MIS Visits MakerSpace Munich

The wood shop section of the MakerSpace

A group of teachers and parents from the MIS community got together last week to visits the MakerSpace in Munich. It was an amazing experience, the workshop they have there is absolutely incredible! The tools and materials have are at a very high level, they said that they even have designers and engineers from BMW visit to prototype when the machines are not available at the BMW factory, so as you can image, there are some very advanced projects happening at the MakerSpace.

I love these rules, I want to use these for my classroom!

What they have is far beyond the skill level (and safety level) we would expect at MIS, but the way they structured and organised the space gave us a lot of ideas for our MIS Makerlab.

They had a range of tools to work on a range of different types of projects and materials, which is something we would also like to implement at MIS. They had things such as 3D printers, wood and metal work areas, welding, sewing, electronics, a computer lab, laser cutters, water cutters, CNC machines and many more weird and wonderful tools.

Most of the facilities, furniture, storage, racks, etc. seemed to be all hand made in house. They also had a range of materials that people could purchase for their own projects, from wood, 3D printing filament, perspex, sand paper, glue, etc. They also said that they work with companies where you can make an order online and they can deliver materials right to the MakerSpace for you. This allows you access to more materials than would otherwise be possible as well as providing an easy way to transport and store the materials.

A range of materials are available for sale.

The place was spotlessly clean. All tools were away in the correct place, the floor was immaculate, tools and machines were in their designated areas and people were working on their own projects in their own space. This was very impressive!

The safety measures and safety features of the space were also very impressive. There was an abundance of eye and ear protection, floor markings to keep people back when a dangerous tool was being used and the water cutter even had a laser sensor to turn the machine off incase someone steps too close during operation.

Access to water and first aid equipment.

They had an excellent idea for storage too. They used lockers that people could loan out for a project to keep all of their materials and working project stored safely, without having to transport it backwards and forwards to the space.

Large metal lockers facing each other to store projects and materials. Such a great idea!

They had ways to book specific machines at certain times as well as book experts to help with certain projects and materials. They also said that the space is very collaborative, they don’t like people working on their projects in private, they should reach out for feedback from all the people that are there, not just the instructors but also the other customers.

A display wall where you can advertise a specific skill you are willing to teach someone or to ask for help with a specific project from a possible expert. This is a great idea that would work perfectly at MIS!

They run the space as a subscription service, where you pay a monthly membership fee to access the equipment, like a gym. You need to supply all of your own materials. Some of the very high end tools also have different fee structures, for examples, the water cutter you have to pay for my minute of use.

Power tools are locked away and loaned out on request and members must do an introduction and safety course before they are allowed to use any of the tools. Each tool has it’s own specific introduction course, which could also be a great model to ensure competency and safety in the MIS Makerlab.

All in all, I found the MakerSpace tour a complete blowout! My mind was boggling over the types of projects I could personally do there and it gave some great logistical lessons for MIS moving forward with their own MakerLab.

2 comments

  1. Holly said…

    Wow! this looks great, glad you were able to get some inspiration 🙂

  2. Helena said…

    Sorry not to have been there.Looks fab.Great way to keep tools and locker space for work.Good ideas for our start up at MIS.Thanks Mitch.:-)

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