Open Hardware Maker­space (OHM)

The Technician (NCSU student newspaper) front page:

“The fruits of Turner’s efforts would become one of the most universally lauded student organizations on campus: Open Hardware Makerspace.”

Read the article (Article used with permission. © Copyright NC State Student Media)

Situation

Some students and I had problems getting access to the equipment and resources we needed for both class projects and for our creative and technical pursuits. We decided to take action.

Validate the Demand

How many other students also wanted access to fabrication resources? Both at NC State and at similar universities, there was evidence of demand.

• At one time, the College of Engineering’s Moodle forum had an “Everything you need to know about engineering” discussion. Of the posts there, 45% expressed frustration at the level of support for hands-on, creative, and fabrication projects.
• There was a mobile FabLab^[1][2] that visited campus for 11 days in 2011. It housed computer-controlled tools (3D printer, vinyl cutter, etc) in a trailer. In that brief period, it was used by hundreds of students who would line up waiting for it to open.
• At peer Research I universities, data showed heavy utilization of student workspaces and equipment (like MIT’s Edgerton Center and Georgia Tech’s Invention Studio).

Competitive Analysis

To determine how we could contribute, we researched and evaluated the strengths and weaknesses of existing campus resources. For example:

• Leazar Hall had great equipment, but was restricted to College of Design students.
• The Entrepreneurship Initiative’s Garage was free, but was a venture accelerator and entrepreneurial incubator intended to help students create startups. Students had to apply, describe their entrepreneurial venture/goals/project, and get approved before receiving access.
• The Crafts Center offered a nice free woodshop to E101 course students, but it cost money for other workshops and students, it could not be used for cutting plastics, and the hours were restricted. Everyone had to complete paid classes to use power tools.

Creativity isn’t limited to certain majors or types of projects, nor is it limited by the clock. We recognized a free (as in cost and freedom) creative community would be distinctive. We wanted to be more than just a room with tools; the people would be key. We hoped openness would be key to igniting an energetic culture of innovation, sharing, and collaborative learning.

Task

We decided to start a campus organization, Open Hardware Makerspace (OHM), to encourage and empower interests in technical, collaborative, and creative projects by providing access to knowledge, tools, and community.

Short-Term Objective

The organization’s short-term objective was to provide resources to NC State University students. Specifically, we envisioned a space run by student volunteers that provided tools for students to build “almost anything”, technical skills workshops, and an interdisciplinary and collaborative community. We also wanted to inspire other students (including K-12 students) by sharing incredible, creative student projects.

Long-Term Objective

Long term, our organization would be a pilot project intended to show to the university the student demand for and value in providing access to a creative workspace and fabrication equipment. Unofficially, we hoped this would persuade administrators to deploy institutional resources to provide more spaces and equipment for hands-on curricular and non-curricular projects, resembling those provided at other universities.

What I Did

My most important contributions were organization strategy, developing partnerships (on and off campus), and presenting the value of Open Hardware Makerspace to administrators. In addition, I wrote the organization’s constitution, helped draft funding requests, applied for awards, designed and maintained the website, facilitated equipment training, and volunteered at K-12 outreach events. Occasionally, I also had the opportunity to advise and aid fledgling groups interested in learning from us.

Result

Consistent with our objectives, OHM became an on-campus makerspace, run by student volunteers, which provided tools and an informal community for working on curricular and non-curricular projects. It provided training and workshops to both university and K-12 students.

The club received a 2012 Deborah S. Moore Service Award as a student organization of the year. It built its own 3d printer and had acquired thousands of dollars in equipment. It exhibited at Maker Faire North Carolina, was represented at multiple Institute for Emerging Issues events (including being a finalist for the Emerging Issues Prize), and sponsored a design contest for NCSU’s E101 (Introduction to Engineering) classes.

Continuing Impact

Today, the legacy of Open Hardware Makerspace lives on in other campus organizations. When Hunt Library was still being finalized, the emerging technologies librarian met with me about student needs and our experience with Open Hardware Makerspace. Later, the library opened one makerspace and then another. In 2015, the library makerspaces served an average of over 600 students each week. Also, the ECE department (from which many OHM members came) opened a makerspace (900 square feet with several 3d printers, CNC milling machines, a pick-and-place machine, and a CNC router). With various departments persuaded that enabling student projects is a worthwhile investment of university resources, Open Hardware Makerspace’s impact will continue to propagate.

• leadership
• open source
• creativity
• NCSU
• miscellaneous