Is the Shop open to people outside of Olin College?
Unfortunately, we cannot offer public or alumni access. The equipment can be used by Olin College, Wellesley College, Babson College and Brandeis University students, as well as Olin staff and faculty.
Babson, Wellesley and Brandeis affiliates must sign our waiver and bring it to the Shop prior to getting trained. BOW students do not need to be registered for a class at Olin but do need to be registered students at Babson, Wellesley, or Brandeis with an Olin affiliated project. Only students registered for Olin courses can receive prox card access and Olin software packages.
Do you offer training or courses to non-students?
Unfortunately, we do not.
How do I start using the machines?
Get "Introductory Shop Training," which includes a general safety orientation and how to use three basic machines. After that, you can get trained on any machine you’d like to use.
Do all the machines need training?
Yes, all the machines require training delivered by an Olin Shop trainer. Even if you have used the same machine type before, we want to make sure you understand our operating procedure as they might be slightly different.
Where can I find out more about trainings or events at the Shop?
You can stop by the Shop, email us, or use our Olin-Shop slack.
What about sustainability?
The Olin Shop is committed to fostering initiatives and projects around sustainability with a focus on circular design and designing waste out. There are collection points for used-but-good materials open for community members to repurpose. We have dedicated metal, battery and normal recycling stations throughout.
Are the 3D printers free to use?
While we provide filament free-of-charge for academic projects, we want to ensure that we have enough for all users, and that no users abuse this supply. We may also not have the exact filament color or type that you may need. Secondly, our 3D printers are great for prototyping and iterating, not for mass production. If you need to print any large quantity for personal project(s), please provide your own filament.
Why can't I use ABS and/or other filaments on the 3D print farm?
You don’t have a particular tool I need. What should I do?
Let us know! We may have alternative methods to accomplish your project. Furthermore, the Shop is always expanding our capabilities. We’ve bought a number of relevant tools for students, staff and faculty because they asked.
What can I make at The Shop?
The Shop must be used exclusively for lawful, non-commercial purposes and in compliance with all Olin College policies. Users may not collect, upload, transmit, display, create or distribute any thing or content that violates or may violate any law or third-party right, including, without limitation, any copyright, trademark, patent, trade secret, moral right, privacy right, right of publicity, or any other intellectual property or proprietary right.
No weapons, parts for weapons, weapon accessories, or weapon replicas may be produced with any shop equipment. We reserve the right to deny or cancel any job that does not comply with this policy.
Could I come to the shop and use the equipment for a project for my internship/company? I will bring my own material.
No. We don’t have a way to charge your company for the staff/space/equipment/consumable/etc usage. Please see our personal usage policy.
Whom do I contact about any Shop related questions? Did not find what you were looking for?
Ask any of the Shop assistants or instructors, message on Slack, or send us an email! Reach out to us and we will get back to you as soon as we can!