https://starship-factory.ch/en/Recent content in Starship Factoryhttps://starship-factory.ch/en/2025/10/07/opening-on-19-october/Tue, 07 Oct 2025 00:00:00 +0200Starship Factory is officially opening again.https://starship-factory.ch/en/2025/05/29/starship-factory-is-moving/Thu, 29 May 2025 00:00:00 +0200Starship Factory is currently closed. Since we have to vacate our club rooms in the interim use at Klybeck, we looked for suitable premises and found them on Gasstrasse, near Voltaplatz. At the moment the rooms at Klybeck are closed as we are in the middle of the move. From mid-June you will find us (though not yet fully set up) at Gasstrasse 20, in the rear courtyard.https://starship-factory.ch/en/2024/12/06/christmas-light-repair-workshop/Fri, 06 Dec 2024 00:00:00 +0100The festive season is just around the corner and your Christmas lights have stopped working? Do not worry! Come to our meetup at Starship Factory and repair your Christmas lights with our electronics experts. What can you expect? Professional support: our experienced techies help you get faulty light chains, stars and other illuminated decorations shining again. Tools and materials: all the tools and materials you need for the repair are available on site. A cosy atmosphere: enjoy a warm and welcoming atmosphere in our workshop, exchange ideas with other participants and let the pre-Christmas mood inspire you. Who can take part? Everyone is welcome, whether you are handy or not. Our electronics experts are there to help you with advice and hands-on support.https://starship-factory.ch/en/2024/11/29/laser-your-design-onto-materials/Fri, 29 Nov 2024 00:00:00 +0100Do you have a unique design that you would like to put onto different materials such as wood or metal? At Starship Factory we offer you the chance to engrave your design onto a range of surfaces with state-of-the-art laser technology. Date: Friday, 29 November 2024 Time: 19:30 – 22:00 Location: Makerspace Basel, Starship Factory, Klybeckstrasse 141, Baselhttps://starship-factory.ch/en/2024/05/07/freecad-cam-workshop/Tue, 07 May 2024 00:00:00 +0200Following the workshop on constraint-based/parametric modelling in FreeCAD, let’s take a look at CAM (i.e. computer-aided manufacturing) in FreeCAD! We’ll start with some theory on 3-axis CNC milling, covering Different types of milling bits Chipload RPM Feedrate Depth of cut Conventional versus climb cutting Next, we’ll check out some options in the Path workbench in FreeCAD, focusing on operations to generate different kinds of tool paths likehttps://starship-factory.ch/en/2024/04/16/freecad-workshop/Tue, 16 Apr 2024 00:00:00 +0200Constraint-based and parametric modelling is ideal for prototyping something, as it is straightforward to modify your design without having to partially re-model it. Rather than drawing your geometry at a fixed position and with a fixed scale and orientation, constraint-based modelling allows you to add bits of geometry (e.g. line segments, circular arcs, …) and specify properties — constraints — such as length, angle or distance in a flexible way. In addition, you can assign labels to values, which can be used to define properties of other bits of geometry (e.g. define a circular arc with the same length as a line segment elsewhere).https://starship-factory.ch/en/2023/11/06/punch-with-snowflakes/Mon, 06 Nov 2023 00:00:00 +0100Oops, is it the end of the year again? Only one thing helps: change down a gear, roll to a stop and switch into contemplative mode. An excellent opportunity to sit together again, look back over the year and do a bit of lasering (what else)! This year we would like to build snowflakes with you, since snow has become rare in the Rhine plain. We defy global warming with Bleeptrack’s snowflake generator and create our own diversity that way. Of course you are welcome to laser other things too. If you are artistically gifted you have the chance to pick up a pen and create your own cutting templates with our help. The materials for the workshop are provided. There is also non-alcoholic punch and, if you prefer, mulled wine — plus harmful carbohydrates for everyone too weak to resist. We are already looking forward to seeing you!https://starship-factory.ch/en/2023/09/23/playing-with-home-assistant/Sat, 23 Sep 2023 00:00:00 +0200+++ Date changed +++ Date changed +++ Date changed +++ Date changed +++ Home automation is becoming ever more important. The components can now be bought in any DIY store. Our flats and houses are supposed to become “intelligent”. That is not always useful or sensible. But you can have a great deal of fun with it.https://starship-factory.ch/en/2022/06/21/klybeck-arealfest-2022/Tue, 21 Jun 2022 00:00:00 +0200On Sunday, 26 June 2022 from 11:00 we are holding the Klybeck Arealfest. We and many others will open our doors and give an insight into what we do. There are many small projects for young and old to try out. With us you can try out smaller projects with the 3D printer, laser cutter and cutting plotter. In the Makey Makey workshop you will learn to build a banana controller, for your favourite game for instance (bring your phone), and to get to know the tinkerer in you.https://starship-factory.ch/en/2022/03/16/3d-printing-workshop-2022/Wed, 