Open Night Tours

  Please see Nottinghack Rules/Guide - join us (Nottinghack website)

This wiki page is intended primarily as guidance for team members giving tours of the Space to prospective members.

If somebody wants to join the Hackspace they need to attend a Membership Tour. These are now organised every Wednesday starting at 7pm sharp (doors open at 6:45). People must book on Eventbrite so we can tell them if their planned tour is cancelled for any reason. If someone turns up and we can give them a tour great, but we should reserve the right to turn people away if they haven't booked.

If you're around on a Wednesday evening, you may well notice people giving tours. The people giving tours have been authorised by the Membership Team to do so. This is to ensure that tours given on Open Nights include all the pertinent information prospective members need to receive, as well as making sure the prospective member is given a pleasant, accurate impression of the space.

Preparation

Risk Assessment

Make sure you are aware of the Risk Assessment bits which apply to giving tours. In summary:

• If an attendee becomes ill, they should be asked to leave the Space.
• Make sure use of loud tools is stopped while the tour is nearby.
• If there is a fire, attendees should leave the building immediately.
• Have a look around for trip hazards and make sure there is enough light.

Getting Ready

At around 6:40 or 6:45, open the doors to the Space and prop the outer door open with the sign.

If people arrive with bikes, it's fine for them to be brought upstairs and left somewhere out of the way.

Be ready for people with specific access needs, such as having to use a lift rather than the spiral staircase.

Say hello to people as they arrive, so they feel welcome. Ask them how they heard about the Space. Keep the chat going:

• Well done for finding the Space.
• What are you interested in?
• Did you have to travel far?
• Maybe even - What's your favourite quiche?

Introduction (in the comfy area)

Background

Explain that questions are welcome during the tour and that you will try to answer - but nobody can possibly know everything about the Space.

Ask whether anyone wants to have a go at defining what a hackspace is - communal workshop, a place with lots of tools, a place with space to work. Note that there is also a great sense of community at the Space.

The Space does not offer a paid for service, it is member run:

• There are no paid staff. That is one reason why prospective members have to take a tour, there is never a guarantee of someone being around to explain the rules and what is available in the Space. Rather different from a gym membership, or an iTunes subscription, for example.
• The Space is funded by its members.
• The Space is run by its members:
  • That includes both doing useful tasks and making decisions,
  • A team of seven elected trustees have greater responsibility.
• Everyone at the Space is a volunteer - so everyone has a responsibility to contribute and look after the Space.
• There are teams of volunteers who take responsibility for different areas such as the laser cutter, woodworking and membership.
• There is concept of Hack the Space Days where the Space closes for normal stuff and, instead, people focus on improving the Space. There are also mini-hack days where the Space remains open, but people are still encouraged to help improve the Space.

In short, the principle is that people should try to give more to the Space than they take.

The attendees have obviously managed to find the Space. Worth noting that it is relatively accessible by bus and tram. Parking is available on the local roads, with payment by RingGo - £2.70 per 24 hour period, and free if you arrive after 6pm.

What do members get?

Immediately after joining, all members get:

• 24 hour access to the Space (a combination of door codes and an RFID card).
• Access to the tools and consumables within the Space.
• WiFi.
• Access to the Space's Discord server (check that people are familiar with Discord).
• A say in how the Space is run.

Rules of the Space

The rules are very important, but not onerous. You should have a read of them if you decide to join the Space, they are on the website.

We are not going to go over all of the rules now - we will touch on a few as we go around on the tour. However, the particularly important ones (where contravention may get you banned from the space) are:

• Do not do anything dangerous - you are responsible for your safety, the safety of others and the safety of the space. This rule is often referred to as "don't be on fire".
• Do not be rude or abusive to anyone.
• Do not steal from the Space.
• Do not sleep in the Space (believe it or not, people have been known to treat it as their home and try to live in the Space 24x7).

Hackspace Management System

Usually known as HMS. Because there are no staff at the Space, as much as possible is automated. It's hard to explain HMS in detail, because it does so much - membership administration, access to the Space, use of vending machines, etc. When you sign-up as a member, you will create an HMS account for yourself. That will let you:

• See the various door codes.
• Book use of any of the tools which require booking.
• Book inductions for the tools where an induction session is needed before you are allowed to use them.
• Print "Do Not Hack" labels.
• View and top-up your Snackspace balance - an account used for vending machines, paying for time on chargeable tools (such as the laser cutter), etc.

