April 9th, 2019
Hello fellow Fabbers!
This week has been full of spring changes! As we move forward through this year, there will be improvements both big and small. We have different membership options coming soon, different ways to learn on the equipment, new ways to access the services of the Fab Lab (without having to be a member) and a very exciting summer planned!
First, lets talk about our memberships. We are saying goodbye to our ‘casual membership’ package. The casual membership was designed for those who only needed to access equipment a bit here and there. It was designed to get your foot in the door, and show people the usefulness of the Fab Lab. Unfortunately, there was so little time able to be spent in the Lab, many casual members had to be re-taught on equipment, were using the equipment in ways it was not designed for, or ran out of days before they ran out of projects. It was decided that getting rid of the option was for the best interest of the safety of the Lab, and the long-term usefulness of the memberships. Those of you with casual memberships will be contacted soon so you can see the other options available.
The next change is in accessibility for non-members. Many people have come in or called to ask if they can just pop in to have this board cut, or that thing printed, or whatever small project done without having to have a membership. The answer was almost always a ‘no’, because unfortunately, unless you are a member, you are not covered if accidents happen in a way that is affordable. To solve this problem, we are now officially offering design and creation services. Some of them are fully run by us, and some are with our business memberships.
The best example of this is the new 3D printing service which runs through the Fab Lab business membership. www.3dprintsondemand.com will be able to create your 3D prints and ship them to you, or you can arrange to pick them up here at the Fab Lab. The service is fully online with more options being added all the time for materials, colors, type of printing, and more. If you need something 3D printed, you can upload your file and get a free quote so you know exactly how much you are going to spend. They will also guarantee the lowest prices, so if you get a quote from elsewhere for less, you can still have it done locally, supporting small businesses here in Iowa City, and supporting your local non-profit makerspace at the same time! Lowest prices, supporting the Fab Lab, and helping our local economy! Win-win-win!
For other types of project, you can email us and set up a work order for your project. Anything from drilling a hole in a piece of wood to fully designing and building your project. We have knowledgeable people at the Lab who can help with all kinds of projects. 3D printing, laser cutting, electronics, woodshop, metal work, design, textiles, computer integration, and more. Since you can do anything at the Fab Lab, it follows that the Fab Lab can do anything for you! Our costs are lower or comparable to other services, and we can get you on the right track or do the full thing start to finish.
As far as new memberships, we have a few changes. At the beginning, we set up a schedule of the safety/basics classes that come free with your membership. Each class was held roughly every two weeks, some on weekends and some on weeknights. It was designed to give everyone a flexible option for when to learn. We decided to scrap that in exchange for even more flexibility! Now once you become a member, you and the teacher for the safety/basics class will find a time that works for both schedules, and have a (usually) one-on-one class to learn everything you need to safely run the equipment. This should make it much easier to find times that work for everyone, and give more direct service once you have started your membership.
There are a few other changes happening over the summer, as well. We are expanding! We are starting the construction of our new business center, which will allow small businesses to have an office space to work in, a meeting room and physical business address for packages and mail, and still access to all of the equipment and knowhow of the Fab Lab. We will be open very soon with a newly expanded business membership, so check back next week for more details! Beyond the business center, we will be creating more space and tool areas as we expand more in August! Again, we will be giving you more details as they become available.
Remember that our popular summer camps are also up, so you can register your kids for our awesome interactive summer adventures! There are only so many spots per camp, so make sure to register before they are all gone! You can learn more about our camps on the website!
So that is the news for this week. I hope all of you go out and enjoy the spring weather, and when you start your project list for the year, remember that the Fab Lab is here for you.
Talk to you all next week.
Kirk