Need A Robot Hand? If You Can Think It, You Can Make It At Riverton Maker Space

RIVERTON — Maker Space 307 has a mission to promote creativity, from the weird to the ordinary. It is an opportunity to experiment, test out ideas, or just have fun on high-tech equipment that is available to anyone.  

“We just want people to make stuff and be creative,” said David Maulik, director of Maker Space 307. “To give them a chance to understand new emerging technologies and how they can fit into their lives.”

A maker space is a public spot packed with tools, equipment and technology available for anyone to use, sort of like a creative or small business library. It's especially popular with people who are starting out with hobbies or small businesses.

While you might not buy a 3D printer for yourself, you can use the ones available at the maker space. Or laser cutters, sewing machines, bench tools and specialized crafting equipment.

The projects that have emerged from the Riverton maker space range from a “Star Wars” helmet to a piano key prototype that was invented by a local piano tuner. 

Maulik is constantly amazed by the creativity that comes out from the workspace.

Several businesses have been spawned from projects that were developed using the equipment there, he said. The piano tuning key, for instance, was taken to a convention and the local inventor is contemplating starting a business with the new tool as the centerpiece. 

“This space is for personal enjoyment, funding projects, hobbies, entertainment or just solving the problem of trying to manufacture in a rural community with limited resources,” Maulik said. 

The technology at the space can also help with certain projects when the manpower is not available, he said.

The Cyborg Beast

Maulik got involved with Maker Space 307 when he was thinking about opening up his own place and discovered that there already was an existing space. At the time it was located in Fort Washakie at the Frank Wise Building, then later moved to Riverton.

“I’m all about lifelong learning and continuing education,” Maulik said. “Having a space like this where you can share what you do is really powerful.”

He said that it is also more enjoyable when you have people to talk about your nerd hobby and special projects. One of his own projects through the maker space was 3D printing a robotic hand. 

Maulik had volunteered to create a prosthetic hand for a local pastor, Scott Jorgenson, through the e-NABLE group that connects people with volunteers who can build the hands.

To participate, Maulik needed a larger 3D printer than the one he owns, which the maker space already had. 

After a lifetime of having a deformed hand, Jorgenson was curious what it would be like to have two working hands. He was delighted that instead of a projected $18,000 for a traditional prosthetic, Maulik could build him a robotic hand using the maker space’s 3D printer for less than $50 in materials. 

It took 23 hours to print out the “Cyborg Beast,” one of 10 designs available through the e-NABLE program. Jorgenson picked out his own colors of blue and white and is able to manipulate the robotic hand to open and close the fingers. 

“Scott didn't really use it because he was used to not having an extra hand,” Maulik said. “But he was part of the Big Brothers Big Sisters program, and when he went to have lunch with his little at the school, he was the coolest guy because he had this big, giant robotic hand.”

Creating Obsolete Parts 

Maulik said that he never knows what people are going to require for their projects and tries to anticipate their needs before they even arrive with their ideas. He is then on-site to assist and guide people in the right direction. 

“It's just about talking with people, getting their ideas,” Maulik said. “Sometimes it's about showing them the equipment or helping them figure out a way to solve their problem.”

One of the maker space’s recurring clients is the National Museum of Military Vehicles in Dubois, which occasionally needs obsolete parts and pieces for its displays.

“We help them print out parts for their exhibits,” Maulik said. “They come to us when they need a part that no longer exists, or the material has deteriorated after 60 years.”

People used to have to perform exhaustive, and many times fruitless, searches for parts to fix old and antique items. With a 3D printer, it can be replicated in hours and for little money.

Recently, Maulik helped the military museum build a part for a detonator.

“They handed me a drawing,” Maulik said. “That was a really fun project, especially when I went to the museum and saw the detonator hanging from the ceiling.”

Keeping Up With Technology

Maulik experiments with the technology he installs in Maker Space 307, trying to anticipate the needs of locals.

One such machine he bought was a vacuum former, which is used to create molds.

At first, it wasn’t used as much as he expected. Then the Jackson Hole High School ended up needing to use it to build the body of a robotic sage grouse.

“It's a relatively easy tool to use if you have access to it,” Maulik said. “The class needed to make hollow shells that they could then cover with the skin of a taxidermy sage grouse.” 

When they discovered the equipment they needed was in the Riverton maker space, the teacher traveled from Jackson and made 30 bodies for his students using the machine to form plastic into molds for the body.  

By using the maker space’s vacuum former, the students were able to have a batch of bodies more efficiently and at less cost.

“Previously, they were carving the bodies, but that doesn't give you as much room for the electronics,” Maulik said.

Maulik’s own wife became a client of the maker space when he talked her into testing out the laser cutter.

She was making stuffed spiders and monsters out of faux fur and had begun selling her creations. She was cutting the pieces out by hand, a time-consuming process that was preventing her from keeping up with orders. 

“I told her she could probably laser cut all those pieces,” Maulik said. “It worked, and now we have our own laser cutter.” 

Another project Maulik was involved with was a sculpture in Rock Springs to commemorate the 1885 Chinese massacre. 

“Sculptor David Clark wanted to add artifacts on the base that were excavated from the ruins of that massacre site,” Maulik said. “When people looked at that sculpture, he wanted them to have a human connection.”

Maulik and his team helped scan and print the items out. These replicas of the artifacts were then modified and added to the base of the sculpture. 

Another success story Maulik shared was of Jori Skaggs. She had started carving spoons and used the maker space’s laser cutter to engrave her name on the spoons she was giving away.

This small hobby soon grew into an online business that she started with her sisters called Blue Hyde. After experimenting with the equipment at the maker space, she figured out what she needed for her own business and bought her own laser cutter as she expanded beyond their space.

“This is exactly what we want to happen,” Maulik said. “We want people to come in and play but if they're doing a business, eventually they will need to buy their own equipment because we are an educational nonprofit.”

Testing Out Products

Brunton is one such local business that uses the maker space as a testing laboratory.

“It's just a great proving ground to test things,” Kate Schafer of Brunton said.

She was at the maker space testing their hat press on a sun hat she was going to sell through Brunton. As she worked the press, she discovered that it was not the type of press that would work for an assembly line and was grateful for the opportunity to discover this before the company invested in their own hat press.

“I've used the maker space for a lot of different things,” Schafer said. “In a previous project, we were figuring out silicone molds so we could reproduce some of our own stuff in-house.”

Before the company invested in the equipment, they were able to experiment at the maker space and discover what worked and what didn’t.

There are certain tools that Maulik said he has been unable to get because it just wouldn’t fit in their space such as a wood lathe and a thickness planer. They do, however, have a corner set up for those who want to make silver jewelry, and they have held workshops where people have walked away with their own custom-made cowboy hats. 

“A lot of what we do are tied to digital fabrication,” Maulik said “You will find 3D printers, laser cutters and more emerging technologies that are not as common or just more expensive for people to invest in.”

As technology changes, Maulik will continue to add to the maker space so that Wyoming residents are not left behind.

“We want to give people an ability to learn new technology processes, whether it's for fun or a business looking to expand or change one of their production workflows,” Maulik said. “It gives them an ability to come in and play and test things out and then determine if the product is viable. And then if it is, usually they end up getting their own equipment up and move from there.

Jackie Dorothy can be reached at jackie@cowboystatedaily.com.