i3 Detroit

The week ahead: Soldering, Maker Faire, Machining, Jam Session

Just a quick glance at the schedule:

Monday: Nothing scheduled yet. Come hang out if the space is open!

Tuesday: Electronics meetup, no RSVP required. Theme: Soldering iron clinic — tip tinning, cleaners and holders, the role of flux in the soldering process. May also get into the other gear on the bench. I’ll try really hard to have the doors open by 7; somewhat earlier is likely. BYOSI if you want specific advice!

Wednesday: Maker Faire Detroit planning meeting at the Detroit Main Library. Expect i3 to be pretty quiet…

Thursday: Metal Machining class part 2.

Friday: The monthly Unusual Musical Instrument Jam Session, same time as PS:One does theirs. Bring noisy stuff! Also, FIRST competition begins in Ann Arbor. Also, new-member orientation — if you’ve been wanting to join, get here!

Saturday: Go cheer on team 1216 Oak Park Knights and team 3302 Clawson Turbo Trojans at the FIRST regional!

Sunday: Electronics class, piezo noisemakers. 2-4pm.

An overview of membership changes…

i3Detroit has been adding members like crazy since the new rates went live! We’ve also had a lot of questions, so this post is to clarify some things. If anything is unclear, please post a comment.

New dues structure: The old one-size-fits-some $100/mo plan is gone, replaced with four new options:

• Starving Hacker: Intended for students or the un[der]employed, this plan is for members in tight financial situations. $39/mo helps us keep the lights on, and gets you 24/7 keycard access to the space, full use of all tools, and free classes. This is a limited-access plan, available only to those who qualify.
• Crafter/Coder: Inspired by feedback from programmers, artists, and a certain cross-stitch nut… If you want to be part of i3 but don’t think you’ll spend much time in the workshop, this plan is for you! Also $39/mo, this gets you 24/7 keycard access, and free classes, but not unlimited use of the big tools. You’re still encouraged to learn and use them a little, because once you get comfy in the shop, we bet you’ll step up to…
• Core Member: Anyone who’s seen the rent and utility bills understands why dues were initially $100/mo, and why $89/mo is still the support we ask for, if you’re able. Gets you unlimited access to the space, plus a warm fuzzy feeling. Core members get voting rights at meetings, too.
• Supporting Member: If you don’t need a keycard but want to support i3, name your own price! We’ll happily reserve you a seat in classes, if you’d like. Consider contributing to our Kickstarter! It’s an ambitious goal, and your enthusiastic support is what will help us reach it.

As you might have guessed, Crafter/Coder represents most of the recent influx. It’s a great way to get started as a member, and if you never feel the urge to upgrade, that’s fine! It still takes money to run a place like this, of course, but it’s fine (and better in the long run) if that support comes from a larger, more diverse group. Lower dues and a broader member base will help i3Detroit thrive as a vibrant, active part of the DIY community. Spread the word!

Easier membership: You no longer need to show up for a meeting or be voted in as a member. Tuesdays are still a great time to meet the group, but it’s now possible to do the paperwork, do the orientation, pay your first dues, and get your keycard in a single evening, any evening! Get in touch with any member to get started — or just drop in when we’re open.

Also, look forward to…

More Classes: As you may already know, we try to run a lot of events and classes. None of us (yet) are professional teachers, so this is a learning experience for everyone! With your help, we’re getting better at it, and we’re always adding tools and supplies to make more stuff possible. Look for our machining and electronics classes to continue, along with more craft make-and-takes, software workshops, et cetera. Non-members are welcome to teach classes too, so please get in touch if you have knowledge to share with the community!

New Space: The details aren’t finalized, but we’re moving. Moving into a much larger space. A much larger space with room for bigger tools. Bigger tools like a full-size Bridgeport mill. Also, a networking lab (think CCNA prep lab, but multi-vendor), expanded crafting space, probably a vehicle hoist…  This is big, look for the official announcement in a few days!

Weekend electronics classes: When is good?

It’s time to schedule some more electronics classes! The last one was a great success, and Phil, who taught it, is available mostly on the weekends. But what time during the weekend works for you? So that we can get a better sense of when to schedule such things, please head over to WhenIsGood and indicate your availability right now — it’s really easy!

Note that this doesn’t sign you up for anything, it’s just a way for us to “feel the breeze” and figure out what’s too early (Nate2 won’t be coloring in any blocks before about noon, if history is any indication) or too late. Whatever time works for the most people will become the new regular electronics class time! Future classes will be roughly 2 hours long, we hope.

Whether or not you’re itching for another electronics class, you can help i3 by telling your friends about us and about our Kickstarter page. We can do more — will you help?

Intro to Metal Machining: Mill and Lathe, 7pm

Okay, so our lathe isn’t quite as big as the one in the photo there. (Actually, it’s closer to the size of one of their tool holders.) But it’s also not in Pensylvania, it’s in Royal Oak, and you can come learn how to use it! Tonight’s class will cover the basic operations on both the mill and lathe. The fun gets under way at 7pm, and you can reserve your seat right now!

As always, non-members are welcome! We’re at 322 e. 4th st, 48067.

i3 Detroit on Kickstarter.com

We are really excited to announce that we are live on Kickstarter.com.  Kickstarter is a really cool website where projects and groups like us can obtain outside funding.  We have a determined goal of raising $5,000 in the next 31 days to expand and develop our new space.  We are growing and it is time to expand.  But we really need your help for the initial up front costs of this task.  Your money will go towards paint, lumber, flooring, drywall, and even nails and screws. It will help us build mobile tables and electronics benches. It will help us expand our craft area and create more classrooms. It will give us the raw materials to physically build our vision of a better community for all.