16 Mar 2022 00:00:00 +0100Are you interested in 3D printing? Would you like to try it yourself? With this introduction to slicing and printing you will learn how to work with our 3D printers. The workshop takes place on Tuesday, 12 April, every hour from 18:00 to 21:00. Recommended age: from 14 years Prior knowledge needed: none. Familiarity with 3D model formats is an advantage.https://starship-factory.ch/en/2021/11/12/christmas-dinner/Fri, 12 Nov 2021 00:00:00 +0100Dear Starship Factory members and residents of the Werk, we would like to invite you to our shared Christmas dinner on Sunday, 5 December.https://starship-factory.ch/en/2021/10/30/home-assistant/Sat, 30 Oct 2021 00:00:00 +0200Starship Factory has been one playground richer for a few days: an instance of the free software Home Assistant for home automation has been installed on our cloud server. The server has also been fitted with a Zigbee USB stick, so that Zigbee-compatible devices can be controlled directly. Among these are products from Ikea’s inexpensive TRÅDFRI home automation range, but also lamps from Philips Hue.https://starship-factory.ch/en/2021/10/30/end-of-the-dry-spell/Sat, 30 Oct 2021 00:00:00 +0200Last Tuesday we restocked our bar with (non-alcoholic) drinks. We took the opportunity to fill the snack shelf generously again as well. The bar is open to all visitors to Starship Factory. So nobody has to suffer while tinkering any more. Please take the prices from the notice. As usual you can pay cashlessly with Twint here. For now the QR code on the donation box serves that purpose. We will replace it before long with a dedicated QR code for the snacks.https://starship-factory.ch/en/2021/10/16/hot-cuts-introduction-to-laser-cutting/Sat, 16 Oct 2021 00:00:00 +0200Do you share our enthusiasm for lasers? Then this introduction to working with materials on our KH-3020 laser might be just the thing for you. It takes place on Friday, 19 November during our regular opening hours from 20:00. The KH-3020 is a variant of the popular K40 CO2 laser. The controller has however been replaced to extend what it can do. It is driven with the software LightBurn.https://starship-factory.ch/en/2021/10/15/wash-and-cure/Fri, 15 Oct 2021 00:00:00 +0200In August we acquired an Anycubic Photon Mono X resin printer to extend our possibilities in 3D printing. To go with this printer there is now also a Wash and Cure 2.0 unit. It makes washing the printed parts considerably easier. Soft and sticky surfaces are a thing of the past.https://starship-factory.ch/en/2021/08/01/new-possibilities-with-high-resolution-resin-printing/Sun, 01 Aug 2021 00:00:00 +02003D printing has always been a big topic at Starship Factory. Until now, though, you had to make do with TLD printing. That changed a few days ago: from now on an Anycubic Photon Mono X MSLA resin printer is available to everyone interested. The Mono X offers a comparatively large print volume of 192 mm (L) * 120 mm (W) * 250 mm (H) at an extremely high resolution of 0.05 mm horizontally (4K display) and up to 0.01 mm vertically. It prints with UV-light-sensitive acrylic resin.https://starship-factory.ch/en/2021/06/19/laser-upgrade/Sat, 19 Jun 2021 00:00:00 +0200After several attempts we have finally been able to finish the extraction system on the KH-3020 laser. From now on lasering works without the stink as well. The duct fan is connected directly to the KH-3020 and switches on as soon as you switch the laser on. The difference is noticeable :-)https://starship-factory.ch/en/2021/06/11/rather-fast-internet/Fri, 11 Jun 2021 00:00:00 +0200We have had a fast internet connection for a while. The hardware was not quite there yet. Now we have upgraded and installed a new router. With it we can finally make full use of the bandwidth of our internet connection. We have also installed network sockets on the window side of our new worktable, so that you can benefit as much as possible from the fast connection.https://starship-factory.ch/en/2021/05/27/introduction-to-3d-printing-2/Thu, 27 May 2021 00:00:00 +0200Round two: on 2 July from 20:00, Claudius and Bernd are offering our uncomplicated and entirely informal introduction to 3D printing at Starship Factory once again. This is an event by laypeople for laypeople. After a short introduction to the principles of TLD (“thin layer deposition”) 3D printing and the typical workflows, we will explore Starship Factory’s machines together. Depending on how we feel, we will start a series of test prints, investigate how the machines work, or print first models.https://starship-factory.ch/en/2021/05/22/addition-to-the-3d-printing-family/Sat, 22 May 2021 00:00:00 +0200We have a new arrival! For everyone who likes it big, an Anycubic Chiron 3D printer is available at Starship Factory with immediate effect. It works by the TLD process and provides a print volume of up to 400 mm x 400 mm x 450 mm (W x D x H).https://starship-factory.ch/en/2021/04/18/we-are-opening-again/Sun, 18 Apr 2021 00:00:00 +0200On 14 April the Federal Council decided on relaxations. From the week of 19 April, Starship Factory is therefore finally opening its doors to the public again. From that date you are welcome again