If you are a foursquare user, you may have noticed that the Mayor of Metrix Create:Space gets half-off 3D Printing, and we occasionally give things away for people with fun numbers.
Thanks to a few of our friends, it’s never been easier to get that Mayorship. Stumble.to is a service provided by Eric and Ian that automatically checks you in when you walk in and have your WiFi device with you (laptop, phone, itouch, anything with a MAC address really).
Here’s an oxymoron in action, a fail whale that works. Our member Haven Skys has been playing with the idea of laser etched acrylic circuits, and has built his first prototype. Silver conductive ink for the traces and a deep etch gives not only a circuit, but a working schematic styled resistor. Add in a CR2032 battery and a couple of surface mount LEDs and you’ve got a working LED flashlight that shows off the win that is fail.
This is just a reminder even though we’re halfway through this sunniest of Seattle months, we still have plenty of workshops left to take in August in addition to the workshops that have already been scheduled for September. You can see what we’ve got lined up below:
Inkscape for Laser Cutting Saturday, August 21 2-4:30pm Cost: $50 for non-members
This workshop is an introduction to Inkscape, focusing on the tools needed for laser cutting. It is appropriate for those who have never used or have limited experience with Inkscape. The last half hour of the class is supervised design time where you can create your own 3”x5” design and have it cut it out in 3mm thick birch using the laser cutter. This workshop requires a laptop with the latest version of Inkscape installed and a mouse with a scroll wheel.
Intro to the Arduino Saturday, August 28 2-4pm Cost: $50 for non-members This workshop will cover the basics of the Arduino. We’ll go over what it is, what it can do, and why you’d want to use it. We’ll also go over a couple of basic programs. This course is great for people who’ve never programmed before and have no microcontroller experience. We’ll give you an Arduino, a breadboard, and some simple components. This workshop requires a laptop.
Arduino Programming Sunday, August 29 2-4pm Cost: $50 for non-members Now that you’ve gotten some familiarity with the Arduino, it’s time to learn how to program the thing. We’ll cover programming basics like functions, loops, and conditionals. We’ll also talk about how to use classes, though we won’t be writing any. This class requires an arduino and breadboard.
Introduction to Electronics Tuesday, August 31 7-9:30pm Cost: $50 for non-members This workshop covers everything you need to know to get started in electronics. We’ll start from the basics of electricity and work our way up to using integrated circuits. Fading, blinking, and dimming LEDs help demonstrate key electronics concepts. You’ll leave this workshop with a kit of everything you need to build the circuits we cover.
…And in September…
Advanced I/O for the Arduino Sunday, September 12 2-4pm Cost: $50 for non-members The importance of the Arduino is mostly in how you can interface it with the rest of the analog world. We’ll talk about using analog inputs to sense light and sound. We’ll also go over using PWM to control the brightness of LEDs. Lastly, we’ll cover how to use servo motors. This class comes with several sensors and other components. You’ll need a breadboard and Arduino.
Arduino Robots Sunday, September 19 2-5pm Cost: $50 for non-members This last Arduino workshop will wrap everything from the other workshops together into an interesting project. We’ll spend the class integrating sensors, motors, and various programming techniques into a line following robot car. We’ll give you most of the supplies, but you’ll also need everything from the other three workshops (which you can buy separately if you only want to take this class).
These were cut on the laser from several different sheets of veneer, glued together and clamped while it dried, and then finished with a two-part resin. They are destined to be made into a pair of matching barrettes. And yes, we usually have birch veneer around for lasercutting if you decide you want to make something like this yourself :)
When Ry came in with his daughters to do some lasercutting the other day, they reminded me that Thingiverse is awesome. They cut this pretty little table, some tiny keys, and this cute little standing elephant, all from files off of Thingiverse. There are tons of neat plans and files like this on the site made for the MakerBot or the lasercutter.
Thingiverse is more than just a place to find fun lasercutting projects; it’s made to promote sharing. If you have a cool design on file, you can upload it to Thingiverse and share it with the world. We here at Metrix like sharing so much that we’ll give you a 20% discount for anything made on the MakerBots or the lasercutter from a Thingiverse download. Share and save!
