full circle magazine #65
27
L
L
I
I
N
N
U
U
X
X
L
L
A
A
B
B
Written by Charles McColm
K
K
w
w
a
a
r
r
t
t
z
z
l
l
a
a
b
b
M
M
a
a
k
k
e
e
r
r
s
s
p
p
a
a
c
c
e
e
I
n issues #62 and #64 I wrote
about Tweet Screen, a twitter
picture frame I created using
an aging Celeron-based
notebook and a picture frame. The
frame was inspired by a smaller
Twitter screen I saw at a Kitchener,
Ontario, Canada makerspace,
Kwartzlab.
Kwartzlab membership for
anytime access is $50/month, but
the group holds an open night to
the public every Tuesday night and
often holds other open events on
Saturdays (such as an Ubuntu
release party or global bug jam).
Kwartzlab is over 3000 square
feet of maker goodness. In the
main meeting space/wifi lounge,
the group has several
workstations, soldering benches,
an array of screwdrivers and
smaller tools, as well as a number
of measurement instruments.
Off to the left of the space,
barely visible in the photo below
left is a computer running RepRap
Mendel software on Ubuntu Linux,
which controls a 3D printer. The
yellow spool feeding the printer is
polylactide (PLA), a kind of
polyester made from renewable
resources. Kwartzlab members
have used the printer to fabricate
parts for other projects and
models.
Visible next to the 3D printer
are several examples of laser
etched pictures (plus a small
Tardis) etched/cut on the space’s
large laser cutter. Designs are
inputted into a notebook, then
sent to the cutter. The etching
cutting process can take a long
time depending on what’s being