We'll talk a bit more about some of those things later.

Now onto the tour....

The Tour

Comfy Area

This is where you are now. It's an area to chill out, relax, work on your laptop, and perhaps do small craft projects. There is a projector which gets used on film nights and a PS/4 for playing games.

There are various musical instruments and, occasionally, musical events get organised (of course, you can always organise an event yourself if you wish).

It also contains the Space's library of donated books - some of more use than others, and some extra useful as they hold up the shelves.

Then there is the museum of obsolete technology.

Studio

Here there is good lighting and several tables. It's good for general projects, provided they are not too messy.

Also, because it is easy to reorganise the room, it is where workshops and events generally take place. For example there is a regular Combat Robotics meet-up which takes place here.

There are a few things to point out while we are here...

Members' storage

You can purchase a storage box. There is a one off charge, currently £7.50. This is for longer term storage. There is a second area, with more room, downstairs.

Large project storage

This is a place where members can store projects which they are actively working on which are too large to fit into a storage box. Things should not be dumped for ever, so they must be labelled with a Do Not Hack label - they are printed using HMS and come out of the label printer which is very conveniently located on the shelves.

Vending machines

Drinks, snacks and a few consumables. Use your RFID card and payments will be deducted from your Snackspace balance. You can view and top-up your Snackspace account in HMS using a credit or debit card. That's probably easiest, but there are note and coin acceptors downstairs, if needed.

RFID

It's probably becoming clear that your RFID card is important! It gets you into the Space, it lets you buy food and it grants you access to tools that need induction, once you have been authorised.

You will be able to grab your first RFID card from a box as you come in for the first time as a member (it's a simple process to configure the card, with instructions on the wiki). If you should ever need a replacement card, we ask for a £1 donation.

You can potentially use any other RFID card that you have. Any RFID card or dongle that can be read by the system can be used - including City cards, bus cards, Mango cards, Oyster cards, work IDs, etc. Be aware though that some cards will function for the door but not function with the laser cutter, so we give out plain white cards for free with membership.

Screen printing

A small room dedicated to screen printing and including a small dark room.

Craft Room / Textiles Workshop

This is intended to be cleanest crafting space - no glue or sticky tape. There are various things you can use: sewing machine; iron; CNC embroidery machine. You will also find lots of consumables in this area. Lots of fun tools such as mug and t-shirt presses.

Consumables

Throughout the Space, consumables are there to be used - unless they are labelled "Do Not Hack". Most are donated although there is also a team that buys some bits and bobs - things like screws.

Essentially an honour system. No one is really monitoring. Ask yourself whether you are doing the Space a favour by using something which nobody else would ever want (fax rolls would be a good example), or whether you are using something useful in which case it would be good to either replace it or to provide something else useful instead.

Donations

A good time to mention donations in general. Although we sometimes welcome donations this can cause problems as the Space becomes cluttered with stuff that no-one really wants and it takes time and effort to get rid of. As a rule of thumb:

• Replacing consumables - YES.
• Good quality tools & components - MAYBE.
• Old / obsolete / broken equipment - NO.

Ask on Discord if you are not sure. There is a Hackbay channel on Discord where you can offer stuff to other members.

Inductions

A good time to mention inductions, as the CNC embroidery machine is the first tool we have come across which requires induction.

Inductions are to protect the tool, you and other people. Inductions cost £20, made up of a £10 donation to the Space and £10 to the inductor as a thank-you for giving up their time. You request inductions via HMS and can enquire on Discord for a likely timescale - there is quite a wait for some machines because of the availability of inductors.

There is a full list of tools needing an induction on the wiki, but in summary:

• Laser Cutter,
• Resin Printer (not currently available),
• Embroidery Machine,
• Some woodworking and metalworking tools.

Worth noting that some tools also have a usage charge, intended to cover the cost of operation:

• Laser Cutter, currently £3 an hour,
• Embroidery Machine, currently £1 an hour.

Also worth noting that for any tool that you haven't used before, even if it doesn't need a formal induction, you can always ask for a bit of help on Discord.

Kitchen

Tea and coffee is provided. There is often milk around, but you can always bring some along yourself. Members are free to use the facilities, but remember you also need to clean up - there is no paid cleaner.

Toilet

This is the only toilet within the Space. It is Unisex and there is additional bolt on the outer door for greater privacy. Cleaning materials and bin bags are at the back.

