasm, and ideas; the good, the bad, and even the crazy ones you contributed to keep us alive this past year. In 2010 we experienced near-catastrophes, but we also experienced many more triumphs. Continue reading President’s Farewell Letter
On Tuesday night, the Board of Directors voted 6-0-1 (Aye, Nay, Present) in favor of the following changes to the Membership Rates:
These rates take effect immediately. There is a grandfather clause: any current members who choose to remain at their current rates are free to do so indefinitely. However, if that member misses payments, changes membership class, or makes any other changes to their membership status, they will be obliged to pay the new rates. Additionally, the grandfather clause does not apply to annual rates – all members paying the annual rate will make their next payment at the new membership rate.
The pay what you will membership is intended for persons who either wish to pay more to support our organization or simply cannot afford to pay our full rates. Note: access to the mailing lists, space, and tools is still determined by membership rates as published on the Becoming a Member page – we aren’t offering full access for discounts via this option.
Explanations of why we made this difficult decision after the break. Continue reading Membership Rate Changes
2010 is fast ending, which means that it’s my duty to announce both PS:One’s holiday schedule and the elections for the 2011 Board of Directors.
There will be no official meeting on December 21 or 28, 2010.
There will most likely be people at the space hanging out on both days, so feel free to stop by.
On the 21st, we will hold an edge lighting workshop in lieu of our regularly scheduled meeting. If you just want to come and hang out, that’s fine too.
Meetings will resume their normal Tuesday schedule on January 4, 2011.
We will open the floor to nominations to the Board of Directors on Tuesday, December 14, 2010, nominations will close on Tuesday, January 11, 2011.
On the evening of Tuesday, January 11, all nominees are invited to give a speech during the 300 seconds of fame event immediately following the meeting.
There are eight available positions:
Elections will be held during our Annual Members’ Meeting on January 18, 2011 at 8pm.
With the kind assistance of our members Patrick, Tim, and Jim, I’ve built HolidayBot.
Here’s a quick intro video:
For more details, go here (this link will be updated as more details on HolidayBot goes live).