Kickstarter is a pledge based system which means you don’t get charged until we have actually met our funding goal.  So when we meet our funding goal on April 4th that is when your donation goes through.  You have time to save up!

One great part about Kickstarter is that we can give back to you when you donate.  For example, a $50 donation means an i3 Detroit Tshirt, button, sticker, card and a Free class.  How awesome is that?!  The community has been such a great supporter of i3 and we want you to know just how much it means to have your continued support.

The best part about all of this is that you can watch where your donation goes.  In fact, you can even come pick up a hammer and build with those supplies that you helped us buy.  We are ready for i3 Detroit v2.0.  Are you?

Bob Ross Paint-Along 2 – March 20th, 2010

Bob Ross - Happy Little Trees

Back by popular demand, we are bringing back one of our most successful classes in i3 Detroit histroy.  We are bringing back the Bob Ross Paint-Along classes and in a big way. 

Not only are we doing three (3) 10-student classes but we are allowing the public to vote.  There will be a vote on which epsiode will be viewed at each class.  After the class, each painting will be uploaded online and the community will vote on the best one.  The winner will win a free class at i3 Detroit.  Don’t worry.  If you are embarased, you can use a false name.  Based on the ruckuss from last class, there will be many questionable paintings.  We still question how dinosaurs, volcanos and UFOs ended up on the last class’s paintings.

Join us 3/20 at 2pm, 4pm and 6pm for an amazing event where you will find out if you can keep up with the legend, Bob Ross.  Only $20 gets you 1 hour of fun but the mockery you will get from hanging it in your living room will last a lifetime.  All materials will be provided at the class. Voting for the pictures will be posted next week. 

Please RSVP
2:00pm – http://bobrosspaintalong.eventbrite.com/
4:00pm – http://bobrosspaintalong4p.eventbrite.com/
6:00pm – http://bobrosspaintalong6p.eventbrite.com/

Electronics: Success. Up next: Machining!

From a webpage to a completed board, in something like six hours. Seven students built LED blinker circuits tonight, first on breadboards, then etching their own PCBs and soldering everything together. I’d call that a success! Watch this space for further electronics classes, of course.

Join us for our next class, basics of metal machining! Simon isn’t even a member, but as a regular guest he’s volunteered his years of machine-shop experience to teach us how to use a lathe and mill. That class will take place Thursday at 7pm, reserve your spot now!

Busy weekend: Open Shop, Member Orientation, Open Source Class, Circuit Board Class [updated!]

Non-members and members alike have three great excuses to swing by the shop some time this weekend. Bring a friend!

Friday night is a party to celebrate the new membership structure. In addition to new dues options ($39 and $89, with special options for students, crafters and coders), we’ve improved the process so you can do the paperwork, get your orientation, and receive your key in one shot.  Plus, Friday means it’s Open Shop so we’ll be teaching tools, hanging out, and working on whatever project you want to bring along! Oh, did I mention the beer, wine, pizza, and snacks? Doors will be open by 7pm…

Saturday evening, we’re hosting an open source software workshop to introduce screen and ssh, two supremely handy tools in the linux admin’s arsenal, which the rest of us can find uses for too. Briefly: SSH is the secure replacement for Telnet plus some sneaky features that’ll help you circumvent restrictive work firewalls and stuff, Screen takes your SSH experience to the next level by adding persistence and multiple windows to name just a couple features. They’re both free, and Saturday’s intro won’t require advanced sysadmin knowledge. Bring a laptop! Talk starts at 7, but doors will be open by 6 or earlier, so come hang out!

Sunday will be an electronics design day, starting with a PCB class at 3pm.   You’ll learn how to lay out a circuit board in electronic design software, then how to transfer that layout and chemically etch a board with it. Materials permitting, each student may get their own board to play with, and when the etching is complete, we’ll stuff components into the boards and solder ‘em up, leaving you with a completed LED flasher circuit to take home! This is a really simple circuit and no electronics experience is required to attend.  If you wish to get in on the hands-on fun, please reserve your seat.  This will just be part of a new, regularly scheduled series of electronics classes we will be offering.  Keep checking our site for updates on more classes!

Robots: DONE

As regular readers may know, i3Detroit has been sponsoring two FIRST Robotics teams, giving them full use of our shop and other resources. It’s been hectic, crowded, noisy, and very productive. And now it’s (almost) over.

Tonight was “ship day”, meaning that all work on the robots had to be completed before midnight, and bags and tamper-evident seals affixed. After that, there was some of the silliness that accompanies a late-night sink-or-swim deadline, and some cleanup. We made it! Two functional robots, a whole bunch of involved students, no fights, no injuries, nothing more than minor tool breakage and wear. Competition starts in two weeks. In the meantime, there’s software to work on, t-shirts to distribute, buttons to design…

Congratulations, 1216 Oak Park and 3302 Clawson! You’ve come a long way, and we’ll be rooting for you at competition!

i3 Detroit V2.0

There is always a learning curve any time you take on a new project, start a new business or experiment with something new. The same is true for our experience with getting i3 Detroit off the ground here in Metro Detroit. Originally we had 10 of us who put up the money and started i3 Detroit.  All agreed to pay dues of $100 per month while meeting at the local coffee shop so we could build up our bankroll.  This would hopefully lead us to eventually opening our community space. We were all pumped to get to the point of having a physical space sooner as opposed to later.  Therefore, we quickly began our hunt for spaces throughout the Metro Detroit area.  We had done some research on spaces that we liked. And we started to crunch the numbers to see what we could really afford.  After all, our goal was to build a sustainable community.

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