December 2022 - Board Meeting

12/7/2022 - Area 515 Board Meeting

12/7/2022 - Area 515 Board Meeting

Attending:

Absent:

Phase converter showed up! Ryan will put it in Caroline’s cubby for installation.
Metal Stewards agreed to make Derek Vermeland an official Metal Shop Trainer.

Vote to Approve Minutes of November Meeting
Yes: 6
No: 0
Result: Passed

Meg’s not here.
Carlin would like to know how much money he has left to pay off the Ameribrade sander.

CEC held Snow Day last Saturday. Was successful if not highly attended. When asked, one of the attendees cited Meetup as how they found it.
Board members spoke very highly of the CEC members John, Cody and Kevin. John in particular was noted for his laser cutter presentations to children who attended Snow Day. To quote one board member, “John is a heck of an asset.”

BitDefender was proposed as a new password keeper. Jake said he’d look into it.
We need to upgrade our status in Slack to non-profit status. Our full trial ended after 30 days, upgrading would give us more features. Jake said he’d look into it.
New members still need to be automatically added to the Tools sheet in order to track Tool Fee payments. New members aren’t automatically added right now because the Current Members tends to get a lot of double entries for people. The double entries are manually resolved eventually, but automatically populating the Tools sheet would make twice as much manual work. One idea is to copy members to the Tools sheet only when they get a key. In effect, copying the info after double entries have been resolved. Jake said he’d look into it.
CEC requested login info for Zapier. Jake said that he’d prefer to personally build the functionality to make Zapier copy posts onto multiple social media platforms, but also that he was not against giving the CEC the login. Jake didn’t exactly say he’d look into this, but it’s close enough for inclusion here.

The lasers need more nice plywood, so Brad plans to post on the forum. Other members expressed interest in a group purchase. It was suggested that in so doing, Brad remind members that they shouldn’t store their wood purchases at the space.

At one time the board considered purchasing a shipping container and putting it in the courtyard for member storage. At that time containers could be obtained for about $1k, now good containers cost about $3k. Carlin said he would keep asking his friends to check prices.
How we could partition such a container for member storage was discussed, as well as the idea of charging a small fee for its use.
Discussion of the general economic outlook ensued. Ryan mentioned that he had reached out to Facebook recently by email but hadn’t heard anything back. A discussion of rich, eccentric people ensued, followed by stories heard about Prince.

Dave will finish TIG welder setup this evening.
Tom knows someone wanting to get rid of whiteboards.
New member Nathan is planning to restart robotics night
Recently a gentleman from Wells Fargo talked with John about fundraising and Wells Fargo’s donation matching program.

We’re reaching some limitations on the Lead CNC due to its frequent use. The V wheels are becoming problematic since they all need to be tightened evenly. Also, the small amount of Z axis travel severely limits what kinds and how much spoiler board can be installed.
Jake and Caroline found a kit for around $750 + tax that would replace the V wheels and acme screws with linear rails and ball screws. It would also increase the Z axis travel.

Open Builds launched a 32 bit controller. Jake already purchased one during a Black Friday sale. Jake proposed putting in on the Spectralight since this new controller has more inputs which the Spectralight can use.
If put on the Lead CNC, the new controller could automatically make sure the X axis is perpendicular to the Y axis (aka. "tramming" the Y axis)
The value of getting a second controller for the Lead was then discussed.

Vote to Purchase 2 of the new Open Builds 32 bit controllers, and the Lead CNC upgrade kit for about $1250 + tax
Yes: 6
No: 0
Result: Passed

Carlin would like to purchase an electric heat treat oven and a buffer for the Metal Shop. Currently the knife makers are using a propane powered heat treat oven that Carlin built. It takes a lot of work to make the oven keep the proper temperature.
The model Carlin is looking at is an electric Paragon 24” with touch screen that costs about $2500 with shipping. It requires a 220V outlet, the same as his grinder.
Importantly, the board was told that yes, you can cook pizzas in it. The value of using it to cook gingerbread then cut it out in the laser was briefly discussed.
After some discussion it was decided that the buffer Carlin wanted will be purchased using Metal Shop funds.

Ryan and his family are looking to move to a new house and he plans to pare down some of his possessions.
In particular he is offering to sell his manual mill to the makerspace for $3k. It’s a manual, full sized, endco, Bridgeport style, has a digital readout down to 2/10ths of an inch. The x axis is servo controlled. He also has many different collets, two mill vices, sets of drill chucks. It also has a rotary fixture.
We would still need to purchase end mills and stuff to run it.
Another board member pointed out that for $3k, if we decide we don’t want it, we can likely resell the mill for the same price and not be out any money.
The importance of having a robust lockout method was discussed.
In order to avoid impropriety, it was proposed that the board send a knowledgeable, neutral third party (better known as Caroline) to inspect the mill and advise the board on the mill’s condition and asking price. Ryan welcomed this plan and the board will go forward with it.
It was also suggested that all members vote on the purchase of Ryan’s mill in order to further avoid impropriety, but nothing was decided.

The Metal Shop has already grown to be one of our most regularly used facilities.
The board has already spent $4k on equipment to make knives in the Metal Shop.
Carlin is planning to hold knife making classes here at the maker space indefinitely. Ultimately, we want those people to be able to sign up to the makerspace and continue practicing what they’ve learned.
Therefore, we’re probably going to need to get a heat treat oven eventually. It’s just a question of when we decide to do it.
Heat Ovens don’t loose their value over time so the money we invest in it can be recouped later.

Vote to purchase Carlin’s recommended heat treat oven
Yes: 6
No: 0
Result: Passed

In the short run, the easiest lockout system would be to create a locker that opens for designated members’ keycards

Carlin has 8 more knife making classes scheduled in the next few months.
Some rooms need security cameras, but the existing ones adequately cover the Metal Shop. Carlin mentioned he’s getting better at using the Security System too.
The Midwest Knife Makers Guild wants to hold a meeting here late next year.

Jake: "I got a proposal." Carlin: "I got one too." Ryan: "Yeah, me too." Tom: "I need another beer."
"So, if we get a mill, who's going to hold Ward down?"
Did you know: Civilian aircraft can't have ejector seats. Also, there's a MIG aircraft at the Ankeny airport that's being restored.
Proposed slogan for the Metaverse: "It's really lonely in here!"

Last updated 1 year ago