during regular opening hours. These are, as before: Tuesdays from 19:30 to 22:00 Fridays from 19:30 to 22:00 and by arrangement on other days too, of course.https://starship-factory.ch/en/2021/01/06/introduction-to-3d-printing/Wed, 06 Jan 2021 00:00:00 +0100+++ Date changed +++ Date changed +++ Date changed +++ Unfortunately Starship Factory remains closed to the public because of the coronavirus ordinance in force. We therefore have to postpone our introduction to 3D printing. It is now expected to take place on Friday, 16 April during our regular opening hours from 20:00. This is an event by laypeople for laypeople. After a short introduction to the principles of TLD (“thin layer deposition”) 3D printing and the typical workflows, we will explore Starship Factory’s machines together. Depending on how we feel, we will start a series of test prints, investigate how the machines work, or print first models. After this introduction you will normally be qualified to use Starship Factory’s 3D printers on your own. After that there are no limits to your creativity.https://starship-factory.ch/en/2020/12/11/renewed-corona-measures/Fri, 11 Dec 2020 00:00:00 +0100Unfortunately, because of the measures decided today by the Federal Council, we have to restrict our public opening hours. For that reason Starship Factory is no longer accessible to non-members with immediate effect. All members please continue to observe the protection concept announced in June and displayed on site, and avoid contact with other people where possible.https://starship-factory.ch/en/2020/11/15/new-3d-printing-corner/Sun, 15 Nov 2020 00:00:00 +0100After things had always been a little cramped in the previous 3D printing corner, Claudius took the initiative and secured us a few metres of high-quality metal shelving. We have now put it up and moved the printers over, for the most part. That finally gives us room for relaxed working, and for expansion too. The new printer provided by Ben, for instance, has found its home there. As a side effect we were also able to finally store the film rolls for the plotter, and the plotter itself, properly.https://starship-factory.ch/en/2020/06/20/build-your-own-digital-clock/Sat, 20 Jun 2020 00:00:00 +0200We are building a digital clock to our own taste. The workshop offers an interesting mix of soldering, 3D printing and laser cutting. The individual steps can be carried out in any order. On the day of the workshop we will split into 3 groups for this. The workshop mainly serves as a way into the project. Finishing it then happens at your leisure during Starship Factory’s opening hours (see opening hours).https://starship-factory.ch/en/2020/06/19/we-are-open-again/Fri, 19 Jun 2020 00:00:00 +0200Dear makers, and everyone who still wants to become one: we are open again! And have been since 25 May. So you are all welcome again on our open days. These are, as before: Tuesdays from 19:30 to 22:00 Fridays from 19:30 to 22:00 and by arrangement on other days too, of course.https://starship-factory.ch/en/2020/02/24/workshop-easter-decorations-from-the-laser-cutter/Mon, 24 Feb 2020 00:00:00 +0100Dear makers, Starship Factory invites you on 7 March between 14:00 and 17:00 to an Easter decoration workshop. We will burn Easter motifs out of thin wooden sheets with the laser cutter and then colour them in. Anyone who feels like joining in can drop by at any time. There is no fixed start time.https://starship-factory.ch/en/2019/09/03/werk-raumkollektiv-opening-party/Tue, 03 Sep 2019 00:00:00 +0200Invitation to the WERK opening 5–6 October, Klybeckareal Basel Together with the other tenants of the WERK Raumkollektiv we are celebrating the opening of our new location at the WERK Raumkollektiv, in the interim use at Klybeck. More information on the Raumkollektiv’s website: werkklybeck.chhttps://starship-factory.ch/en/2019/08/13/iot-basel-smart-switches/Tue, 13 Aug 2019 00:00:00 +0200Our friends from the IoT Basel meetup are coming by on Wednesday 28.08 at 19:00 to give a workshop on Smart Switches for your Home Automation. If you want to take part, please register on the Meetup page.https://starship-factory.ch/en/2019/05/20/django-girls-basel-workshop-8-july-2019/Mon, 20 May 2019 00:00:00 +0200On 8 July the Django Girls will be giving a free workshop at the University of Applied Sciences Northwestern Switzerland in Muttenz on getting started with building websites using Django. The workshop is open to women and gender minorities and requires no prior knowledge whatsoever. Here is a short overview again: When? 8 July 2019, roughly 9:00 to 19:00 Where? FHNW Campus Muttenz For whom? Women and gender minorities with no prior knowledge Web: https://djangogirls.org/basel/ Twitter: @DjangoGirlsBSL Instagram: DjangoGirlsBasel Would you like to help? We would be delighted if you want to support this event with your expertise! Apply herehttps://starship-factory.ch/en/2019/05/20/we-are-moving-2019/Mon, 20 May 2019 00:00:00 +0200On 30.05.2019 we will be moving the entire makerspace. That is the Ascension Day public holiday. We start at the current location on dem Wolf: packing all smaller items into crates and boxes carrying the crates/boxes down to the basement and stacking