A visit with Make Lehigh Valley

I stopped by Make Lehigh Valley in November to see what the group was working on. Make Lehigh Valley, a makerspace located in Allentown, PA, is open to the public on Thursday evenings. The group has been operating out of their current location for the past 4 years and is rapidly growing.

The group gave us a warm welcome and happily showed off many of their projects. A few members were working with their 3D prnter and some were in the process of finishing up a portable enclosure for it. The enclosure was cleverly made from old poster frames.They’ve also built a several filament extruders to keep the printers supplied with recycled plastic.

RepRap enclosure prototype

Filament extruder prototypes

Reprap 3D printer built by members of Make Lehigh Valley

The group recently completed a round of funding to purchase a large laser cutter for the space. One of the members has been experimenting with cutting, folding and assembling animals from geometric shapes and is particular excited about the possibilities that the new laser will bring.

The makerspace is located in what was previously a Mack Trucks plant. The floors are made of massive wooden planks, the ceilings are tall, and the location has an excellent amount of light (thanks to transparent roofing panels!). A member at the space has been creating wooden projects which pay homage to Mack Trucks’ bulldog mascot.

The group started with a partnership between Allentown Economic Development Corporation (AEDC), Da Vinci Science Center, and a group of friends which would originally meet in a members garage. I was extremely excited to see how the members have transformed the space into unique asset for the area.

Make Lehigh Valley will be hosting Open Craft nights on 12/11 and 12/18 from 7-9pm. If you are in the Allentown, PA area, stop by and say hello to the fine folks at Make Lehigh Valley!