There is a space reserved in Studio 5 for 'collective reuse' of materials - these are materials
donated and/or left behind by students for studio modelmaking. There is a lot of material in this corner -
please check it out and feel free to take what you need. Please also donate material you don't need to this space
for others to use. Please sort/keep materials organized and pay close attention to things like types of plastic -
acrylic is only one of many types, and one of the only types safe to laser cut, so it's important to keep them
separate.
Otherwise, there is a very limited amount of scrap and other leftover material that we are able to keep for
reuse in the shop spaces - feel free to check scrap bins in N51 or building 3, and in the flammable (spray
paint) cabinets, for unclaimed scrap or spray paint. There are mixed collections of leftover hardware/fasteners
in both shop spaces, as well. Do not take any other material out of storage
in any shop space without checking with shop staff, first - not everything is free to use.
NOTE THAT SOME MATERIALS ARE GENERALLY ASSUMED 'SAFE' BUT MANY ARE NOT-
WOOD OR PLYWOOD ARE LIKELY TO BE FINE TO CUT WITH HAND TOOLS, LASERS, OR ROUTERS - BUT SOME TYPES ARE CHEMICALLY TREATED AND MUST BE HANDLED DIFFERENTLY.
SOME HAVE PAINT OR OTHER LAMINATES, OR OTHER MATERIALS EMBEDDED IN THEM THAT NEED TO BE TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT.
PAPER PRODUCTS ARE USUALLY SAFE TO LASER CUT - BUT IT DEPENDS ON WHAT THEY CONTAIN, AND WHETHER THEY ARE FLAT ENOUGH TO REMAIN IN FOCUS.
MANY TYPES OF PLASTIC ARE SAFE TO WATER JET OR CUT ON MANUAL MACHINERY OR ROUTERS - BUT MOST ARE NOT SAFE TO LASER CUT.
PLASTER AND CONCRETE ARE COMMON MATERIALS BUT ARE DANGEROUS TO INHALE AND CAN CAUSE CHEMICAL OR HEAT BURNS FROM EXOTHERMIC REACTIONS.
DUST FROM ANY MATERIAL WILL BE DANGEROUS TO INHALE - BUT SOME ARE MUCH WORSE THAN OTHERS.
MOST LIQUIDS FOUND IN A SHOP ARE A SKIN CONTACT RISK.
FUMES CAN OFTEN BE HANDLED BY THE SPRAY BOOTH - BUT THERE ARE SOME TYPES THAT ARE TOO DANGEROUS EVEN IN THAT SPACE. AND THE SPRAY BOOTH HAS A LIMIT ON HOW
MUCH AIR IT CAN EXHAUST IN A PERIOD OF TIME - TOO MUCH MATERIAL OFFGASSING WILL OVERWHELM IT AND BECOME A FIRE/EXPLOSION RISK.
MAKE SURE A MATERIAL YOU WANT TO USE IS SAFE BEFORE BRINGING IT IN - CONTACT SHOP MANAGEMENT FOR QUICK CONFIRMATION OR FURTHER HELP ON SPECIFIC MATERIALS.
DO NOT LET YOURSELF RUN OUT OF TIME AND USE A MATERIAL THAT MAY BE DANGEROUS.
We sell a limited range of material (listed below) for student use- if you need help sourcing something, please contact us. Available for sale in N51-160 (PRICES SUBJECT TO CHANGE) (payment must be made with the MIT Mobius app)
After fall 2020, recommended online supplier questions have come up frequently; a list of suggested tools and materials is here:
suggested tools/materials.
We will not always have time to check and update this list, so please feel free to offer recommendations to add, or let us know if/when a
link becomes obsolete or inaccurate.
Craigslist and Freecycle are sometimes decent sources for finding local and cheap/free materials/used tools.
If you need something delivered to Building 3/main campus group, please use the 32 Vassar st. Stata Center loading dock address. More info here:
Stata Loading Dock
- and add "room 3-412". Please use your own name, let us know that you are getting something shipped here, and expect to retrieve it ASAP. Do not
use this address for N51 - contact Chris Dewart for any N51 delivery planning.