them there for removal the trailer will probably not arrive on dem Wolf until around 10:00 On 31.05.2019 we are aiming for the following tasks on dem Wolf:https://starship-factory.ch/en/2019/01/11/general-assembly-2019/Fri, 11 Jan 2019 00:00:00 +0100On 09 February 2019 at 16:00 (Auf dem Wolf 13, 4052 Basel) this year’s regular general assembly of Starship Factory takes place. The agenda will be sent out in good time (2 weeks before the assembly). Agenda items can still be submitted until 05.02.2019 to board@lists.starship-factory.ch. Members of Starship Factory are warmly invited; interested non-members are welcome to attend the assembly but have no voting rights.https://starship-factory.ch/en/2018/06/19/picopcr-presentation-on-22-june-2018/Tue, 19 Jun 2018 00:00:00 +0200On Friday, 22.06.2018, Yanwu will present his “picoPCR” project. Do-it-yourself polymerase chain reaction! Come in numbers!https://starship-factory.ch/en/2018/05/11/closed-on-15-june-2018/Fri, 11 May 2018 00:00:00 +0200Starship Factory’s rooms are unfortunately not available on 15 June 2018 because of an event. We are open again on 19 June and look forward to every visitor!https://starship-factory.ch/en/2017/06/04/das-esszimmer-goes-weltraum-art-basel-2017/Sun, 04 Jun 2017 00:00:00 +0200Our friends from stöckerselig warmly invite you to the Weltraum during Art Basel. It becomes a pop-up gallery once more, with artists from Basel, Switzerland, Europe and the rest of the world. For visitors it is a platform for exchange and networking, and a unique chance to see art that will only reach Art Basel in XX years’ time.https://starship-factory.ch/en/2017/03/07/electronics-beginners-workshop/Tue, 07 Mar 2017 00:00:00 +0100On 02 May at 19:00 an electronics workshop takes place at Starship Factory. This workshop is aimed at electronics beginners looking for their first way into electronics. Depending on the participants’ interests we will cover the following topics: Resistance, voltage, current. What are they? Simple resistor circuits Voltage dividers Calculating series resistors, and LEDs Simple transistor circuits The participation fee is CHF 15, one drink included.https://starship-factory.ch/en/2017/02/03/monitoring-hub-in-february/Fri, 03 Feb 2017 00:00:00 +0100On 27 February from 19:00 we are starting a new experiment: our “Monitoring Hub” takes place for the first time. At this first meeting we will look more closely at the Prometheus monitoring system as our focus, and explore what characteristics it has and how best to use it for your own monitoring purposes.https://starship-factory.ch/en/2016/12/20/opening-hours-over-the-holidays-2016/Tue, 20 Dec 2016 00:00:00 +0100Over Christmas and New Year, Starship Factory is closed. We look forward to welcoming you back at Starship Factory on 3 January 2017. We wish you happy holidays and a good start into the new year!https://starship-factory.ch/en/2016/10/07/raspberry-pi-workshop/Fri, 07 Oct 2016 00:00:00 +0200On 29 October there is another Raspberry Pi workshop at Starship Factory. Part 1: getting to know the Raspberry Pi Get to know the Raspberry Pi 3 and build a wireless access point with it. Part 2: Raspberry Pi *blink* Learn to control simple electronics and let it become a thing of the internet.https://starship-factory.ch/en/2016/09/06/la-kunsthalle-mulhouse-at-weltraum/Tue, 06 Sep 2016 00:00:00 +0200On 21 October at 20:00 we will listen together to the Silkscreenrecords by Yann Leguay. The session starts at 20:00 at Weltraum, right next to Starship Factory. This event is organised by Culturesurfing. We wish you a lot of fun and good listening!https://starship-factory.ch/en/2016/08/10/fermentation-nation-second-edition/Wed, 10 Aug 2016 00:00:00 +0200SHORT SUMMARY: Meet like-minded fermentalists, newbies and experienced alike, in the Basel area: everyone is welcome to join, learn and share cultures, recipes and experiences! Background This meeting is aimed at bringing together those people in the Basel area who are looking for cultures and ways to start fermenting. Come, learn from others and join us in sharing recipes, cultures and experiences!https://starship-factory.ch/en/2016/06/24/everyday-im-ansiblin/Fri, 24 Jun 2016 00:00:00 +0200In IT, many tasks consist of managing machines, configuring additional machines and keeping the current configuration up to date. In the past that was done by hand by so-called sysadmins, who in reaction to it frequently displayed particular forms of derangement. Fortunately there are systems these days to automate these tasks and formalise the setup of systems. This meetup is about ansible, a tool for that purpose.https://starship-factory.ch/en/2016/06/22/raspberry-pi-crash-course/Wed, 22 Jun 2016 00:00:00 +0200On 29 June a crash course on the Raspberry Pi takes place at Starship Factory. We will show you what a Raspberry Pi is, how to hold it properly, what power it eats and what entertaining things you can do with one kept in species-appropriate conditions. Raspberry Pis and accessories are provided, and using examples we will learn how to carry out projects like the ones in this great online tutorial yourself, at home or here in the space.https://starship-factory.ch/en/2016/06/02/everything-is-transient-and-tasty/Thu, 