As of May 28, the Saskatchewan government has eased restrictions as part of Step One of the Re-opening Roadmap. This will allow up to 30 people for public indoor gatherings, as long as two metres distance can be maintained between individuals. With this, we should be able to host public hack nights and workshops again. No workshops are currently planned, but if you have any suggestions or would like to host some yourself, please contact the board at thespace@sktechworks.ca to make arrangements.
All other restrictions remain in place, including masking, maintaining 2 metres distance, and staying home if you feel ill or suspect you may have recently been exposed to SARS-CoV-2.
COVID UPDATE
NOTICE
UPDATED AGAIN: Due to recent Saskatchewan Health guidelines, as of November 27th masks are mandatory in TechWorks at all times.
ALSO
In order to facilitate contact tracing, everyone attending this space MUST either scan their RFID card at the door or sign the guest book.
COVID-19 Phase 3
A message from the board of directors:
The situation around the current pandemic is continually evolving and the well-being of our members and community is our priority. As the Government and local business begin re-opening for business, and keeping safety and health in mind, we would like to announce the following changes to our current COVID-19 protocols:
Space Access
As of Monday, June 15, 2020, the space will once again be open to the public. Hack nights are back on and guests are welcome as long as social/physical distancing practices are followed.
We’re limiting the number of people allowed in the space at one time to help maintain social distancing recommendations. If you do have a project you would like to work on, please coordinate with other members to limit the number of people in the space at one time to 15. Please be respectful of each other’s time and space, keep a distance of 2m between yourself and other members.
Cleanliness
We have signs up around the space describing how to appropriately wash your hands and have kleenex and sanitizer available. Please use the available resources and keep yourself and others safe.
If You Have Symptoms
Please do not enter the space, go home and practice self-isolation.
Workshops
Workshops are back on with some restrictions to allow for social distancing practices. Please check back for upcoming workshops!
Thank you!
At our AGM in March, we gave our vision for growth for this fiscal year. Little did we know that a few short days later the world would come to a grinding halt and stay that way for months. While we haven’t been able to pursue any growth, we were able to stay in limited operation and remain in a safe financial position. Our sincere thanks to all of you who have continued your membership throughout this difficult time. It is because of you that we will continue to have a makerspace as we emerge from the pandemic restrictions.
Virtual Hack Nights!
As I write this, there is no clear plan for when we might be able to re-open our weekly open door nights. Since community has always been a strong point at Saskatoon TechWorks, we hope to maintain some of that by hosting “Virtual Hack Nights” on Zoom. Watch the “events” page for links each week to our Zoom meeting. Whether or not you are an active member, please join us. Show us something you have been working on. Or, simply hang out with us.
I hope to see you “there.”
COVID-19 Update – Board of Directors
The situation that we are currently facing together is unprecedented and the well-being of our members and community is our priority. Here are the adjustments we are making for the short term:
Space Access
As of Thursday, March 19, 2020, the space will be closed to the public. As a result, hack night (Tuesday “Open Door”) is cancelled until further notice.
We are limiting the number of people allowed in the space at one time to help maintain social distancing recommendations. If you do have a project you would like to work on, please coordinate with other members to limit the number of people in the space at one time to 6. Please be respectful of each others’ time and space. Keep a distance of 2 metres between yourself and other members.
Cleanliness
We have signs up around the space describing how to appropriately wash your hands and have tissues and sanitizer available. Please use the available resources and keep yourself and others safe.
If You Have Symptoms
Please do not enter the space. Go home and practice self-isolation.
Workshops
Until further notice workshops at the space are unavailable. We are looking into the possibility of hosting online workshops and are welcome to your ideas!
Stay Tuned
New information is available to us every day. With that information, we are making decisions to support the safety and well-being of our members. We will continue to update you as the situation changes.
CNC Ground School
Open House. 9th Anniversary. Grand Opening.
Upcoming Workshops (May, June, July 2019)
July 11th: CNC Ground School
At CNC Ground School you will learn the theory required to generate GCODE files appropriate for Goliath. (Our CNC Router) You will learn about feeds and speeds and how to use the VCarvePro software available to our members. This class is a prerequisite for on-machine training. There is no charge for this class.
July 18th and 25th: Arduino 101
This 6 hour workshop will introduce you to the many forms of input and output on an Arduino compatible microcontroller. You will learn:
- Digital inputs and outputs
- Analog inputs
- PWM outputs
- Digital Communications
The price for the workshop includes an Arduino compatible UNO, breadboard, wires, and a variety of devices to demonstrate and experiment with different styles of Input and Output.
$90
July 6: Build It – Tiny Die
Build your own Electronic Die. Learn to solder and to load firmware onto an ATTiny85 microcontroller. (No programming required, but it is reprogrammable if you so desire.) $60
June 22nd: Soap Making
Learn to make soap at Saskatoon Techworks. ALL required materials will be supplied for this workshop, and you will go home with uncured soap that can be cut into about nine generous-sized bars of Hand-Crafted Natural Soap. $60
June 13th and 20th: Electronics From Zero
This five hour workshop (two Thursday evenings) will take the participant with no experience with electronics and will teach the basics of voltage, current, and resistance. You will learn to build basic circuits and will calculate and take measurements on those circuits to confirm your calculations. $60
May 30th: Soap Making (over)
Learn to make soap at Saskatoon Techworks. ALL required materials will be supplied for this workshop, and you will go home with uncured soap that can be cut into about nine generous-sized bars of Hand-Crafted Natural Soap. $60
Open House!
Do you enjoy making things? Do you ever wish you had the room or cash to buy expensive tools? Do you wish you had more friends who shared your passion for making cool things? Check out Saskatoon TechWorks, Saskatoon’s premier maker community.
Our doors will be open to the public on June 8th, 2019, 10am-5pm. Members will be available to show you our shop and answer your questions.
Halloween Projects
This is coming a bit late, but here are some projects I made at or mostly at techworks for halloween!
Aluminum Pumpkin
First up is a pumkin cut out of 5 bar aluminum and then filled with WS2812 LEDs for some RGB fun.
Next year I will make some spookier patterns for the leds.
Angry Eyes
This was something I threw together pretty quick because I thought it was neat and would fit perfect in my mailbox. Couple 8×8 bi-color matrices mounted in a laser cut piece of acrylic, lithium battery, boost regulator and a arduino compatible micro board. Also added a motion sensor for interaction of the kids walking up the steps.
Skull Eyes
This one was real fun, and expensive. It’s the animated snake eyes bonnet and 240×240 LCDs from adafruit driven by an rpi3+. I bought some plastic half spheres on aliexpress and 3d printed some enclosures to put the screens together with the half spheres. I then very carefully hotglued these inside a skull decoration I picked up a few years ago from walmart. End result is pretty awesome.
