Upgrades, People, Upgrades!

The original plan for the back storage room was simple: mount a 2×4 across the wall and attach the cabinets directly to it. But then, Mark, one of our experienced woodworkers, took one look at the plan and said, “Why are you making this harder than it needs to be? This is the perfect project for French Cleats!” Naturally, I did what any sensible person would do—I searched “French Cleats for Dummies” and fell down a YouTube rabbit hole.

If you don’t know, French Cleats are an absolute game-changer. They let you easily remove and rearrange cabinets and tools, which means no more regret after drilling holes in the wrong place. So, Glenn and I took a field trip to Home Depot, picked up a 3/4″ 4’x8′ board for about 65 bucks, and got to cutting.

We ripped the board into 5-inch-wide strips, sliced them at a 45-degree angle, and then shaved off the tips to make sure they locked together snugly. Because let’s be real—there’s always going to be sawdust in the makerspace, and this would help prevent it from jamming up the cleats.

Once the cleats were ready, we spaced them 5 inches apart and mounted four rows spanning 8 feet, along with two cleats specifically for the large plastic tub organizer.

The difference is night and day. Before, walking through the storage room felt like navigating an obstacle course. Now, there’s actual floor space!

For over a year, we’ve had an in-duct fan and filter sitting around, waiting to be turned into a ventilation system for the resin 3D printers. After a bit of brainstorming (which included an amazing whiteboard sketch that will definitely not be framed and displayed in a museum), we landed on a design that spans the entire 4-foot table and pulls air in through a 1-inch slot. This works perfectly since the resin printers vent from underneath.

Building the system was one thing—getting it to look good was another. Once it was fully assembled and mounted, it worked great but had that “very DIY” aesthetic. You know, the kind where people say, “That’s functional… but.” We wanted it to look as slick as it performed, so we fired up the laser cutter and made a clean white hardboard facade, proudly displaying the Melbourne Makerspace logo and the words “Resin Printing Station.”

Of course, once everything was installed, the peanut gallery came up with some great suggestions. A few makers pointed out that instead of pulling air from across the whole table, we could improve efficiency by venting directly under each printer. That’s why we slapped a big “Version 1.0” label on the side. Whether we refine it ourselves or another maker takes up the challenge, we’re excited to see how this system evolves. Either way, it’s a huge step toward keeping resin printing cleaner and safer.