Washington Business Spring 2017 | Washington Business | Page 41

business backgrounder | education & workforce
“If you’re looking to gain cutting-edge skills for
your first career, re-tool for a second or third career,
or just have that burning idea that needs to be
made a reality, this is the place for you.”
— Jean Hernandez, president of Edmonds Community College
“It’s like Tony Stark’s garage,” Voetmann said, referring to the eye-
popping workspace of Iron Man, the billionaire’s alter ego.
ECC President Jean Hernandez said the idea is to invite the college’s
neighbors in during the evenings to use the equipment that engineering
technology students use during the day. That will allow ordinary people
with extraordinary ideas to “turn their thoughts into things,” she said.
“If you’re looking to gain cutting-edge skills for your first career,
re-tool for a second or third career, or just have that burning idea that
needs to be made a reality, this is the place for you,” Hernandez said
during the launch of The Facility last August.
There’s a quick but comprehensive training and vetting process
for prospective users of the equipment. The goal is not to teach them
everything — just what they need to get started safely.
Whereas a college vocational program would, for example, teach a
comprehensive welding program over two years and prepare a student
for a good, high-paying career, The Facility can teach the basics of
welding in a two-hour orientation.
“At the end of that first two hours my only concern running the
makerspace is that we trained you not to hurt the equipment and not to
hurt yourself. This strategy significantly reduces your barrier to entry.
Now, in just two hours, you’re on your way,” Voetmann said.
In addition to the paid membership model, common to most
makerspaces, The Facility also offers a rapid prototype lab. It’s organized
like a copy-mart, where members can pay for time on a piece of popular,
high-end equipment: a 3-D printer or scanner, a CNC (computer-
numeric control) router, or a laser cutter.
(almost) every tool under the sun
The shop caters both to hobbyists and to tinkerers whose
products just might end up being sold to the world.
One of those entrepreneurs is Bob McChesney. He has a great
day job, but for 15 years he has made high-fidelity loudspeakers
as a hobby. When he needed a specific mounting ring for his
unique spherical speakers, he couldn’t buy it off the shelf, didn’t
have the tools in his shop to make it, and traditional fabrication costs
were prohibitive. Finally, he went to The Facility and used acrylic on the
laser cutter to complete this key piece of his prototype. He went from
design to production in less than an hour.

— Bob McChesney, who has used The Facility to design parts
for his bGroovin desktop speaker system

He has gone on to work closely with Voetmann on other parts of the
project, and McChesney has now begun low-volume production of the
bGroovin speaker.
“Not every hobbyist has every tool you can imagine in their garage.
Sometimes you come up with a design or fabrication problem and you
need to have a place to go to in order to perfect the concept and come
up with a specialty fabrication,” McChesney said.
When that happens, The Facility has what he needs.
“It’s a wonderful place with great stuff,” McChesney
said. “The thing I really like is they have just about
every tool under the sun.”
Another client used The Facility’s 3-D scanners and
printers to replicate elaborate lighting fixtures from a
1920s-era building in Seattle as part of a renovation.
Another is doing high-definition scans of hydroplane
blades to study why one model works perfectly and the
other, supposedly identical, failed spectacularly.
While The Facility isn’t set up for production scale, it
plans to offer classes and connections with businesses that
specialize in helping bring products to market.
“Not every hobbyist has every tool you can
imagine in their garage. Sometimes you come
up with a design or fabrication problem and
you need to have a place to go to in order
to perfect the concept and come up with a
specialty fabrication.”
fix it yourself
Voetmann comes to The Facility from a unique
background. He was born and raised in Africa, the son of
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