Maker Nexus Makerspace: Difference between revisions

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==The Makerspace==
==The Makerspace==
===Address===


234 East Caribbean Drive
234 East Caribbean Drive
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408.685.2500
408.685.2500
===Current Status===
Regular hours of Wednesday - Sunday, 10am - 10pm.
We welcome everyone to stop by and tour the makerspace. See the machines, look at the media room, feel the carpet under your feet. Look at the future woodshop room
Need a place to hold your maker oriented meetup? Come see our facility and consider holding it here.
We have clean shop equipment available right now:
*  an Epilog Helix laser cutter
*    2 Prusa 3D printers
*    an electronics bench
*    several sewing machines (including an industrial walking foot)
*    a vinyl cutter
*    a heat press
*    a number of hand tools
*    tables where you can work on your project
*    computers (but our internet speed is very, very limited at this time)
Members will be able to reserve equipment starting April 10.
Without a woodshop, projects are limited to things you can do over a carpeted area. No sanding, no wet work, etc. Right now work is limited to something you might do in your living room (if your living room had a laser cutter and 3D printer!) If you have a question about a project, ask any of our staff or volunteers.
Getting certified to use equipment
===Important Information===


*[[MN Safety]]
*[[MN Safety]]

Revision as of 10:07, 4 April 2019

(Information about the Maker Nexus organization's makerspace will be provided here. If you register with this wiki you can click the star at the top right to "watch" this page. If you do this then you will get an email whenever this page is updated.)

Our Mission

Maker Nexus is a non-profit with a mission to provide education in woodworking, textiles, metalworking, and other vocational skills and hobby crafts, and promote the same in the community. We will do this by providing a community makerspace that serves all experience levels from hobbyists to professionals. Our goal is to help each person improve their skills whether as STEAM/STEM teen, life enrichment, job skill acquisition, or new entrepreneur.

Sometimes officials ask how a makerspace can help their community at large. In response, we have a list of businesses that have been developed in a makerspace.

The Organization

Become a member, pledge your support, and track our progress on our website: MakerNexus.com

Our mailing address (this is NOT the shop address) is 2505 Katrina Way Mountain View, CA 94040-3949

We are a California non-profit and classified by the IRS as a 501(c)3 tax exempt organization. Read our by laws.

Read our officers' biographies.

Position Plans for board members, volunteers, contractors, and employees.

Become part of the team by using our Communication Tools

The Makerspace

Address

234 East Caribbean Drive

Sunnyvale, CA 94089

408.685.2500

Current Status

Regular hours of Wednesday - Sunday, 10am - 10pm.

We welcome everyone to stop by and tour the makerspace. See the machines, look at the media room, feel the carpet under your feet. Look at the future woodshop room

Need a place to hold your maker oriented meetup? Come see our facility and consider holding it here.

We have clean shop equipment available right now:

  • an Epilog Helix laser cutter
  • 2 Prusa 3D printers
  • an electronics bench
  • several sewing machines (including an industrial walking foot)
  • a vinyl cutter
  • a heat press
  • a number of hand tools
  • tables where you can work on your project
  • computers (but our internet speed is very, very limited at this time)

Members will be able to reserve equipment starting April 10.

Without a woodshop, projects are limited to things you can do over a carpeted area. No sanding, no wet work, etc. Right now work is limited to something you might do in your living room (if your living room had a laser cutter and 3D printer!) If you have a question about a project, ask any of our staff or volunteers. Getting certified to use equipment

Important Information

Maker Memberships

We offer Maker Memberships that give access to the shop. (Different than a non-profit "membership" where you are really just donating to support the mission.) Maker Memberships will not be tax-deductible even when we get our 501(c)3 status.

Entry Level

  • $75 / month.
  • Access to workspace, textiles, computers
  • No machine reservation
  • No access to CNC machines or lasers
  • No storage

Hobbyist

  • $150 / month
  • All of Entry Level
  • Access to all machines with some time limits per week
  • May rent storage as available
  • Most popular level

Family

  • $200 / month
  • Parent and one child, hobbyist level.
  • Additional children $50 / month
  • Additional parent $150 / month

Student

  • $100 / month
  • Requires proof of current full time enrollment
  • Largely the same as Hobbyist
  • Age restrictions on some equipment

Other Levels

We have considered other Maker Membership levels that would cost more and give access to more equipment hours per week, or access to specialized equipment. We have called these levels "Pro" and "Start Up" but we have not come to any hard decisions. Your feedback will help us design these to suit the community best.

New Members

If you are new to Maker Nexus, welcome. All the communication tools can seem a bit overwhelming at first. Please visit our new member page.

Clubs and Groups

We have a number of groups running within our organization. Read about them on the MN Clubs and Groups page.

The Town Halls

The 6 member Maker Nexus (MN) board has been working on our plan since the day TechShop closed. We've had the help of several other people. We would be happy to have a board member speak to any group that is interested in our new shop.

To get the shop open we need a minimum of 150 members and $125,000 in donations. You can track our progress on the Maker Nexus web site.

  • March 28, 2018: We appreciate the Homebrew Robotics Club for letting us talk at their monthly members meeting. It's a spirited group of people, passionate about home built robots. The meeting was very interesting. The presentation is online.
  • March 11, 2018: We met at the Art Ventures Gallery in Menlo Park. A great location for a meetup like this (with some great maker-like photographic art on exhibit). About 35 people were there with 10 new people. You can view the slides online
  • February 25, 2018: We met again in the Palo Alto Riconada Library. We had about 50 people, more than half of whom were new. We updated the community with our progress in securing a location, including information on two sites we are pursuing. You can view the slides here.
  • February 15, 2018: We met in Palo Alto Riconada Library. We had about 40 people, many new faces. Eric's update included information on our site selection and equipment acquisition. You can view the slides online.
  • January 28, 2018: We held our second town hall. (Thanks to [https://altoschool.org/ Alto International School). About 40 new faces showed up. It was a lively crowd with a lot of laughs and questions. This community is really amazing.
  • January 19, 2018: We held our first open town hall meeting. (Thanks to Hacker Dojo for hosting us.) About 80 people attended - the room was packed with some people sitting on the floor.

How to Help

We have a flier you can put up anywhere you think potential members will see it.

More Details

Finances

If you are into finance details, you can review our current financial model.

Location

We have a space, moved in and are working on obtaining occupancy permit from the City of Sunnyvale. Address: 234 East Caribbean drive, Sunnyvale, CA 94089 - phone: 408 685 2500

History of the decision:

We initially asked anyone who signed up as a member to pick one or more of the following locations: Menlo Park, Santa Clara, Newark. In late January the votes were pretty clear: 85% of the pledged members approved of Menlo Park; 62% Santa Clara; 40% Newark (Some people selected more than one location that was acceptable to them).

The Takeaway

The slides are packed with information, but for those who need the quick summary:

  • Non-profit organization
  • Shop between Menlo Park and Sunnyvale
  • Targeted May opening
  • Limited machines, adding more as quickly as money allows
  • Paid staff members for support & maintenance
  • $150/month membership
  • A $1,000 donation helps get the shop open
  • Everyone has to pitch in to make this work

We hope that you, the reader, will join us in making this shop a reality.