The Maker Movement

By Michael Reford

The Maker Revolution is finally here. Those who used to be relegated to their basements and garages seem to be congregating in increasing numbers in major cities across the world. Typical maker ideals are coded into human DNA. Evidence of the constant tinkering with design, method, and materials in early artifacts is a testament to our curious nature.

Today, makers are coming out of the woodwork and showing off their inventions and innovations. The gradual increase in accessible technologies has added a dose of youth and energy fueling a global network of makerspaces from Bogota to Montreal to Hamburg. Toronto startup ShopLocket has put together a comprehensive list, currently at 240 spaces, although it only represents a portion of the makerspace movement.

Here are some big boosts the maker scene has experienced:

-Single board computers are widespread and cheap whereas 5 years ago they didn’t even exist

-Autodesk has made some of its 123D applications available for free so people can design things on their personal computers

-Makerspace members have some power in deciding what is taught and what tools are purchased

-Technical training on a variety of tools like laser cutters and table saws is accessible. Toronto Tool Library is a great service making tools and classes available

Accessible maker tools for the home continue to be introduced. Brooklyn, NY based 3D printer manufacturer MakerBot has recently released the MakerBot Replicator Mini, which comes in just under $1400. There are also a number of DIY printers available sub-$1000. As the price continues to fall, expect to see more and more of these in homes across the world.

Plastic 3D printer filament is currently expensive at upwards of $30 per spool. But Omnidynamics is offering an innovative solution. After a successful Kickstarter campaign, the compact Strooder produced filament, which will bring down the cost considerably.

This will allow aspiring makers to buy plastic pellets at extremely cheap prices and create their own filament with customizable thickness and color. One of its future innovative uses is recycling failed prints. Omnidynamics pledges to create a grinder so plastics can be remade into useable filament.

Accessibility in the home is what has given a huge importance to makers and now big business has noticed and wants in. Absolut Vodka has looked to Toronto and MakeWorks resident MakeLab to produce an art installation for its Transform Today campaign. Organically designing, testing, and manufacturing pieces to connect Absolut bottles was done by MakeLab in‐house.

Coca‐Cola’s 2nd Lives cap system is based on a kit with interchangeable caps to reuse Coca‐Cola bottles as soap dispensers or paint brushes. The caps have noticeable benefits as bottles stay out of landfills and can be reused many times over.

While the campaign is distributing sets of bottle caps with nozzles for free in Southeast Asia, simple designs are popping up on MakerBot’s public design repository, Thingiverse. Uses range from an attachment for a soft‐drink bottle bike fender and drinking bowl for cats with a coke bottle as the reservoir. Why can’t you be the next maker? Think about it.

As technology become cheaper, the maker movement is truly limitless and will continue to evolve. Can you think of what regular people can create with a bit of technical know-how and imagination? What do you think the world will be like now that makers have so much influence?