member_minutes_08_2024
Member Meeting Minutes Summary: August 2024
General Updates
- New Bank Account: A new bank account is being set up. Funds will be transferred, and external donation processes will be updated. This is considered the biggest news of the last month from a leadership perspective.
- COVID-19 Impact: Some officers are experiencing cyclical COVID, but are mostly recovering.
- Women Leading Technology Group: The president is working with the “Women Leading Technology Group” to teach a 3D printing course on November 9th and 16th. This course is primarily intended to drive new memberships.
- The 3D printing area will be kept stable during this course to avoid “moving their cheese” (disrupting their setup).
Projects and Initiatives
- EPICS Team: The EPICS team has performed well this semester.
- Due to COVID, a previous class was not fully able to participate. The new class will focus on the access control system.
- A custom access control board is being designed using RS485 communication, allowing up to 32 endpoints on a single pair of wires. This will support various authentication methods (NFC, 125kHz chips, fingerprint readers, phone-based access).
- Randall and the president are teaching the EPICS course.
- Clean-up and Organization:
- A large clean-up day was very successful, with 15-20 people participating, moving 1.5 to 2 tons of material.
- Heavy equipment (Bridgeport, laser, new CNC) was moved.
- The laser table is now perfectly flat.
- The electronics area has been reorganized.
- A guest check-in area and a showcase area are being established.
- The “robot fund” activity from Fin Con will be updated for ongoing use in the building as a “get to know your local makerspace” activity this fall.
- Trogdor (Laser Cutter): Trogdor is working well for vector cutting. The 32-bit controller and “gerbil howl” (firmware) are planned for implementation by next month to improve rastering speed. An automated Z-probe is also planned.
- X-Tool: The X-Tool is functioning well.
- Exhaust: The exhaust problem in the front of the laser is still being resolved.
- Signage: The organization is looking into acquiring proper signage.
- Website: Work is ongoing to improve the website's functionality and visual appeal.
Financials
- The current balance is $19,300.
- Last month, there was $1,100 in new member income, but higher expenses, including $2,500 for insurance.
- The goal is financial stability with $25,000 in the bank and a $5,000-$10,000 reserve for large purchases or repairs.
Membership and Community
- Tours: A very good week for tours resulted in several new members, including two large donation members. Thanks were extended to those learning to give tours.
- Area Hosts: Nicole has taken over as the area host for Fiber Lab (Stitch Lab).
- Assistance Needed: Doug and Chris are continuing to clear out items from the yard sale and reorganize the space. Members are encouraged to offer assistance.
- Voting: Elections are ongoing. The secretary has published the election form.
Other Discussions
- Maker's Market: Participation in the Maker's Market is being considered as a potential opportunity, even with an unknown outcome.
- Booth Game: A booth game created for external events could be repurposed for internal use (e.g., QR codes in rooms for a “robot parts” scavenger hunt).
- “Ten Commandments”: There are no current plans to implement or discuss the “Ten Commandments” (likely a set of internal rules or guidelines).
- Red-tagged Items: Resolution for every red-tagged item is the system of red-tagging itself until a new resolution occurs.
member_minutes_08_2024.txt · Last modified: 2025/06/16 02:17 by 01299ac6-5733-b5a3-d774-265fbfe8396b