From Bat’leths to Batarangs and everything in between, it’s possible to cut almost anything on a water jet cutter. And now that we have finally gotten our water jet cutter operational YOU can use it to cut stuff!

A water jet is a very versatile machine capable of being used for everything from prototyping to full production runs of hundreds of parts. A part can go from design to finished part in less than an hour and can be made from almost any type of material from foam to steel, and thicknesses ranging from tinfoil to over 8 inches thick. One key feature of water jet cutting is the lack of a heat affected zone around the cut. Cut parts stay cool, and require very little cleanup.

The water jet is at our 2nd location, just South West of our main space. We are tentatively planning to make Sunday our dedicated shop day from noon to about 6pm, but the water jet will probably be available for use 24/7 if you need it. Learning to use this machine yourself will allow you to make parts extremely cheaply. The DIY price will be on the order of $55 per hour, just enough to cover the costs to keep the machine running, and for maintenance. If you’re uncomfortable using such an expensive and powerful piece of equipment yourself, you can always negotiate with another member to cut things for you.

Come check us out, and learn to use the water jet, 3D printer, and our new vinyl cutter. We are open to everyone, so come be a part of something awesome!

I have wanted a 3D printed top hat for a long time. Here you can see the evolution of my hat so far. The first one was very thick. You could probably stand on it, and it’s so heavy my neck started hurting after the first time I wore it. The second is much lighter, but retains the rounded top which didn’t have enough pop to it for my taste. The latest design fits my head better, is light enough to be comfortable, and most importantly has a bit more of the shocking quality that top hats were invented to convey.

We have experimented a couple of times with doing some aluminum casting, and each time we get better results. This time we re-designed our fire brick kiln to burn some coal and get a boost from a cheap blow-drier.  We also purchased an actual crucible and casting sand from Larsen Foundry Supply in SLC. We had much better results from this pour than we got the last time we tried to burn out a 3D print.

The Statue, “Female Torso, Esquiline Type“, was downloaded from thingiverse. The model was generated from 140 pictures of the original in the Louvre captured by Cosmo Wenman. The original artist is unknown. You can hear more about Wenman and the process on NPR All Tech Considered.

The statue was printed in natural PLA with a single wall, and only 2% 3D honeycomb fill.

We packed the 3D print upside down in refractory sand, and pressed it around the piece to create the mold.

It was a challenge to get the kiln hot enough, but we were finally able to get a silvery pool of aluminum in our 4 lbs. crucible after adding lots more coal and skimming the surface.

We poured the aluminum slowly at first, then quickly as the plastic began to melt and burn. I was a little afraid that the bubbling plastic would create a geyser of aluminum, but it just sputtered a bit.

After the burning stopped, and the metal had a chance to cool, we carefully wiggled the piece free with a twisting motion, and were finally able to see the result. A truly beautiful piece, made from scrap, plastic, and fire.

We have been doing some exciting stuff at ProVolt lately.

We had a booth at the SLC Maker Faire where we played with several different types of levitation including a diamagnetic levitator, a superconductor, and a couple of different levitrons.

Back at the space, we mixed Aluminum powder and Iron oxide in a ceramic crucible, then lit it on fire.

We also built an oxygen condenser and collected a bit of magnetic liquid oxygen by running some oxygen through a tube submerged in liquid nitrogen.

And did you know you can detect vibrations with a coil of wire, some magnets, something stretchy and an oscilloscope?

What kind of things will we be doing next?

The bad news is that the Provo city council voted to demolish the jail rather than have it turned into an awesome community workshop. I believe it is the worst decision I’ve even seen made. Their lack of vision astounds me, and I’m a hairs breadth away from giving up on Provo entirely. We will most likely be closing the current location, and paring down tools to just what will fit in our…..

Fabulous New Space! The new space will be a bit smaller(only 400 sqft), and might seem a little cramped because… We’ll have the water jet there! The new space I found will be a bit cheaper than the current space, and has 3 phase power for running the water jet.

There is also a chance that we will be able to keep the current location going if we start getting more donations, or can make money by cutting things on the water jet. A donation packet to seek donations from local companies is in the works.

I’m also trying to put together a program I’m tentatively  calling “Make-ed in Public”, where we will be bringing a basic Makerspace experience to public parks and open spaces around Provo using our Fabulous Donated RV (if we can get it going)!

I’ve been hearing about several attempts to foster “Robotics and Internet of Things” projects here in Utah lately, so I was happy to see a member bring an ESP8266 to ProVolt for electronics night. The ESP8266 is an extremely cheap programmable wifi enabled device that some refer to as an “Internet of Things enabler”.

The low cost (around $3.50), and easy programmability of this device make it a great starting point for an IoT project. We’ll probably order a bunch of these to have around to play with.

Hey everyone, it’s been a year since ProVolt was incorporated!

Our main objective is still “To act and operate exclusively as a nonprofit corporation pursuant to the laws of the State of Utah, and to operate a space where members and people from the community can gather; learn from each other;  use tools, equipment and supplies; and to create.”

Come celebrate with us!

StartFest is the largest grassroots startup event in Utah, and it’s happening downtown this week. Head over to StartFestival.com to find out more and register. There are quite a few influential business people speaking, and it’s a great opportunity to network and see what’s happening here in Utah. I highly suggest coming down if you can.

Of course Provo is trying to be supportive of business, so you’d think they’d love the idea of having the old jail converted into a startup incubator/makerspace. I hope the city leaders can see the trajectory we are on, and make the right choice.

We beat the deadline by about a half an hour, and I’ve got to tell you, I think it’s pretty great. Here is the final version!

I’ve finally gotten most of the footage we took online. Here it is in all it’s glory.

Remember, our proposal is due August 10th.