Sonja Kass just finished 3D printing a stamp to make logos for a friend’s company and she learned how to do it through a recent Kauai Makerspace class.
“I made the stamp with the CAD (computer-aided design) system and then I 3D printed it for a friend who is running a business recycling T-shirts into shopping bags,” Kass said. “That was a really cool project.”
But that’s just one of the things Kass has learned in the past six months of being a member at Kauai Makerspace, a club that allows members to learn new creative technologies and use community tools to make things.
“Another time we used the vinyl cutter to make stencils and then used them to etch glass and make Christmas gifts,” Kass said. “I’m with Kauai EV (electric vehicles) and I made all the T-shirts with the vinyl cutter and iron-on material.”
Kauai Makerspace charges members a $20 monthly fee plus the cost of materials and in turn provides classes, workspace and tools for creators to set to making a variety of things.
“They have metal casting class, too,” Kass said. “My daughter made a cup that came out really nice.”
Kass tried her hand at jewelry making while her daughter worked on the cup and said she’s still learning the right techniques on that project.
“I’ve got the experience and can take that into the next class,” she said.
Traditionally, Kauai Makerspace has been holding monthly gatherings at local libraries on the island, but on Oct. 23 the organization is adding another space to their roster and helping to celebrate the grand opening of the Kauai Community College Innovation Center.
It’s a multi-room building that sits on 40 acres already dotted with fruit trees and gardens, honeybees and houses made from shipping containers; and it’s a place for students and community members to bring ideas for new businesses and products on Kauai.
Unofficially, Kauai Makerspace members have been using the KCC Innovation Center for their classes since the building opened Aug. 1 and Kass has already been to four or five classes in the new space.
“It’s really awesome, I like it a lot,” Kass said. “It’s more of a members’ space and not as much of a general public space so it’s easier to get work done.”
Carl Lozar, of Kauai Makerspace, said classes at the KCC IC are more geared toward independent work where members will bring materials and work with the tooling available.
“Our vision is that it’ll be more of an adult-oriented and independent facility,” Lozar said. “We like the library program, it’s a really nice ohana of people and we reach a nice market of children after school with their parents.”
The classes and creation time at local libraries won’t come to an end — the sessions at the KCC IC are in addition to Makerspace events already ongoing.
In addition to rapid prototype 3D printing and a vinyl cutter, other tooling at the IC include a 40-watt laser for wood cutting and paneling and an engraving laser and an outdoor shop with a band saw, table saw, midor saw, CNC machine, drill press, and low-pressure metal casting equipment.
Lozar said Makerspace is still working on getting more equipment like a set-up for an electronics lab and an arc welder.
“Seventy-five percent of it will be built out by the open house and by December, we should be fully up and running,” Lozar said.
Makerspace decided to partner up with the KCC IC after Jennifer Ingersoll, director at the Innovation Center, reached out.
Makerspace is a perfect fit for the IC, which has a vision of connecting innovators in the community with a place to create prototypes, menus and value-added products, jewelry and other items to build business and innovation on Kauai.
“The IC is a place for people to come create, but also to connect the dots and see what’s needed on Kauai,” Ingersoll said. “We’ve got so many resources at KCC that we can pull from and we’re looking to be that bridge between different needs on Kauai.”
The center takes a cultural perspective, with a mission statement that points out the intention to identify issues with an “indigenous lens” and to “support learning experiences and hands-on projects that are faculty-led, interdisciplinary and address a community need while teaching relevant skills to students.”
One of those practical projects was a 3D printed prosthetic hand created by students at Makerspace for a non-governmental organization called Enable The Future.
The organization aims to jump over the cost of prosthetics for children in America by printing low-cost prosthetics. The result is now in a glass display case at the IC.
“That particular project took the cost down from $10,000 to about $5,” Lozar said. “That particular one was designed for a boy, but it was never used. It was a test case.”
From 3D printing prosthetics and toys, stamps and molds to hammering out jewelry or tweaking a new line of breadfruit chips, folks can work on their ideas at the Innovation Center — through Makerspace or through the center itself.
“People just need to come on by and see what’s here,” Ingersoll said.
An open house for KCC’s Innovation Center is set for Oct. 23 from 5 to 7 p.m.
Local entrepreneurs and innovators will share their insight. A panel will be moderated by Kauai resident John Greathouse.
To attend the open house, email jingerso@hawaii.edu or call 245-0141.
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Jessica Else, staff writer, can be reached at 245-0452 or at jelse@thegardenisland.com.
