LYNNWOOD — Inventors, entrepreneurs and students have new resources in Snohomish County for learning and creating using advanced design or manufacturing equipment.
Edmonds Community College has expanded access to a makerspace on campus and another is moving from Lynnwood to a larger spot in Everett.
The college on Monday celebrated the addition of a public reservation and teaching program at The Facility in Monroe Hall. The nonprofit SnoCo Makerspace plans to celebrate its new location at Paine Field with a grand opening Saturday.
“A makerspace is any place where people gather to share tools and knowledge to make things,” said David Voetmann, designer of The Facility.
They have different designs and business models but share the idea that everyone should have access to equipment that normally would be too expensive, large or klutzy to store in their garage or cram into the corner of an apartment. Much of the manufacturing industry has moved to advanced machining and computer numeric control, or CNC. Equipment such as laser cutters, 3D printers, 3D scanners and CNC routers, a type of computer-controlled cutting machine, are becoming necessary tools for inventors and engineers to perfect a prototype. That’s true for professionals and hobbyists.
“There are a lot of social and economic and technological trends that are giving the power of making back to the people,” Voetmann said. “The future is already here, it’s just thinly distributed.”
Public makerspaces help increase that distribution. At The Facility, the college has opened up a section called the Rapid Proto Lab on a reservation system. People can book time to use the machinery, and the college is rolling out two-hour classes on equipment, processes and safety.
Meanwhile, the Snohomish County Makers, a nonprofit started by local engineers, are settling their SnoCo Makerspace in at Paine Field.
That makerspace focuses on teaching teens and adults about operations and safety, said Diane Kamionka, executive director of the NW Innovation Resource Center, which works with both organizations.
The SnoCo Makerspace runs on a membership system, where people belong to the space like they would to a gym. Eventually, planners at The Facility hope to have a membership program, as well, Voetmann said.
“In our area, we’re a bunch of makers. Having several of these makerspaces adds to that culture of creativity and entrepreneurship,” Kamionka said. “It’s not a one size fits all. You make your program and your makerspace fit the need and the personality of the community.”
The SnoCo Makerspace has high-tech tools, woodworking supplies and workshop essentials for artists as well as engineers, president Charles Ihler said.
“Right now, our main focus is providing education and hands-on tool usage for people who couldn’t otherwise afford equipment to make things,” he said.
There are about 50 members and many others come in for workshops or public events, he said.
A third makerspace in Snohomish County is located at the Future of Flight Aviation Center. There’s also been talk of adding one in Arlington.
The expansions of makerspaces in the area show the importance of entrepreneurship and manufacturing to Snohomish County, Kamionka said. They also show that people are starting to consider themselves creators again. It used to be that people could go into their garage and create things using saws and hammers, she said. Now, advances and technology have added things like 3D printers and laser cutters to the mix. She hopes to see the technology create opportunities rather than barriers.
Once, everyone was a maker, Voetmann said. They had to be. The kitchen table or the family farm were makerspaces. The Industrial Revolution pushed the public toward being consumers rather than makers. A digital revolution, he said, is letting people become makers all over again, this time with new technology and rapid innovation.
“We were all makers 200 years ago, but that’s kind of gone by the wayside,” Voetmann said. “I think history is coming back around.”
Kari Bray: 425-39-3439; kbray@heraldnet.com.
Learn more
For more information about The Facility and the Rapid Proto Lab at Edmonds Community College, go to edcc.edu/workforce/entrepreneurship/makerspace or email david.voetmann@edcc.edu.
For more information about SnoCo Makers, go to snocomakers.com or attend the open house from 11:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Saturday at 2615 West Casino Road, Unit 1B.
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