techshop

TechShop Hosts Young Makers Mixer on Sunday

TechShop Hosts Young Makers Mixer on Sunday

By Michelle "Binka" Hlubinka

Michelle "Binka" Hlubinka

Michelle, or Binka, makes . While at Maker Media, she oversaw publications, outreach, and programming for kids, families, and schools. Before joining Maker Media in 2007, she worked at the Exploratorium, in Mitchel Resnick’s Lifelong Kindergarten group at the MIT Media Lab, and as a curriculum designer for various publishers and educational researchers. When she’s not supporting future makers, including her two young sons, Binka does some making of her own, most often as a visual artist.

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This Sunday afternoon, November 6th, TechShop and the Young Makers program team up to co-host a meet-and-greet at TechShop San Francisco. Young Makers are coming to infiltrate … er … get acquainted with TechShop, recruit TechShop members to become mentors this season, start new clubs to build projects for next spring’s Maker Faire, and generally get to know one another. Autodesk will be there, too, to lead workshops on their new software Sketchbook (on the iPad) and 123D Make (on the PC).

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Zero to Make: Crash Course in Welding

Zero to Make: Crash Course in Welding

By David Lang

David Lang

Co-Founder of OpenROV, a community of DIY ocean explorers and makers of low-cost underwater robots. Author of Zero to Maker. And on Twitter!

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There’s something about the process of joining two pieces of metal together that captures people’s excitement and curiosity. Outside of a romantic idea of welding masks, torches, and flying sparks, I had no idea what I was getting into. Now that I’ve taken a few classes, I’ve learned enough to distinguish the different types of welds, their uses, and the fact that I have a lot of practice in store before my welds are worth anything.

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Is the TechShop model in trouble?

Is the TechShop model in trouble?

By John Baichtal

John Baichtal

My interests include writing, electronics, RPGs, scifi, hackers & hackerspaces, 3D printing, building sets & toys. @johnbaichtal nerdage.net

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It sounded like a dream: a health club for nerds, only instead of treadmills and weight sets, members paid $125/month to work with CNC routers, laser cutters, and other high-end gadgets. The first of three TechShops opened in Menlo Park, California in 2006 but two more, one in Beaverton OR and the other in Durham, […]

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Inside the Halo armor with Vrogy

Inside the Halo armor with Vrogy

By Chris Connors

Chris Connors

Making things is the best way to learn about our world.

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Over the past few years, I have been fascinated by Michael’s Halo armor project. The piece that first caught my eye was his M6G pistol made of foam. Insulating foam is a fascinating material, due to its’ consistency, low cost and ease of tooling. Machined foam can be cut quickly, and can be finished with a variety of surface treatments from diluted white glue to some paints. He’s been posting to the MAKE Flickr pool for quite a while, allowing us to see what he’s up to as the projects evolve. Recently, we’ve had an email exchange where he has shared some of the process and techniques that he is employing on this masterful personal project.

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