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Making With Your Hands
Making With Your Hands
A basic makerspace for working with basic recycled materials requires some equally basic tools.
To start some cutting mats and knives (with safety tutorials) are a simple way to encourage students to start making objects with recycled cardboard. (which your makerspace can store in some handy bins)
As students get more comfortable with these cutting tools they will want to be more accurate with their designs this is where metal rulers and squares can be used to improve their work.
Some other things that can be used in a recycling-centric (not an exhaustive list, but a good start):
Leather hole punch (works great on a variety of materials)
Digital Makerspace
Digital Makerspace
Minecraft Education
Minecraft Education
Many of the tools required for pure digital making are not specific to a particular system. Minecraft is available for download on Windows, Chromebook, Mac, iPad. It is recommended that when using Minecraft to use a mouse and headphones for the best experience.
Scratch
Scratch
Scratch is an open-ended, block-based coding environment that allows students to freely construct interactive games, stories, and programs. The platform has a social function which allows students to share, discuss, and even remix their projects in exciting, collaborative ways.
TinkerCAD
TinkerCAD
TinkerCAD is an introduction to 3D Modelling, electronics, and coding.
Accounts are free and can be accessed through any web browser. Teachers can setup their own TinkerCADclassroom to easily manage student designs.
Fusion 360
Fusion 360
Fusion 360 is Autodesk's hobbyist through professional grade 3D modelling software.
Computer Modelling for Physical Modelling
Computer Modelling for Physical Modelling
This section is going to look at some common CNC machines in school makerspaces. CNC stands for Computer Numerically Controlled and can include everything from laser cutters and engravers, 3D printers, CNC mills and lathes and vinyl cutters. These will involve the use of many of the digital tools and advanced technology often found in makerspaces.
The lessons in this section of the project will start with 3D printers as the starting point but later lessons will be designed in an open enough way to encourage the use of any other CNC machines a Makerspace may have.
3D Printers
3D Printers
At an approximately $600 CAN the CR6 SE is a basic level printer with a few nice features for a school including automatic bed levelling and a filament runout sensor.
It does not feature an enclosure, though you can add one. For that Creality sells as similar printer in the Ender 6 at a slightly higher price point.
Prusa is a European company and is considered in the hobbyist world of 3D printers as one of the most reliable brands on the market.
At $1000 CAN assembled they are also more costly than the Creality 3d printers, but are generally considered to be of a higher quality.
Both of these brands of 3D printer use open-source software to slice the models and generate code for the printer.
These are FDM (Filament Deposition Method) printers. Resin printers are another common type of 3D printer that are far less suited for Makerspace applications due to safety and material spillage concerns.
These printers can be set up to either be connected to a computer to print or to print based on files on an SD card.
Laser Cutters
Laser Cutters
The Glowforge is an entry-level laser cutter that can be used to cut 2D designs in a variety of material including wood, plastics, and paper. They cost between $3000-$10,000 depending on the model.
In a school Makerspace laser cutters need to be set up nearby sufficient ventilation or have an attached air filter which can cause noise issues.
Engravers
Engravers
This type of machine is for Makerspaces with lots of space and some sort of ventilation to pull the material off the machine as it is cut. Retailing for $3,000-4,000 CAN they have the ability to engrave wood and plastic materials in three dimensions.
In a school Makerspace this type of machine can be used for advanced projects requiring
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