Let's Play Gaming Expo 2016

2016-06-20T10:20:00-05:00

Last weekend, we took TheLab.ms's 3D printing setup on the road! We hauled our friend badger1--one of our FlashForge Creator Pro printers--out to the Let's Play Gaming Expo. The drive was a short one, because the Plano Centre is only a few miles away. We had a great time, and we had the opportunity to talk to a lot of people that are close to our Education Center.

We gave away a pile of 3D printed stuff: translucent Pac-Man, Space Invader, and 1-Up Mushrooms, as well as our 3D printed cell phone kickstands. These were all quick and easy prints. We knew we needed to print something big, fun, and interesting while at our booth.

We decided to print the Thinking Trooper from Thingiverse.com. One of our members printed this shortly after we set up the 3D printers at TheLab.ms, so I had a lot of confidence in the print job, and we've made a lot of progress dialing in the settings on our printers. This was a great opportunity to see just how far we've come, since we had the first Thinking Trooper on display at TheLab.ms.

Running a print job for ourselves is pretty boring. We decided it would be much more fun to give this guy away. We'll be choosing a winner in a few days. We're being a bit selfish here--we want to show off how nice the Thinking Trooper turned out before we let it go!

We didn't want to print the Thinking Trooper two days in a row, and I was having a lot of trouble deciding on a fun print for the second day.

As it just so happens, I didn't have to come up with an idea. Steve from PolyKnight Games stopped by our booth early on Saturday morning, and asked if we could 3D print something from their upcoming game, Innerspace. Needless to say, we all thought this was an awesome idea!

We had to go back and forth a few times to get a model that Slic3r wasn't too angry about. I was more than a little worried that the model would print poorly, and we had some scary issue with the support structures in the early parts of the print, but it worked out better than any of us had hoped!

We didn't fully understand the proportions of the object. We wanted the print to take about half of the day, and we scaled the model up accordingly. It ended up being about three inches tall, and it only took about three hours to print.

If we'd given it a bit more thought, we would have made it even bigger. The failing support material had me worried about the model's arms, but they printed quite nicely. The fingers were a bit small, though, but they came out surprisingly well. If we scaled up the print by 20% or so, I bet they would have come out perfectly!

The white ABS filament is quite difficult to photograph, especially when the model has fine details. The best shot I took was from before we removed the support material. The shots I took later were almost completely washed out. At least I got some nice photos the Thinking Trooper!

We also ran into our friends at Lost Our Box. They were busy showing off Burning Sky, the new virtual reality game they've been working on. I didn't get a chance to play--there was a crowd at their booth every time I managed to sneak away from our table, but I'm not worried. They've been getting together at TheLab.ms to work on their game, and they assured me that I'd get a chance to try it out in the near future!

I may not have gotten to try, but our good friend Tommy Trebuchet--the guy behind our most excellent SlingFest event--got a chance to try, and so did his daughter. Watching Kara experience VR for the first time was a hoot!

Tommy asked us to take a picture. I'm so glad we took a video instead, because it was so much fun to watch. She immediately started looking around, and she was checking out the ceiling and the floor. Eventually, though, she decided that she just had to walk around in that virtual space, and she walked directly into her father!

We all had a great time at the Let's Play Gaming Expo, and we can hardly wait to go back next year!

Recurring Events at TheLab.ms

2016-06-05T10:20:00-05:00

One of the most common questions we have is "When can I visit TheLab.ms?"

We've made it a point to create enough events so that there will always be a good time to stop by at thelab.ms. If you're a member, you'll have 24/7 access to the space and be able to stop by anytime using your key fob! If you are a member, and you do not have one, please send an email to leadership@thelab.ms, and we'll get you squared away!

I've split the list up into two parts: monthly and weekly. You can always view our events at Meetup.com for specific details, as they may change. ALL of these events are open to the public for free.

Monthly:

Upgrade the Space - First Sundays. Are you a handy person? Do you like running cables, messing with electric wires, installing fixtures, or doing DIY? Or maybe you just want to learn how to do these things? (Practice makes perfect!) This would be the meetup for you. Some very handy and not-so-handy people show up to improve our facilities. There's plenty to learn, and plenty to do!
3D-Printing Coffee Klatch - First Tuesdays. This meeting is due to the repeated requests to learn how to 3D print, so it's great that Pat has set this up for us! These gatherings start with a short presentation or talk on 3D printing, and then everyone will sit around and chat while drinking coffee--or any beverage of their choice. It's a great opportunity to learn and share ideas around 3D printing. Pat brings his French Press and a selection of beans from his most recent shipment of coffee from Craft Coffee!
The Automation Society - First Thursdays. Learn how to automate your life! This meeting will show you ways to stay organized and automated to keep things running smoothly. It's time for you to take advantage of the technology out there that will make your life easier.
Open House - Second Saturdays. This is a great time to just come in and look around. We'll have the 3D printers fired up and soldering irons ready for any projects you want to work on. Bring friends, bring family, and show off the space.
Monthly Meeting - Second Monday. Everyone is welcome to attend our monthly membership meeting. It's when we get together to discuss happenings around the space, as well as vote on any issues. At the end of our meetings, we have Fire Talk time, so bring a topic or presentation to discuss if you would like. This is a great chance to bounce ideas off people or show off a presentation to a smaller crowd before submitting a talk to a conference.
Beer Brew - Richard hosts a monthly beer brew at his home with a different beer featured each time. Everyone 21+ is invited to attended, even if you are not a member. You can learn to make a variety of beers, and if you're a member you'll be able to brew your own while there!
Fundraising Meeting - Fourth Sunday. As we are a non profit with all unpaid volunteers, this is a very important meeting. Do you know how to raise money and/or apply for grants? Then we REALLY need you here. We also need those that are willing to help us with tasks and keep the makerspace open and funded.

Weekly:

Work From The Lab Friday - Known as WoFLFri, we get together Friday mornings to work our day jobs remotely at TheLab.ms, followed by lunch. Someone is almost always 3D printing, and there are plenty of other distractions as well.
Game Night - Every Saturday. We love to play video games on Saturdays and occasionally someone will bring Settlers of Catan to play as well. If you have any video games or board games, feel free to bring them! We've got party games, and an Atari 2600 to play with each week.
Project Day - Every Sunday. Bring your projects, show off your projects, or share your project ideas. A great way to participate in a show-and-tell without having to visit kindergarten.