The title of the article is “Matt Westervelt: Best Anarchist Criminal Parasite”. But don’t worry, it’s a great writeup - Margaret Friedman from The Weekly did a really good job describing what we do and why we’re awesome :)
Due to a gift from the furniture store gods, we’ve got lots and lots of lovely upholstery fabric samples here in the shop. And this coming Tuesday night at Kraft Nite, we’re going to give them away for absolutely free. If you come down on Tuesday (8/10) between 6pm and midnight to work on crafty things, and you too can take your pick of shiny pretty fabric squares.
We have our standard workshop offerings in August and we will be bringing you a few more exotic ones in September. Here is the lineup for August and a taste of what will be available in September. If you would like to sign up for one, please come by the shop. If you have already been by, you are welcome to sign up over the phone as well. If you have any questions, we’d love to hear from you!See you here soon!
Inkscape for Laser Cutting Thursday, August 12 7-9:30pm Cost: $50 for non-members This workshop is an introduction to Inkscape, focusing on the tools needed for laser cutting. It is appropriate for those who have never used or have limited experience with Inkscape. The last half hour of the class is supervised design time where you can create your own 3”x5” design and have it cut it out in 3mm thick Birch using the laser cutter. This workshop requires a laptop with the latest version of Inkscape installed and a mouse with a scroll wheel.
Inkscape for Laser Cutting will also be held on: Saturday, August 21 2-4:30pm Cost: $50 for non-members
Intro to the Arduino Saturday, August 28 2-4pm Cost: $50 for non-members This workshop will cover the basics of the Arduino. We’ll go over what it is, what it can do, and why you’d want to use it. We’ll also go over a couple of basic programs. This course is great for people who’ve never programmed before and have no microcontroller experience. We’ll give you an Arduino, a breadboard, and some simple components. This workshop requires a laptop.
Arduino Programming Sunday, August 29 2-4pm Cost: $50 for non-members Now that you’ve gotten some familiarity with the Arduino, it’s time to learn how to program the thing. We’ll cover programming basics like functions, loops, and conditionals. We’ll also talk about how to use classes, though we won’t be writing any. This class requires an arduino and breadboard.
Introduction to Electronics Tuesday, August 31 7-9:30pm Cost: $50 for non-members This workshop covers everything you need to know to get started in electronics. We’ll start from the basics of electricity and work our way up to using integrated circuits. Fading, blinking, and dimming LEDs help demonstrate key electronics concepts. You’ll leave this workshop with a kit of everything you need to build the circuits we cover.
…And in September…
Advanced I/O for the Arduino Sunday, September 12 2-4pm Cost: $50 for non-members The importance of the Arduino is mostly in how you can interface it with the rest of the analog world. We’ll talk about using analog inputs to sense light and sound. We’ll also go over using PWM to control the brightness of LEDs. Lastly, we’ll cover how to use servo motors. This class comes with several sensors and other components. You’ll need a breadboard and Arduino.
Arduino Robots Sunday, September 19 2-5pm Cost: $50 for non-members This last Arduino workshop will wrap everything from the other workshops together into an interesting project. We’ll spend the class integrating sensors, motors, and various programming techniques into a line following robot car. We’ll give you most of the supplies, but you’ll also need everything from the other three workshops (which you can buy separately if you only want to take this class).
For those who haven’t been following our blog religiously, Dave Cole is one of our PBDH regulars and a bit of a lasercutter addict. His newest project is a fully functional DC motor made entirely from Metrix Create: Space lasercut wood and a handful of parts from the hardware store.
Dave says he plans on making the kits available at his Etsy store once he gets the design all shiny and vintage science-y looking for mass-production. I wonder if we can find a way to get some in our vending machine…
When Ry came in with his daughters to do some lasercutting the other day, they reminded me that 
Due to a gift from the furniture store gods, we’ve got lots and lots of lovely upholstery fabric samples here in the shop. And this coming Tuesday night at Kraft Nite, we’re going to give them away for absolutely free. If you come down on Tuesday (8/10) between 6pm and midnight to work on crafty things, and you too can take your pick of shiny pretty fabric squares.
