Residents of The Garage have access to the Prototyping Lab - a space for hardware startups to prototype and build.
Monday - Friday, 9:00am - 5:00 pm
Any student interested in 3D printing at The Garage will be starting by using one of our Ultimaker 3D printers, as they are the easiest to learn and offer a great way to get started with 3D printing. The Ultimaker 2 and Ultimaker 3 have a build volume large enough to produce most parts that a student might want to create, and have a variety of color options available.
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If a student has a need for printing larger objects than the Ultimaker Printers are capable of, they are welcome to make use of our larger FFF 3D printer, the Anycubic Kobra Max. This machine’s usable volume is over 4 times greater than the Ultimaker printers’, and can still print parts relatively quickly.
The Creality CR30, while using the same FFF technology as the previous printers, turns things on its head by printing onto a movable conveyor belt. This allows the printer to produce parts that are larger than the printer itself by constantly moving the conveyor belt as it produces the parts. It also allows for the mass production of components without the need for someone to remove parts from the machine between prints.
If a student 3D printing project has a need for higher detail, more precise fits, or better thermal or physical properties, then they can be granted access to use our SLA printer, the Form 3. SLA(Stereolithography) is a more advanced 3D printing process that is utilized by this printer. With SLA, the 3D printer uses liquid resin which is hardened by a laser, slowly building the solid object out of liquid. This technology is capable of incredible detail, at the cost of a slower print time.
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Our singer sewing machine is a staple in the fabric working space. Sturdy, capable, and quick, this sewing machine supports many different thread patterns and operations, and will let students work on new designs, as well as adjust existing pieces with ease.
One of the newest additions to the prototyping lab is our embroidery machine. Using its provided software, a student may create a threaded design of their startup’s logo for the machine to embroider into a shirt, sweatshirt, hat, or nearly any other fabric. Access to this machine is limited to 1-1 sessions with Makerspace staff due to its complexity.
The Cricut Maker is a versatile vinyl cutter with an easy to learn user interface. Students may use this device to create custom vinyl decals, as well as full color stickers to promote their brands and businesses.
Powerful and easy to learn, the glowforge lets students create designs by etching materials such as wood and acrylic with a high power laser. Creating precise shapes in these materials allow for rapid prototyping for a variety of different types of projects!
The Carvey by Inventables is a fully enclosed desktop CNC mill. It uses a carving bit to cut through material in layers. CNC mills are used to carve objects out of wood, plastics, and other softer materials. The Carvey is notable for its automated Z-axis calibration, PCB milling capabilities, and easy-to-use software. The Garage has two Carveys and various materials for use with them, such as acrylic, MDF, and wood.
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The X-Carve is a CNC mill from Inventables. Our X-Carve has a large 1,000mm work area, automated Z-axis calibration, and easy-to-use software. It offers an alternative to the Carvey for projects that require a larger work area. The Garage has various materials for the X-Carve, such as acrylic, MDF, and wood.
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This is an industry-standard inkjet printer that can be used for high-quality photo prints, posters, and business cards.
The Shaper Origin is a handheld CNC router. Because it is handheld, there is no limit to the size of the material that you can cut or engrave. It also uses computer vision to track the material you’re cutting, meaning it can make slight adjustments to precisely cut your design, making it incredibly easy to use.
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The Glowforge is a desktop laser cutter. It is easy to use and has convenient features like automatic material recognition and a passthrough slot for engraving and cutting materials of any length. The Garage offers various materials for use with the Glowforge, such as acrylic, MDF, and wood.
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The electronics workbench is stocked with a soldering iron, oscilloscope, digital multimeter, function/arbitrary waveform generator, programmable DC power supply, heat guns, and other equipment. It also contains all the tools you’ll need for your hardware projects, such as a power drill, Dremel, wrenches, screwdrivers, and other handheld tools.
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The Roland Vinyl Cutter can be used to create designs or stickers out of vinyl. The Garage stocks 12 different colors of vinyl.
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2311 Campus Drive Suite 2300
Evanston, IL 60208
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