UPDATE: I previously copied 2/8 as 28.  Ooops. the event takes place on Wednesday, Feb 8!

Monthly DIY CNC night is upon us again!

Are you interested in automated manufacturing? Do you like 3D printers, laser cutters, automated mills, router tables, and other awesome automatons? Then this is the night for you!

DIY CNC night is an ever-growing group of enthusiastic amateurs and professionals in the field of do it yourself automated manufacturing (ie 3D printers, CNC mills, laser cutters, cake frosters, etc) hardware and software.

Please come if you’re interested in learning more, already have a CNC tool at home, want to show off your latest build, or just want to meet locals who are into this exciting technology!

• Who: Open to the public
• Where: Pumping Station: One, 3354 N Elston Ave, Chicago, IL
• When: Wednesday, February 8th, 7pm
• Cost: Free ($5 suggested donation for non-members to help us pay the rent)

Typical Schedule:

• 7-7:10: people show up
• 7:10-7:25: introductions round-robin
• 7:25-9pm or so: schmoozing, machine assembly and show off, discussion of tools and techniques

Image: Quantum ORD Bot by Thingiverse user (and friend of PS:One) bdring

UPDATE: I can’t read a calendar – this event takes place on December 14, not december 7 as this post originally stated.

It’s almost time for December’s DIY CNC Night, a growing group of enthusiasts of automated manufacturing: 3D printers, laser cutters, automated mills and routers, plus all the software and hardware tools that enable automated manufacturing technology!

Please come if you’re interested in learning more, already have a CNC tool at home, want to show off your latest build, or just want to meet locals who are into this exciting technology!

Who: Open to the public

Where: Pumping Station: One, 3354 N Elston Ave, Chicago, IL

When: December 14, 7pm

Cost: Free ($5 suggested donation for non-members to help pay the rent)

Typical Schedule:

• 7-7:10: people show up
• 7:10-7:25: introduction round-robin
• 7:25-9pm or so: schmoozing, machine assembly and show off, discussion of tools and techniques

Image: Sneaker Spurs! by Thingiverse user MikeBattaglia

Come join us for DIY CNC night #5 on Wednesday November 9 at 7pm!

The general schedule:

• 7-7:20pm: introductions
• 7:20-7:45pm: discussion: tuning and calibrating a RepRap printer (we’ll be tuning PS:One′s own 3D printer, and certifying members to use it)
• 7:45-9pm: machine demos, schmoozing, repair work, machine assembly, discussion, what have you

Who: This event is open to everyone

When: 7-9pm

Where: Pumping Station One, 3354 N Elston Ave, Chicago

Cost: Free, but donations encouraged

DIY CNC nights are evenings for Chicago area automated manufacturing enthusiasts, hobbyists, professionals, and the merely curious to meet and discuss the state of the art in both open source and proprietary technologies.  They occur the second Wednesday of each month at Pumping Station One, and are open to the public.

Image: PS:One′s 3D printer, a RepRap Mendel Prusa, printing a calibration object.

DIY CNC night is a monthly (second Wednesday of each month) event held at Pumping Station: One, 3354 N Elston Ave, for hobbyists, enthusiasts, and professionals to celebrate and explore Computer Numerically Controlled (CNC) tools such as laser cutters, 3D printers, CNC mills, lathes, plotters, and more!  Attendees are encouraged to bring along any machines or work examples they wish to show off.

The usual schedule is as follows:

• 7-7:15 introductions / show off stuff you brought along
• 7:15-7:45 brief presentation
• 7:45-9-ish mingling, discussion, tour of Pumping Station: One, general schmoozing, and machine repair/assembly/upgrade

This month Bart Dring of MakeSlide and buildlog will be talking about his projects.

Miniature Taj Mahal designed and printed by thingiverse user tc_fea.

Solar Charged RC Airplanes from Pumping Station: One on Vimeo.

First Person Remote Control Flying from Pumping Station: One on Vimeo.

Feel free to bring things to show off.

Image by Thingiverse user rotoscan.

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.

Image: “Colbertopus” by Thingiverse user Renosis.

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:

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 also posted a little intro video.