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The Factory

From Factory to The Spark

Posted by & filed under Makerspace Happenings, MindSPark News!.

Makerspace enthusiast! We are excited to share with you some of the changes in the works for the Makerspace! Our physical space is under construction with the Libraries at this time. So we will share updates on the physical changes over time as we begin to morph in to the new layout. However in the meantime here we will share a few significant updates happening along side our physical updates.

 

First and of significant note is The Factory is officially transitioning to The Spark Makerspace! The Spark is focused on Igniting the imagination through innovative learning!  

We have also launched our very own podcast, UNT MindSpark! MindSpark will focus on innovation, makerspaces, making, inventing and the world of exploration through hands on learning. Our goal is to highlight the exciting innovation happening around us here at UNT! Follow us on podbeans or go to our site to hear our first episode! 

                                                                            

Feel free to let us know about innovation you might want to hear about!

Knowledge Specialist Arthur!

Posted by & filed under Makerspace Crew Highlights.

Hi! My name is Arthur Sliter and I’m a knowledge specialist here at the UNT Makerspace. I’m currently a freshman majoring in mechanical engineering and have a passion for all things technical. I especially love 3D printing since it enables me to create crazy and custom parts I need for my projects. I got my first 3D printer in 2013 and have been addicted ever since. As my major would imply, most of the projects I do are mechanical in nature but almost all have a dash of electrical engineering or computer science. I’ve always been fascinated with how things work, as a kid I would always take toys and old appliances apart to understand the designs and mechanisms that made them tick. Since then not much has changed, I’ve just gotten better at putting things back together. 

For 3 years I ran the maker space club for my high school, teaching peers and even staff how to design projects, weld, use power tools, woodwork, and 3D print. I love guiding others through the engineering design process and watch as their ideas come to life. When I found out there was a position open at the UNT maker space I knew I had to apply. 

After teaching myself circuit design and coding in Arduino I was able to bring out the full potential of my projects and started working with more mechatronics and robotics. Some notable projects I’ve worked on over the years are:

A bionic prosthesis I created for my capstone project as a senior in high school. The goal of this project was to fill the need for affordable prosthetics. The bionic arm uses an electromyograph to convert residual nerve signals into a command that opens and closes the 3D printed hand.

 

These are some science exhibits I created for the University of Texas at Dallas’ Science and Engineering Education Center during my employment. I love teaching and passing on knowledge so these were a blast to make. From left to right, demonstrating the buoyancy of pumice, the magnetic properties of magnetite, and the concept of herd immunity. 

 

This is a home smart hub powered by IBM Watson AI for another school project in my junior year. This was designed to work with wireless and wired home devices and used Watson to improve energy efficiency and comfort by learning your routines. 

 

 

My love for tech doesn’t stop at gadgets and robotics, this is a custom gaming PC I made with a hardline water loop, Ryzen 9 3900x, 32 GB of DDR4 ram, GeForce RTX 2070 Super for any PC nerds out there

This is another school project for my sophomore year sustainability project. This robot prototype was designed to skim the surface of oceans and lakes picking up trash and other floating debris. GPS telemetry allowed the robot to clean a determined area and dock at a specialized barge when it was full. Only one was made but they were meant to work as a swarm configuration.



Written By: A. Sliter




LEGO Mindstorm Robotics

Posted by & filed under Makerspace Happenings.

The Factory has a large array of robotics for all ages. Today, I’m going to touch on our Lego Mindstorms Kits. The recommendation age range is 10+ but it can be a good introduction to people who may not know as much in construction or coding.

The construction part is straight forward since it is Lego and their instructions are kid-friendly, but you do have to pay close attention to the picture on how they change. On the coding side, it is block code like Scratch and there are tutorials online through UNT LinkedIn Learning if you want to do self-learning.

Other than that, you could set up a consultation with the Factory and we would be more than happy to help you. There are several building options with the kit. Some can be more for recreational use such as the Elephant, but it can also have a more functional use like building a color sorting robot or a robot arm. With all the built-in examples from the Lego Mindstorms software, they do include the code for the robots, , but that does not limit you on editing the code to make it your own.

 

Written by B. Johnson

Maker Cameron

Posted by & filed under Makerspace Crew Highlights.

“My name is Cameron Driller. I am a biochemistry major in my third year at UNT with minors in biology and technical writing. I first discovered the Factory as part of a job search after I decided that I NEEDED to get out of previous call center job, and I’ve been working here as a Maker for going on three years now. I’ve worked in “hands-on” workplaces before but never one that focused on DIY which is what really peaked my interest.

I work mostly on the 3D printing and science tools in space. Since I’m the only science major out of all my coworkers, I get called on anytime those tools are of interest. This setup is perfect for me because I get to work with sensors on all kinds of projects and then teach others on how to use them. This work combined with the 3D printing aspect means that I get to play with designs that have benefit to people. Designs that could range from automating greenhouses to articulated robotic limbs.”

Meet Specialist Steven!

Posted by & filed under Makerspace Crew Highlights.

Hi, I’m Steven. I’m a first-year media arts major and theatre minor. I’ve been working for the factory for almost four months now. I really love working at the factory. I love to work with the A/V equipment that the factory provides. I’m very well versed in Live Audio Equipment and studio recording equipment as well. I also have a strong understanding in electronics and woodworking. I was attracted to the factory from my first time touring UNT in high school. I been an avid follower of the maker community and dreamed of being able to use a maker space, but I never imagined I’d be working at one. When I learned that they had a position open I was determined. For anyone, who may be curious about maker spaces I would have to say this is the friendliest environment I’ve ever been in. All the employees are very nice and are very willing to help guide you in creating or learning something new. 

