The 3D Printer Committee is excited to announce that we’re building a Voron! And we need just a wee bit of your help…
TL;DR: A big, awesome Voron is being built from a kit partially donated kit where we’ll need to cover some cost, and our committee needs a bit of extra cash to lock this in. So we’ve got a short update for you and a small hat to pass, if you are feeling kind and generous.
You’ve maybe seen it starting to take form on the main bench over the past few weeks. The 3D Printer Committee has been not literally on fire lately, fixing up a bunch of printers and equipment that’s been under-used and under-loved; put out a survey to the members with some decent engagement and great feedback, and selling off things that were not really working with a few currency tokens to show for it.
So with that under our belt, we had decided to build a Voron, when suddenly and unexpectedly @brianzhouzc offered us a really great kit for nearly exactly the machine we were going to build, and at a great space-only price of $800. We said yes. For sure! And we started building out of the sheer excitement of the situation and we’re on track for finishing in not too much longer now!
So now we have the following situation: with the sales of old printers and 3dp equipment, and our committee budget, we need to raise approx $250 more to finish paying for the Voron. If you’re feeling kind and generous, even a very small amount will quickly get us over the line.
I pledge 20 buckerinos to this fine cause. The 3Dprinter committee is doing amazing things (caveat: I am on there lol). It’s great to see us take 3D printing to the next level at VHS. A voron will give us incredible reliable and extremely fast prints compared to what we currently have one site. Between that and the new prusa we are building on a solid history of constantly improving printing for the membership!
I’m brand new to 3d printing (just got trained this week) and I don’t know what a Voron is or why it’s good. But I’m guessing I’ll like it? So, put me down for $30.
This is awesome! We’re there, folks, and if we reached our stretch goals or more money appears in the next few minutes or thereabouts we’ll upgrade the voron to a hardened nozzle or some other niceness, depending!
If those of you who pledged would be so kind as to send your donation to directors@vanhack.ca and use the note to say it’s for the 3DPC Voron fund, they’ll know what to do!
I just finished the financials for FY 2024-03-31, and proposed the budget for the next fiscal year. This purchase (and all the pledges above) are all after April 1st, so they fall in the current fiscal year that we just started.
The committee budgets are sized and intended for upkeep, maintenance, and consumables. Not so much new equipment purchases. We also don’t have a great way to account for these “pass the hats”. So given those constraints, here’s what I recommend we do:
Authorize someone on the 3D printer committee to purchase this printer. VHS will reimburse them for the entire purchase (expected $800)
$255 comes from the fundraising that’s been done in this thread
$200 comes from the general VHS area maintenance budget
$345 (plus any overage) come from the 3D printer committee budget. This still leaves the committee with $155 to buy some supplies, etc.
If nobody has strong objections to that, and we get a Director to chime in here with their blessing, then let’s get this moving!
I’ll be that someone unless someone else is even one hair more motivated. However this may be unclear that we don’t need to ‘purchase’ this printer so much as pay @brianzhouzc the exact $800 he has asked for it, and the 3DPC has agreed to. So however that money gets to him is good with me, just let me (and him) know.
General Q: What is the best way to move larger purchases forward?