Equipment

Four benches, nine machines and one rule: if you have not been inducted on it, you do not switch it on. The recordings here are part of that induction, not a replacement for it.

• 3D printingPrusa MK4 ×3, Form 3+ resin printer
• Laser cuttingTrotec Speedy 100, 60 W
• ElectronicsWeller stations, Rigol scopes, bench supplies
• MachiningTormach 440 mill, small lathe
• Open access hoursweekdays 10:00–18:00
• Supervised onlymill, lathe, resin printer

Three access levels

Induction — watch the recording, attend the session, get signed off. Without the signature the booking system will not let you reserve the machine.

Open — no sign-off needed, use during open hours. The recordings for these are about technique rather than permission.

Advanced — sign-off plus a technician present. The mill and the lathe stay in this category permanently, regardless of how experienced you are elsewhere.

Materials

Bring your own stock, within reason, and check it against the banned list before you cut. PVC and anything chlorinated is never going near the laser: it produces chlorine gas and ruins the optics. If you are unsure what a sheet is made of, assume you cannot cut it until someone confirms otherwise.

Who maintains it

Technical staff service the machines weekly and keep the consumables stocked. If something is behaving oddly — unusual noise, inconsistent results, a bed that will not level — stop and report it rather than working around it. Half the serious damage we see comes from someone pushing through a fault that had already been noticed.

How playback works

Video is delivered over HLS: each recording is split into nine-second segments that load as you watch. One rendition at the moment; the quality list under the player reads the stream itself, so another will show up there when it is added.