02 Jun 2016 00:00:00 +0200On 10 June from 20:00 a meetup on the subject of fermentation takes place at Starship Factory. Because everything is transient – and tasty! Here is the description of the event: Meet like-minded fermentalists, newbies and experienced alike, in the Basel area: everyone is welcome to join, learn and share cultures, recipes and experiences!https://starship-factory.ch/en/2016/05/13/new-opening-hours-2016/Fri, 13 May 2016 00:00:00 +0200Starship Factory’s opening hours have been slightly revised this week. From now on we are open for you every Tuesday and Friday from 19:30 to 22:00! Outside those times only members who have applied for a key have access. So if you want to come to the Starship Factory outside opening hours, you can write an email to our mailing list or a message in our chat channel and ask whether someone happens to have time or is on site anyway.https://starship-factory.ch/en/2016/05/13/no-access-to-the-space-on-18-may/Fri, 13 May 2016 00:00:00 +0200On 18 May 2016 a UEFA Champions League football match takes place at the St. Jakob stadium. As a security measure the entire area around the St. Jakob stadium will be sealed off by the police. Unfortunately that affects our club rooms too. So on 18 May it will presumably not be possible for members and visitors, with or without a key, to use or enter Starship Factory’s rooms.https://starship-factory.ch/en/2016/03/29/saturday-is-arduino-day/Tue, 29 Mar 2016 00:00:00 +0200On Saturday, 2 April 2016, the time has come: Arduino Day is upon us! A few highlights of the day: 16:00: HelvePic32: Arduino-compatible microcontrollers to build yourself, by Dr. Mathias Wilhelm 18:00: GePS – the gesture-based audio performance system by Cedric Spindler This and more on Saturday, 2 April 2016 from 13:30 at Starship Factory, Auf dem Wolf 13, Basel. Anyone who likes is welcome to bring their Arduino or other microcontroller along and get advice, exhilaration and inspiration from us. We look forward to seeing you!https://starship-factory.ch/en/2016/02/07/arduino-day-2016-at-starship-factory/Sun, 07 Feb 2016 00:00:00 +0100On 2 April 2016 the international Arduino Day takes place again. And this time too we at Starship Factory will be putting on a varied programme. A few highlights: For everyone curious and new to it, Christoph from Starship Factory gives an insight into the Arduino world: what is an Arduino? What do you do with it? How can I dive into the Arduino world myself, right here? Dr. Mathias Wilhelm presents his HelvePIC32 project, an Arduino-compatible microcontroller to solder together yourself. Cedric from CS Audio Design presents his Gesture Based Performance System (GePS) in a workshop, which turns body movements into music. The detailed programme with all the activities will be published shortly. But do not wait for it — put 2 April in your calendar today!https://starship-factory.ch/en/2015/12/27/solar-powered-final-approach-computers/Sun, 27 Dec 2015 00:00:00 +0100At today’s Starship Factory session we worked on running embedded computers off batteries. The OpenVario flight computer is powered by the solar cell via a regulator. The battery serves as a backup and should allow around 18 hours of offline operation. On the side we consumed streams from the Chaos Communication Congress and Mate.https://starship-factory.ch/en/2015/12/01/lockpicking-workshop-in-december/Tue, 01 Dec 2015 00:00:00 +0100You had to wait a long time, but now the time has finally come: there is another workshop on opening locks for beginners (and the advanced)! In a relaxed atmosphere and with friendly fellow learners you will learn how a lock is built, how locks can be opened without force, and what to look out for when buying a lock. A large number of practice locks offers plenty of challenges. No prior knowledge is needed to take part; everything required is learned on site during the workshop.https://starship-factory.ch/en/2015/08/30/how-does-a-starship-factory-work/Sun, 30 Aug 2015 00:00:00 +0200A catalogue of questions about Starship Factory reached us by email, which could be very interesting for readers of this blog too. So we are publishing our answer here: What infrastructure is on offer and how was it financed? Under Equipment in our wiki there is a list of some of the equipment in our space. Unfortunately we still have a publication deficit in that respect. Most of the equipment is privately owned by members who make it available to others, but the association owns a few machines as well (the 3D printers, the soldering stations or the visitor laptops, for instance).https://starship-factory.ch/en/2015/08/23/summer-break-at-last/Sun, 23 Aug 2015 00:00:00 +0200Starship Factory needs a summer break too! So our doors stay shut on Friday, 28 August 2015. But we will be back for you as usual on Tuesday, 1 September 2015. If you cannot wait that long, you can ask on the open mailing list whether one of our members with a key can drop in in the meantime.https://starship-factory.ch/en/2015/08/18/digital-self-defence-crypto-september/Tue, 18 Aug 2015 00:00:00 +0200Every day you read about new attacks on privacy. Thanks to people like Edward Snowden we know about the NSA surveillance