MiniMaker Space Archives

3D Printer Bootcamp v1 Wrap-up

We sat down with Dr. Chad Wingrave and interviewed him on his experience of facilitating our first build-your-own 3d printer boot camp. Here’s what he had to say:
Sign up for Boot Camps v2 or v3 (Aug 1 & Aug 29)

Q: Who showed up to v1?

“Five groups of makers showed up today and walked out with five new 3D printers. There were techies and father-son teams, even someone that wanted to do the build with one arm (they have two arms, but had a broken collarbone). Needless to say, we had a blast: built a lot, learned a lot and even had some pizza.”
— Dr. Chad, Chief Tinkerer

Q: What was the rollout like?

“The bootcamp started with a box of parts from PrintrBot and a goodie bag from Printed Solid. The PrintrBot Play was chosen for its quality parts and semi-ease to assemble. While it has a small build area, it is a solid 3D printer that should be able to support a budding 3D printer.”

“We got started with a quick overview of the day and introductions. We talked about why each person wanted to have a 3D printer an let them know about our plans for developing a community of innovative makers in Walnut St Labs. Then, we started to build. We had great support from two interns, Peter Terjanian and Andrew Telepak. Their efforts putting together a printer for Walnut St Labs enabled them help our makers avoid those ‘gotcha!’ moments that waste time and cause confusion.”
— Dr. Chad, Chief Tinkerer

Q: What did they learn about 3d printing?

“At lunch, we paused for a quick bite to eat and some instruction about 3D printing and how to use the printers. It was quick and we dovetailed back in to the build process. The topics covered included workflow, types of 3D printing, materials and other vital concepts. Its important to mention that all the participants for this bootcamp and future bootcamps will be onboarded to opensource software. The opensource component is central to our access-based mission. We’re excited that the opensource community is growing in so many different directions.”
— Dr. Chad, Chief Tinkerer

Q: So, how did we do?

At the end, we had a great photo op with the new printers and the smiling faces. While some had more time to configure and play with their printer, all walked out with full assembled printer (except for the group with one arm that had to finish up at home). Additionally, all joined our new Makerspace community hub and plugged in to the continuing activities here at the labs.”
— Dr. Chad, Chief Tinkerer

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Q: What’s next for the MiniMakerSpace at WSL?

“To support our group, we are rolling out Wednesday meetups, which co-exist with our Night Owls event and are planning two more Bootcamps, this time on Saturdays (August 1st and August 29th). We hope you are able to join in at these events! We also plan to expand on workflow (the process of creating 3D models capable of being printed on a 3D printer) in upcoming iSchool Classes out of Walnut St Labs focusing on the available open source software.”
— Dr. Chad, Chief Tinkerer

Sign up for Boot Camps v2 or v3 (Aug 1 & Aug 29)

3D Printers, Micro-Manufacturing, the Internet of Things and More

Three months ago we visited NextFab, a collaborative makerspace in Philly, along with the i2n. We were blown away. We’ve been focused on software here at the lab — but seeing hardware and physical creations — it made us realize that we needed to learn more.

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Through funding provided by the i2n and the Chester County Economic Development Council, we created a partnership with NextFab that brought us education, training and two Bukito 3D printers. It went swimmingly well but we were left with the question:

What do we do now?! What will have the biggest impact?! We were unanimous: Let’s get more printers into the world.

So last month we launched a 3D Printer Boot Camp. We brought people into the lab, taught them all they needed to know to build their own 3D printer and use it. And they did. That was our confirmation that Chester County was ready for innovation in micro-manufacturing and 3D printing. And so are we.

Here’s Our Vision

Fabrication technologies, maker expertise and advances in electronics, combined with social media, design and a user focus, is the new face of innovation. It’s the type of innovation that positively impacts and changes people’s lives — and the power is in people’s hands to do it for themselves. Walnut St Labs will work hard to be the best hub, the best place to connect businesses, entrepreneurs, academics and makers, for mutual support and inspiration and advancement.

Here’s What We’re Going To Do

1. More 3D Printers with Boot Camps: We have two boot camps slated for Aug 1st and Aug 29th. Our first boot camp sold out the first week we started promoting it and resulted in 5 new 3D printers in Chester County. We expect similar results for these two as well. Our goal is to continually grow our local network of makers and fabricators in size and competency and create exposure. Lots of it.

2. A WSL Makerspace Meetup: Starting now, every Wednesday night from 7-10 we will hold open makerspace hours. It will be an opportunity for makers to meet other makers to collaborate or for novices to see demos of 3D printing. This will connect those interested in 3D printers who aren’t just ready to dive into a bootcamp with the experts we already have. Feel free to come and hang out.

3. We’re Going IoT (Internet of Things): The fun stuff you can make with a 3D printers barely scratches the surface in our opinion. Our vision is to couple 3D printing with embedded electronics and then connect these devices on networks. The future unfolds from there.

4. Welcome Chad Wingrave!: We convinced Dr. Chad Wingrave to help lead the charge. Chad has diverse experience and passion for Virtual Reality, software, hardware, and for creating user-centered technology. He’s a great teacher and facilitator too. We are confident that he can develop the community and help craft the labs’ strategy. Thank you Chad!!

5. We’re Connecting the Dots, the People and the Institutions: Our partnerships with Liberty Value Initiative, Dansko, Penn State Great Valley, and Kennett Square Makers — and the other organizations in this article — will help define what this movement will mean for Chester County. Are you interested in working with us? Helping us? Come out and meet us. Or send us a message.