Project Requests

Occasionally, we get requests from folks asking to have things made for them in the Maker Hub.

The Maker Hub is an Educational Space

The Maker Hub is an educational space. Our primary charter is to facilitate learning and creativity among the Maker Hub's users for both academic and personal projects. Fundamentally, the Maker Hub is not a job shop or a mass-production facility. We do not make things for outside requesters. Rather, we invite the requesters to come and train on the equipment and learn how to make the thing they are requesting. Therefore, we remain faithful to our original goal: education. As Maker Hub staff, some of the best parts of our job is watching both students and GFU employees feel the accomplishment of learning new skills and building something for themselves. We don't want to rob anyone of the accomplishment and joy of making something for themselves.

It's extremely rare that we would "do a job" for any outside party--certainly not without their significant participation.

Thoughts on Participation

The Maker Hub resources exist to help you design and build your own projects. We train and equip the users to do the work. We won't "do the work" for you (again, education being our primary goal).

With all that said, the Maker Hub staff is happy to support you and offer guidance as you build your project. We realize that not everyone has the same aptitudes for designing and creating things. This, however, is not an excuse for a lack of the requester's participation in the all phases of the project (should we decide to use the Maker Hub for your project). Full participation is expected from project requesters.

But I Don't Have Time

Yes, training on Maker Hub equipment takes time. Learning new skills takes time. Designing and building a project always takes more time and effort than you originally estimate. It's the age-old problem that plagues almost every construction project or R&D endeavor.

The Maker Hub runs a very lean staff, and their time needs to be protected just like any other employee at GFU. If you don't have time to train and learn the skills necessary to complete your project, the Maker Hub staff probably doesn't have the time to do it for you either.

What are some alternative options? You might be able to delegate your project to a willing student who is certified on the equipment you need or is willing to learn it. It could be one of your unsuspecting work study students. Whether students make it or anyone else makes your project, keep in mind that sometimes the resultant product can vary greatly in quality.

The other option is to order what you are looking for through an outside company. This is by far the most convenient and best quality option, but of course, the cost can sometimes be prohibitive. If we have determined that the Maker Hub resources and staff can't support the requested project, we often direct folks to find a third party vendor.