affair; laptop theft, attacks by spam bots and credit card sharks are everyday occurrences, and politics keeps pushing for more surveillance and deeper intrusions into privacy. It is only natural, then, that as a user you want to protect your data better against other people’s access. But what to do?https://starship-factory.ch/en/2015/06/24/programming-for-absolute-beginners-2015/Wed, 24 Jun 2015 00:00:00 +0200Have you always wanted to learn to program, but thought until now that it was too hard for you, or simply never got round to it? We have exactly the right workshop for you, and it is easier than you think. Come by and let us convince you! On Saturday, 27.06.2015 from 14:00 to 16:30, Alexander Schremmer (xoraxax) is giving an introduction to the basics of programming using the programming language “Python”. Anyone who wants to learn to program can take part — member or not. No prior knowledge of programming is needed; knowing some English is useful (but not required).https://starship-factory.ch/en/2015/06/14/barbecue-for-the-start-of-summer/Sun, 14 Jun 2015 00:00:00 +0200On 21 June the time has come again: summer begins! So we would like to invite you warmly to Starship Factory for a barbecue and shop talk. When? 21 June 2015, 14:00 Where? Auf dem Wolf 13 in Basel Please bring along whatever you want to grill yourself. Drinks and snacks are, as always, already taken care of. Salads and other side dishes are very welcome.https://starship-factory.ch/en/2015/06/12/changed-opening-hours-today/Fri, 12 Jun 2015 00:00:00 +0200Please note: today, 12.06.2015, Starship Factory is exceptionally open from 18:30 to 22:00, instead of the usual 18:00 to 22:00. This is due to a short-term shortage of people who can unlock at 18:00, and should improve again over the coming weeks.https://starship-factory.ch/en/2015/04/07/workshop-for-women-help-my-clothes-are-glowing/Tue, 07 Apr 2015 00:00:00 +0200On Sunday, 19 April 2015 from 14:00 to 18:00 there is a workshop by women for women: Do you find ordinary clothes too boring too? With EL wire you can add glowing messages in many different luminous colours! And with our T-shirt film you can put a non-glowing message underneath.https://starship-factory.ch/en/2015/04/01/opening-locks-for-beginners/Wed, 01 Apr 2015 00:00:00 +0200On 17.04.2015 at 18:00 a workshop on “opening locks for beginners” takes place at Starship Factory’s premises. The workshop aims to give beginners an understanding, through tangible examples, of how a lock is built, which principles ensure its security, and what to look out for when choosing locking mechanisms. The moral and legal limits of lockpicking are also covered (for example that only practice locks may be opened, ones that are not, or no longer, used for security).https://starship-factory.ch/en/2015/03/28/april-at-starship-factory/Sat, 28 Mar 2015 00:00:00 +0100New space, new possibilities: this April we are offering a whole series of workshops for interested people. Saturday, 11 April 2015, 15:00: Making spare parts with OpenSCAD (3 hours) Missing a spare part, or has something broken? With OpenSCAD and a pair of callipers a replacement is made in no time. Bring CHF 20 and we will show you how.https://starship-factory.ch/en/2015/03/25/arduino-day/Wed, 25 Mar 2015 00:00:00 +0100This Saturday, 28 March 2015, is international Arduino Day! From 14:00 to 18:00 you can bring your own Arduino projects to us at Starship Factory, talk about microcontrollers, or find out what an Arduino actually is. There is bound to be an exciting new project in it for someone. Do you not have an Arduino of your own, or are all your Arduinos already tied up in other projects? No problem: Arduinos and other microcontrollers are available here at Starship Factory too, for a contribution towards costs.https://starship-factory.ch/en/2015/03/10/talk-keeping-ball-pythons/Tue, 10 Mar 2015 00:00:00 +0100Dear Starshiponauts and interested people! On Friday, 27.03.2015 at 19:30, Flint will give a talk about keeping ball pythons at Starship Factory (see the directions). The talk is open to non-members too and lasts about 40 minutes. Questions can be asked afterwards. The speaker would like to introduce interested people to this particular hobby, or rather pet. He owns four ball pythons himself. In this talk he covers facts about this pet as well as characteristics you have to pay attention to if you want to keep a ball python yourself.https://starship-factory.ch/en/2015/03/01/new-location-for-starshiponauts/Sun, 01 Mar 2015 00:00:00 +0100After a year and a half and several attempts, Starship Factory has finally moved into a new home. Instead of St. Alban-Rheinweg, we have now arrived at our new and own clubhouse at Auf dem Wolf 13, between the St. Jakob stadium and the Dreispitz suburban railway station. From now on all regular meetings will take place at our new location, starting with the Tuesday meet-up on 3 March. We have of course also updated the directions!https://starship-factory.ch/en/2015/01/16/1st-freifunk-meetup-in-basel/Fri, 16 Jan 2015 00:00:00 +0100On 20 January 2015 from 19:30 the 1st Freifunk meetup in Basel takes place at Starship Factory’s premises. The Freifunk scene in the Basel region lay fallow for too