The MakerSpace is an open lab for anyone who is interested in exploring creativity! Tools/Services like 3D Printers, Laser Cutters, Vinyl Plotters, and more are available for use. While student projects are prioritized, the space is open for personal projects.

There are no pre-requisites or qualifications needed to use the MakerSpace. If you want to use a specific tool, but do not have any experience, a technician is always in the space to help. If you have a specific project and have a plan in mind, talk to a technician and they will support however they can.

The MakerSpace is open 10:00 am to 4:00 pm, Monday to Friday. Due to safety regulations, the MakerSpace doors must be closed during open hours – please do not hesitate to knock, and a technician will let you in!

The MakerSpace is an open lab, meaning you don’t need to book any appointments to come in and use the space. If there is a specific time that you would like to talk to a technician about a project, or use one of the tools, please book an appointment through the service request form, This will help guarantee that either the tool or technician will be available for the time you visit.

If you have a specific item or project that you would like to make, you can either submit it through the service request form, or you can come into the MakerSpace during open hours to discuss it with the Technicians. Staff are here to assist as much as possible, if your project falls within the guidelines of the MakerSpace and College.

The MakerSpace is a resource, not a service. Technician staff are on-site to support making your project a reality. The primary goal of the MakerSpace is to provide students a space to learn about the technology it offers through experiential learning! This means that the technicians will assist you as needed but will not do the work for you.

The pricing structure in the MakerSpace is called “The Barter System” – Your first 3D Print, if it is 50 grams or less, is free. (A technician can tell you the weight ahead of time)

After that you need to purchase a roll of filament. Half of this material (500g) is donated to the MakerSpace, and that is the only service fee. This is also how we continue to provide first free prints for others!

The remaining 500g is a material balance under your name at the Space. The benefit of this system is that you are not limited to one colour, just the weight – so if you purchase black filament but need something printed in white later, no worries!

The first thing you will need is a 3D Model that is in ‘STL’ format.

Find a pre-existing model(s) on websites like Thingiverse and MyMiniFactory, or you can make your own models using software like TinkerCAD, Blender, or Fusion360. All of these are free or offer educational licenses.

Once you have a model, you will need to submit it through the service request form. One of the technicians will review your file and get a material estimate. From there, staff will be able to recommend if you need to purchase a roll of material or if it falls under the first free print category (50g or less).

It takes an average of 5 business days for a print to be ready to be picked up, though this is subject to change during busier parts of the semester. Please keep this in mind when submitting requests with deadlines!

The only cost for Laser Cutting is materials – there are no service fees.

The Laser Cutter can cut and etch material up to 12” x 24” (inches). The recommended thickness for cutting is 3mm (1/8”), though it can cut up to 6mm (1/4″) if necessary, and as thin as a sheet of paper! If you are looking to etch a pre-existing item (e.g. a cutting board) it can be no more than 5.5” thick.

The recommended sources for material are KJP Select Hardwoods for Plywood and Canus Plastics for Acrylic. If you are considering purchasing materials from anywhere else, it is recommended sending an email to the MakerSpace first to make sure that it will work!

First, you need to decide what kind of material you will be cutting/etching, and purchase that. If your project does not require a full sheet of material, we also have a big bin full of scrap that is available for anyone to use!

Next, you will need a vector file that is in PDF format. The most important thing for laser cutting files is that any CUT lines are 0.001” (one thousandths of an inch) thick. Anything thicker than that will be read as an ETCH.

When designing something for laser cutting, please keep in mind that everything should be viewed in grayscale – black will etch the deepest, and white will not etch at all.

The only cost for Vinyl Cutter is materials – there are no service fees. These materials can vary a lot, but we’ve found Michaels carries most of the supplies compatible with our vinyl cutter, the Cricut Maker 3.

If you are going to buy vinyl, we recommend NOT buying the Cricut brand vinyl. Instead, look at the brand Siser! It tends to be half the price, for the same quality.

The Vinyl Cutter can cut multiple kinds of vinyl, including sticker, permanent, heat transfer, and stencil vinyl. It is also important to know that it is not limited to just vinyl, despite its name! It can also cut materials like paper, fabric, thin leather, canvas, foam, and more.

It has different tool heads, which allow it to do things like emboss metal leafing or lettering with markers! Check out the Sample Projects to see some examples of these.

For the Vinyl Cutter, you just need an image or SVG file of the shape you would like to cut, plus the material you are cutting. A black and white design will generally work best, but the Cricut software can work with colours as well.