There are other toilets in the communal areas of the building, with access codes available on HMS.

Workshop

General workshop area. Dirty benches / clean benches - note the labels. Variety of tools around that you can see, and more consumables. Point out the radial arm saw - it requires no induction, but it is potentially dangerous. Ultimately, you are always responsible for your own safety.

Laser Cutter

As mentioned earlier, there is an hourly charge. It is an induction tool - covering how it is used, what material you can cut, etc. Decent scrap pieces are retained for future use but, again, you are responsible for clearing up any mess.

CNC Machines

CNC Router / Mill - cuts a variety of materials and carves in 3D. Bring your own bit. CNC Lathe. These are not induction tools.

Dusty Area

Table saw - probably most dangerous tool we have in the Space:

• risk of injury,
• fire risk (there has been a fire before).

Induction is required for those obvious reasons. This area is separated to keep sawdust at a minimum in the rest of the workshop. Bring your own masks!

Tools should be used with their exhaust extract engaged.

As with all areas in the Space, machines, surfaces and floors should be cleaned after use - for safety and because we care for the Space and other members.

Metalworking area

Many useful tools, some of which require induction. Very much the sort of professional tool which you would be unlikely to have at home, but here for you to use.

Mention how pledge drives are often used to raise money to buy new machines.

Touch on how the area is moving downstairs.

Spray Booth

Has an extractor.

Move Downstairs

Point out lift. Stairs. Entrance on Roden street, useful to bring in bikes, bulky materials and tools. Mention the activities of our neighbours - rehearsal rooms, dance studio, stinky doggy daycare.

3D printing area

Examples of 3D printing kicking around.

Electronics area

Point out tools and consumables.

Blue Room

Co-working. Printers. Computers (?). Plotter. Meetings here - nice big screen for Zoom. The open members meeting is on the first Wednesday of every month.

Bike repair

Lots of bike tools, lots of bike bits. Bike parking for members - a nice safe place to park if they're going into town. Lots of members know about bikes - ask on Discord for help. But no, we do not need your old bike parts, thank you.

Back in the comfy area - Roundup

Membership Payments

Fees - pay what it is worth to you, but there is a £5 monthly minimum (for tax reasons). £15 is a reasonable amount for someone who makes average use of the Space. Must be paid by standing order, because the processing is automated within HMS. It is perfectly acceptable for payments to be varied up and down depending on how much you are able to use the Space - for example you might be working away for a period of time, or have other commitments for a while.

Process for Joining

We have a laptop where you can enter your email address to express interest in joining. Has to be done while you are on the Space's network to show that you have completed a tour. You will then get an email with links to complete the sign-up process. There is no obligation, and no follow-up / chaser emails.

If you want to join, when you receive that email:

• Follow the instructions to register on HMS (still no obligation).
• One of the membership team will then review your details (not much of a review, but we are obliged to know details of members' real name and address, and this is to weed out obvious fakes or bots). That will usually happen quickly.
• You will then receive an email about setting up a standing order. You need to set up with correct reference so the system picks up that you are paying. Again this is because it is automated by HMS.
• Every night data is pulled in from bank (although can be longer). Once payment is received then you are a member.
• You will then get another email giving instructions on how to access the Space - door codes and a PIN to setup your RFID card (also available on HMS).
• Setting up the RFID card is easy and there are instructions on the Wiki.

Process for leaving

Unfortunately people do leave us sometimes. Leaving is easy, there are no embarrassing conversations:

• Stop your regular payment.
• Remove any items from storage.
• You get a couple of weeks grace to restart payments or remove stored items.

It is easy to rejoin as you will already be setup on HMS - just start paying again.

Getting people signed up

Laptop must be connected to members' WiFi, but not logged in to HMS. There will be a "Register Interest" option.

Invite people to enter their email address. They can then stay around and chat some more, or can leave when they are ready.

Rules

Included here (from Edgar's document) for reference, should any questions arise.

But, do we actually need this section?

• Do not be on Fire
• Membership of the Hackspace - >18 and making monthly payment.
• Guests & Visitors - Welcome and you are wholly responsible for their behaviour and safety.
• Be Excellent to One Another.
• Respect the Hackspace.
• Do Not Hack - Labels claim materials and request others don’t use.
• UK Legislation – Must comply with applicable laws.
• Storage in the Hackspace - Limited storage space.
• Donating to the Hackspace – Consider the benefit to the Hackspace when donating - discuss in Discord.