Makerspace Reflection

Tandon’s makerspace is a 10,000 sqf wonderland of machines and tools. During my in-person training I focused on the technicalities such as maximum sizes each machine can handle. I was especially interested in laser cutters as I believe I will be using them the most.

The biggest laser cutter is Universal and has a bed size of 48 x 32 and requires additional training on top of the laser cutting training. Fusion has a smaller bed size but allows for spherical objects. Lastly there are Mini’s which are the smallest laser cutters available.

As explained during the online training, there are two types of 3D Printers. The regular printer known as the Ultimaker is free for all students. It is important to note each print job is limited to four hours during the day and twelve hours for overnight prints. It is also required to write down your net ID, estimated print time, and write down whether you used a personal or borrowed usb on a sticky note next to your print.

In Ultimaker Cura, once you load your files the settings will work on default. However, if you were to change around values, each setting works as such:

• Profiles: Size of filament

• Infill: How much space there is, determines the sturdiness of the print

• Support - For overhanging parts. It is also recommended to rotate the print horizontally if it is on the taller side

Lastly you can choose between extruder 1, located on the left, and extruder 2, located on the right. These two extruders can be used to switch colors to better differentiate between the actual print and the supports. However, there is not much difference and you can use the same extruder for the entire print job.

The other 3D Printers are advanced 3D printers that require students to pay to use. These prints allow for more complexity, sturdiness, and a less likely chance to fail. Each print from the advanced printers require a bath time to dissolve the supports and an additional drying time. Therefore it is recommended to start an advanced print as early as possible to account for additional processing time.