long. And the longer it takes, the more obvious it becomes that Basel needs a free, open, generally available WLAN network. That is exactly what the Freifunk movement has set out to achieve. The idea is to encourage ordinary citizens to make part of their internet access available to passers-by under appropriate safeguards. Freifunk explains how that works and how to stay on the legally safe side.https://starship-factory.ch/en/2014/12/23/the-end-of-a-fulfilling-year/Tue, 23 Dec 2014 00:00:00 +0100After the big spaghetti dinner we are sending a delegation to 31C3! On 9 January 2015 we start into the new year! Until then we are open on request.https://starship-factory.ch/en/2014/10/31/spaghetti-dinner/Fri, 31 Oct 2014 00:00:00 +0100Starship Factory invites everyone to a spaghetti dinner. On 19 December 2014 everyone is warmly invited to Starship Factory. From 19:00 we will be cooking spaghetti and making sauces. Soft drinks are available on site. We will sit together and celebrate our successful projects. Register by email to workshops@lists.starship-factory.ch. First visit? You will find us via: How to find ushttps://starship-factory.ch/en/2014/10/09/arduino-isp-programmer/Thu, 09 Oct 2014 00:00:00 +0200There are lots of things you can build with an Arduino. The prerequisite, though, is being able to program the microcontroller sitting on the Arduino — that is, to put into words the computer understands what the microcontroller should do, and to store the result on the microcontroller. Programming microcontrollers is, surprisingly, a task you can carry out perfectly well with an Arduino. Some enthusiasts have already looked into the problem and written Arduino programs for programming microcontrollers. Here are a few examples:https://starship-factory.ch/en/2014/10/04/the-10-chf-ups-power-cable/Sat, 04 Oct 2014 00:00:00 +0200 Every now and then in life you come across devices such as uninterruptible power supplies (UPSs) which deliver power not through the familiar Swiss mains plug but through the pin-laden partner of PC power cables, the C14 plug. Often you can only connect devices with PC power plugs there, because the only cables on sale have that same C14 plug on one side and the C13 plug you know from PCs and microwaves on the other.https://starship-factory.ch/en/2014/09/04/our-own-3d-printers-at-last/Thu, 04 Sep 2014 00:00:00 +0200We would like to thank the E.E. Zunft zu Hausgenossen for their generous donation of CHF 10,000 towards our 3D printers. With the money we bought 6 3D printers of our own for our FabLab, plus material, which our members and visitors make busy use of to be creative or to produce prototypes, for example. From the income this generates we can afford repairs to the 3D printers, buy more material and perhaps later invest in other interesting equipment too.https://starship-factory.ch/en/2014/08/13/workshop-programming-for-absolute-beginners-23-august-2014/Wed, 13 Aug 2014 00:00:00 +0200Have you always wanted to learn to program, but thought until now that it was too hard for you, or simply never got round to it? We have exactly the right workshop for you, and it is easier than you think. Come by and let us convince you! On Saturday, 23.08.2014 from 13:00 to 19:00, Alexander Schremmer (xoraxax) is giving an introduction to the basics of programming using the programming language “Python”. Participants must be 16 or older. No prior knowledge of programming is needed; knowing some English is useful (but not required).https://starship-factory.ch/en/2014/07/18/precision-screwdriver-set-from-bruetsch-rueegger/Fri, 18 Jul 2014 00:00:00 +0200Starship Factory has received two watchmaker’s screwdriver sets from Brütsch/Rüegger Werkzeuge AG. Since we work a lot with hardware in the embedded field, they are already seeing plenty of use.https://starship-factory.ch/en/2014/07/07/t-shirt-printing-made-easy-workshop-16-august/Mon, 07 Jul 2014 00:00:00 +0200On 16.08.2014 at 15:00 we are running a T-shirt printing workshop. With laptop, cutting plotter and transfer press to the design you want on your T-shirt. Anyone who can use a keyboard and mouse can print T-shirts too. We will show you how! Together we will turn your T-shirt idea, or one of our templates, into a finished printed T-shirt which you can take away straight after the course.https://starship-factory.ch/en/2014/06/15/new-equipment-kinect-for-3d-scanning/Sun, 15 Jun 2014 00:00:00 +0200On Friday we were given an Xbox Kinect by one of our members. That finally gives us the equipment to test Reconstruct Me QT as 3D scanning software. So hopefully we will soon be able to do 3D scans! Documentation on the Kinect wiki page has already been started. If our plan works out, there will soon be a guide there on how to make 3D scans with a Kinect!https://starship-factory.ch/en/2014/05/04/soldering-workshop-with-mitch-altman-on-20-may/Sun, 04 May 2014 00:00:00 +0200Mitch Altman from the hackerspace “Noisebridge” in San Francisco has announced himself as our guest. On 20 May at 18:00 he will be giving a soldering workshop here at Starship Factory. It is suitable for beginners who have never soldered and are looking for an easy way in. The kits, on the other hand, are varied and interesting