[hackerspaces] Equipment maintenance, costs, training, allow/deny access.

[Joshua Pritt]

We just now recently have enough members to cover the rent and bills so we
have a little bit extra each month to save.
We just also very recently had to use all of that little bit of savings to
buy a new power supply for our laser cutter.
Then we had to wait several weeks for the one or two members that know
their way around the laser cutter enough to take it apart and replace the
power supply in a safe manner.

We also rattle the donation box in front of anyone that uses the more
expensive equipment to toss in an extra buck or four to help cover these
kinds of repair costs.
We charge 10 cents per gram for 3D printed things and have a little scale
next to the printer for people to weigh then toss the money in the nearby
"piggy bank" that just goes for filament and 3D printer repair.

The volunteering is the hard part because it relies on people's schedules
for their day jobs and travel and other stuff that happens in "real life".



On Wed, Jun 3, 2015 at 3:57 PM, michael howard <mik.howard at gmail.com> wrote:

> Many members are getting frustrated, complaining too much is broken down,
> missing parts, etc. Some mention losing interest in participating.
>
> How do most hackerspaces manage the cost and labor of maintenance to
> equipment, and the supplies?  In particular expensive and/or dangerous
> equipment?
>
> It takes a lot of work. Few are capable and/or have time.
>
> 3D printers, laser cutters, multimeters, even hand tools are easy to mess
> up.
>
> We do allow many people to just come in and use things, not demanding
> anything in return, or refusing access to anyone.
>
> How do you keep some minimum proportion contributions/volunteering, at a
> level sufficient to keep things mostly working?
>
> Thanks for everyone's hard work and experiences!
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> Discuss mailing list
> Discuss at lists.hackerspaces.org
> http://lists.hackerspaces.org/mailman/listinfo/discuss
>
>
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