Maker Faire 2016 Sneak Peek

Maker Faire’s right around the corner… We wanted to show you a couple of projects our members have been working on that will (hopefully) make an appearance at the 2016 Des Moines Mini Maker Faire! Come check out the Area515 booth at the Science Center this Monday. We promise...
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Des Moines Mini Maker Faire 2016

This year’s Des Moines Mini Maker Faire is on Labor Day, September 5, from 9am to 5pm at the Science Center! Come check out makers, tinkerers, and craft and tech enthusiasts from all over Iowa and beyond, featuring: Star Wars-themed exhibits, including Troy Powers (a local  lightsaber builder), and a life-size,...
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Spot Welding Lithium Battery Cells

Tonight we used the spot welder again. We built it several months ago to make the battery pack for Lightning mini-bike. You can see two transformers in the picture. The little one is from a typical microwave oven. The internet was wrong – our milage varied – it was...
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Anyone use Humble Bundle?

To anyone who follows Humble Bundle, they have added the ability to support any charity of your choosing with your Humble Bundle purchase. Area515 is in the list! Please consider supporting the DSM makerspace with your next purchase from humblebundle.com....
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Metal Lathe Update

We tore it down and cleaned up the gunk. Assessed the bearings – they look ok. But one gear is without one tool, but still operable.  We’ll see about replacing it sooner than later – but probably too late.  The problem finding the original gears. We’ll likely need to...
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Metal tools donation

We’d like to show some gratitude for a recent tool donation to the maker space from Marilyn Warling. She was gladdened to know that her husband’s tools will be getting well used. Thank you, they most certainly will! Several of these do require maintenance before use, so keep an...
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We’re hiring an intern!

Area515, the Des Moines Maker Space is looking for a marketing and social media intern. Position is unpaid but includes membership to the maker space. You’ll gain valuable experience helping a non-profit grow, practice technical writing, gain exposure to a diverse population of makers, and maybe be inspired to...
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MacBook Update

Sorry, all the Pros are gone. But we have a dozen of the white MacBooks all refurbished and cleaned up so they sparkle! And more to come! $250 and it’s yours. You can swing by the space Sunday from 1-5 or email us at info@area515.org. We were asked for...
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MacBooks for Sale!

Could anyone use a MacBook or a MacBook Pro? Want a second laptop, a computer for your grandparents, or a laptop for your kids? We have early 2011 13″ MacBooks (and a handful of MBP’s). They were donated to the space, and have been refurbished and thoroughly cleaned. They...
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DVD Duplica– er … Ripper?

Remember these? They’re supposed to make a bunch of copies of any CD or DVD. We grabbed it from the curb because it looked like it might have useful parts. Someone found a better use for it. Turns out, these are pretty much standard computers running Windows XP Embedded...
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