Carleton’s community is known as being one of the quirkiest in the world. Across campus there are countless places for Carls to express their creativity through imaginative projects: one of the best places is the Makerspace lab! Come down to the basement of Anderson 028 from 1-6pm to create a project for your comps, print stickers for your club, or just hang out!
Nervous about wandering into this mystical wonderland? I definitely was, but luckily the Makerspace is always staffed by a student worker or Carleton’s Instrument Project Manager, Aaron Heidgerken-Greene. Whether it’s working with students in physics classes or helping compsing students create a research apparatus, Aaron is always busy in the Makerspace assisting with students’ projects. For any professors who want to integrate systems like CAD into their class curriculum, reach out to Aaron at ajhg@carleton.edu for help. For example, for a biology class, Aaron helped create a 3D printed protein model!
I chatted with Aaron and learned about features of the Makerspace that you may not know about!
For example, recently the Makerspace got new regular cnc plasma cutters that cut perfect steel sheets for metalworking projects, and a handheld cnc cutter that can cut any sized piece of wood. It corrects for human shakiness when moving around and can be used for large woodworking projects.
The Makerspace is also constantly updating their machinery — especially their 3D printers! They 3D printed their own extruders (the part of the printer that controls the speed that plastic filament goes into the hot end) to make their own 3D printers. Makerspace workers created the metal shelves that display past projects, basketball lamps, and 3D printed bobbleheads.
The next project on the table for Aaron is to recycle old projectors from classrooms so the Makerspace can project clothing patterns on tables for students.
Want an easy but charming project to get you started? Try to 3D print anything! A student worker will always be there to assist you. For example, Ellie, a student worker at the Makerspace, helped me 3D print a penguin! It took less than 10 minutes of work as you only have to decide what you want to print, download your file onto the 3D printer, and then start printing. Once it’s done printing, wait for it to cool for a couple of minutes and then you have a wonderful creation!
One recommendation Aaron has is to always create a digital prototype for your project, even for projects that don’t require computers (one great place to do this is the IdeaLab!) It helps plan out the process of a project and saves time overall by making sure you don’t invest too much time in a project just to find out it won’t work. 3D printers are especially great for prototypes and important for time saving.
You don’t need deep computing knowledge, expertise in niche softwares or experience in project making to create a project in the Makerspace! If you don’t have a project in mind, the Makerspace has boxes of simple arts and crafts anyone can use! Still, Makerspace employees can assist students to use the more complex software. No matter how simple or advanced your idea is — you can create any project from your wildest imagination in the Makerspace.
Interested in more digital projects like video editing, ArcGIS, or designing 3D models? Check out Carleton’s IdeaLab (a virtual tech version of the Makerspace)!