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
Our philosophy is that 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. On a personal note, some of the best parts of my job in the Maker Hub 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 or 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 and very lucrative bribes.
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--especially if they are relying heavily on the Maker Hub staff to complete their project.
But I Don't Have Time
Yes, 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 and 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, then the Maker Hub staff probably doesn't have the time to do it for you either.
Usually, this kind of project would be delegated to a student, and sometimes the resultant product can vary greatly in quality.
Third=Party Vendors
Often, we direct project requesters to go through an outside company for convenience.