Frequently Asked Questions

Make sure you have completed each of these steps

1. Attend or review the Tech Forge Orientation Material and pass the review quiz

2. Submit a keycard request form as part of the review quiz

3. On the hub homepage click "Office Hours and Training Signup"

4. Select the Level 1 option to schedule a training - you may also join an existing Level 1 training if one is scheduled.

5. If you have trouble with the available timings please contact Luca Degroot

All level 2 equipment requires a machine specific training session - follow the "Office Hours and Training Signup" link to make a "Level 2 training" reservation. Make sure to write the name of the equipment you would like to train on in the title and also make a separate reservation using the booked site for that piece of equipment to ensure it is available. 

Certain pieces of equipment namely the Tormach and Shop Sabre are not available for reservation until residents complete preliminary training. The first training session for both of these machines focuses on CAM and thus you will not need to reserve the machine. It is also helpful to have an active project for the CNC machines as it informs what strategies I focus on during the training. Feel free to check in with IW technical staff for more info

About once every 6 months we send out a survey and request for a short interview with each Resident. This asks questions about what kinds of support you've received, if you have made any connections with manufacturers, what feedback you have about the program and if you would suggest this program to others. There are also follow on surveys after the residency is complete that ask for information such as revenue or number of job positions. All of this data is collected for the purpose of reporting to our state grand funders- primarily the EDA- and is reported in aggregate across all companies in the Residency. Feel free to reach out if you have any more questions. 

We take the security of IP very seriously here at Innovation Works. Contractually all IW employees are bound by confidentiality agreements and any IP generated through our programs are fully owned by the resident company. Additionally, any files shared with IW for technical assistance are stored privately and deleted after the relevant project is complete.

However, it is important to remember the Scale Shop is a shared space. It is the responsibility of the Resident to ensure sensitive files aren't left on public computers and sensitive components/ physical materials are not left out in the shop. If you have specific concerns feel free to contact a member of the IW technical staff. 

Scale Shop Rules

1. Follow all guidelines given by technical staff

2. Be respectful of the shop community - absolutely no harassment or intolerant behavior!

3. Maintain a safe working environment for yourself and others

   1. Safety glasses, closed toe shoes, no loose clothing when within the work area

   2. Be responsible to know and prepare for the safety concerns of your project 

   3. Never work when incapacitated

   4. Report any safety concerns or incidents to technical staff

4. Only use equipment you are cleared for 

5. If you are working outside of operating hours you must submit an after-hours sign in form, if using Level 2 equipment you must have a trained buddy present

6. The Scale Shop equipment and materials are intended for use in conjunction with company’s agreement with Innovation Works

   1. Prototyping projects, not mass production 

   2. Materials and equipment for project use, not resale/contract use

   3. Employees may not use shop for freelance/outside projects with companies that do not have an agreement with IW

7. Leave the workspace cleaner than you found it. Return all tools and store project materials by the end of the day

8. If you aren’t sure about something, just ask!

Some other guidelines

• Be a good shop steward

  • Use available shop inventory fairly

  • Submit inventory requests for missing items

  • Be helpful to your fellow shop mates

• Please be respectful of time for the technical staff!

  • Use all resources available (manuals, internet, other shopmates etc!)

  • use office hours appointments for project assistance

• Use the equipment booking process to assist in effective scheduling - any equipment use over ~20min of time should be booked