Serger or Overlock Machine?!?

Posted by & filed under Makerspace Happenings.

 

 

Did you know?

Overlock stitching was invented by the Merrow Machine Company in 1881. J. Makens Merrow and his son Joseph Merrow, who owned a knitting mill established in Connecticut in 1838 and designed the first overlock machine in 1889. In the United States the term “overlocker” has largely been replaced by “serger” but in other parts of the world (Australia, UK) the term “overlocker” is still in use. You can use an overlock aka serger in your makerspace The Factory!

 

But what is a Serger

A Serger is a machine that sews the seams of fabric and at the same time trims the seam allowance and finishes  the raw edges .ie. it sews, it cuts, it finishes the edges of fabrics all in one go. The professional finish you see in most store bought garments are finished with a serger. 

 

  • Serger finishes the seam and edges in one go – so saves a lot of your time
  • Serger stitch is best for sewing knits, being very flexible and stretchy
  • Narrow seams, overcast edges, rolled hems, blind stitched hems are all made easier with sergers

 

Your makerspace has a Janome Serger for in Space use once we are able to open again!

 

Maker Highlight of the Week- Hanna

Posted by & filed under Makerspace Crew Highlights.

Hello! My name is Hanna Flores and I’m the team development coordinator at UNT’s makerspace. I am majoring in computer science, so a lot of my projects here at the makerspace center around computers and software. Even so, I love working with almost every machine we have in space. My mom sews all the clothes she wears, and my dad’s garage is really a woodshop where he makes whatever he thinks would be fun or useful around the house, so I come from a very creative family and my interests are very broad. 

I love to sew, though I’m less inclined towards garments like my mom and more towards other kinds of projects like bags and other utility items. I learned to knit from my mom, and to crochet from my grandma, and it’s one of my favorite pastimes. On my own I learned tatting, which is a very convoluted way to make lace and one which I will never torture myself with again. 

Included are pictures of some face masks I’ve been working on for work, and some hand knitted “scale-mail”, which is the process of knitting tiny metal scales into your work one by one. And yes I did hand paint each and every one of them with nail polish. Never again. My original plan was to knit a whole top out of them. That’s how far I made it before losing my mind. 

I’ve worked with my dad in the garage since I was very little, so I really enjoy woodworking, especially building furniture because that’s what my dad taught me to make. Someday I want to try hand carving wood for decoration! This is a photo of the work bench I helped my dad make for his shop!


Now that I work in a place with even more advanced technology, I feel like I’ve become so much more creative. Through working here, I learned how to design models for 3D printing and then make the printers work to give me my materials. Below is a Mandalorian helmet I’m almost finished with, entirely 3D printed and finished with paint. Big huge enormous giant thank you to my coworker and one of my best friends, Kyle, for letting me use his personal printer for this!



I’m also very lucky to use my love of software development at the makerspace by creating virtual 360 tours of both our locations using Unity These are both online now but not yet ready for public viewing yet, but here are some previews!

Working at the makerspace has been by far my favorite thing about going to university, both because of everything I’ve learned both creatively and professionally, but also because of the lifelong friends I’ve made here. To me, the makerspace feels like a family, and I have never been happier to know such an incredible group of people.

 

Makerspace 2020

Posted by & filed under Makerspace Happenings.

 

Hello Makerspace friends! Although the makerspace physical locations are closed right now, we are working to be available online to help you if you need us!

So if you need a consultation that we can do via zoom we will! If you have a question or need a virtual consultation please send us a request through our form here. 

Unfortunately, we are not able to go to space for 3D printing however we can review files and consult if you need assistance!

If you are in need of factory collection resources/materials for your school assignment, please send a detailed message to Factory.registration@unt.edu that includes; professor, class name/number, circulating materials you need to complete your class assignment. We will do everything in our power to be able to assist you.

We will also be posting to our blog about our team, our initiatives, and our projects! Stay up to date with you makerspace through this blog!

Highlight of the Week!

Posted by & filed under Uncategorised.

My name is Jena Chakour, and I am a double major junior in Anthropology and Applied Behavior Analysis, with minors in French and Classics. Coming back from an out of state internship to learn that UNT now had a Makerspace, I was immediately smitten. The Factory channels my curiosity in hands-on projects; my skill areas include 3D printers (they are needy creatures), project planning, microprocessing boards (MaKey MaKey, Arduino), and Lasercutting (it’s true love). Most of my work involves outreach, for educating and events to introduce the UNT community to the magnificent world of accessible technology. I am also learning programming, CNC machine use, and CAD software from my fellow Makers!

The Factory is an amazing campus resource for UNT students, and I spiritually need more people to come enjoy it. I believe wholeheartedly in the potential of every person to learn anything they want to, and that learning is best when people are excited about the subject—The Factory provides the opportunity for students to do just that. You can walk in knowing Everything™ or absolutely nothing, play in our interdisciplinary sandbox, and gain a skill/knowledge set that you can enjoy forever. How cool is that?

Makers Projects

Posted by & filed under Uncategorised.

This week, Maker Jeffrey worked with our 3D printers and CAD software to model the [below] future tags for rentable-equipment barcodes, and to replace the extruder head on our sick Lulzbot TAZ6. That printer is up and running again, thanks to Jeffrey’s care! Maker Jordan is learning the CNC, in addition to her amazing photography skills, and working on a photo album for the Factory! The software for our Shapeoko CNC, Easel, shows  her initial design. Finally, here are some cute designs [below] for the Cricut cutting machine by Maker Devin, who also just finished making a small purse [below] with the Factory sewing machines!    

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