for the more advanced too.https://starship-factory.ch/en/2014/04/17/soldering-case-prototype-ready-for-use/Thu, 17 Apr 2014 00:00:00 +0200In preparation for soldering workshops away from home, we picked up a case cheaply and filled it with soldering equipment. You could now simply grab it and travel somewhere with it to solder. The interior still needs some work, though, so that before long you only have to open the case to solder with it, instead of laboriously taking all the parts out and placing them on a table. If you can look past that, the case already works excellently.https://starship-factory.ch/en/2014/03/21/farewell-to-a-kit/Fri, 21 Mar 2014 00:00:00 +0100Last week we received post from our friends in Mannheim. The parcel contained an electronics kit with a microcontroller and a display, which RaumZeitLabor had declared discontinued. The remaining kits were sent off as a farewell to friendly hackerspaces all over Europe, to carry the project to its grave with dignity.https://starship-factory.ch/en/2014/03/06/new-youtube-channel-with-first-video/Thu, 06 Mar 2014 00:00:00 +0100You can now find us on YouTube with our own channel too. To start with, we have made a video about T-shirt printing: Play Video on YouTubehttps://starship-factory.ch/en/2014/02/08/new-membership-fees-and-opening-hours/Sat, 08 Feb 2014 00:00:00 +0100Sewing now on Tuesdays at Starship Factory too! As the sharp-eyed reader of our website may already have noticed, we introduced new opening hours at yesterday’s plenary. From now on Starship Factory is open every Tuesday and Friday from 18:00 to 22:00 That lets us take account of the increased demand for a meet-up on Tuesdays.https://starship-factory.ch/en/2014/02/04/pillars-as-support-structures-in-3d-printing/Tue, 04 Feb 2014 00:00:00 +0100In 3D printing, objects are usually created by laying several layers of plastic on top of one another, as with a hot glue gun. That works excellently for objects with a cube- or pyramid-like shape, but when the object has more than just overhangs (bridges between sub-objects and so on), it can become necessary to build in support structures. These are often generated automatically by 3D slicer programs such as Cura or slic3r. They are less pronounced plastic structures which cannot take much pressure (unlike the structures belonging to the object itself), but offer enough purchase for the printer’s plastic threads to hold on to, making the object printable.https://starship-factory.ch/en/2014/01/05/replacing-the-silicone-layer-on-the-b9creator/Sun, 05 Jan 2014 00:00:00 +0100When 3D printing with the B9Creator, UV resin is cured layer by layer with the help of a projector and so turned into a shape, which is lifted out of the remaining still-liquid resin after the print. So that the resin does not bond with the acrylic glass print tray (called the vat in the manuals) as it cures, a coating of silicone (PDMS) is used. Unfortunately this breaks down after a few prints and therefore has to be renewed regularly.https://starship-factory.ch/en/2013/12/31/workshop-t-shirt-printing-made-easy-at-naehcafe-kiel/Tue, 31 Dec 2013 00:00:00 +0100Now that the congress is over, our T-shirt printing experts are making a short stop in Kiel, where we want to spread our knowledge of T-shirt production. So there will be a workshop on T-shirt design at the local Nähcafé. There we will turn your T-shirt idea, or one of our templates, into a finished printed T-shirt which you can take away with you straight after the course. We will show you the basics of the open source program Inkscape (Mac, Win, Linux) and convert a template (a photo or logo, say) into a vector graphic suitable as a motif.https://starship-factory.ch/en/2013/12/30/t-shirt-production-at-30c3/Mon, 30 Dec 2013 00:00:00 +0100Until tomorrow we are present at the 30th Chaos Communication Congress in Hamburg with an assembly. Thanks to numerous interested visitors, the cutting plotter and the T-shirt press are running almost continuously, and people are busily developing, plotting and pressing their own T-shirt designs. The important part of the process is less the T-shirt itself than that visitors learn thoroughly how to print T-shirts themselves under guidance — from the graphic to the press.https://starship-factory.ch/en/2013/12/16/activating-helocut5-for-helo-cutting-plotters/Mon, 16 Dec 2013 00:00:00 +0100Along with our cutting plotter we also received software to drive it. In that connection we noticed that activating the licence for this software is sometimes accompanied by considerable friction, and that some people have difficulties with it. Since we recently managed to activate the software, we want to set out here how best to go about it:https://starship-factory.ch/en/2013/12/12/3d-printing-with-wood-filament/Thu, 12 Dec 2013 00:00:00 +0100If you like wooden sculptures but are not much good at carving, there are now alternatives. Instead of working sculptures out of a block of wood with a knife, we now also have filament for the 3D printer that contains wood and therefore gives a very attractive, woody look. That turns carving work into modelling work; the 3D printer does the rest.https://starship-factory.ch/en/2013/12/10/ready-for-electronics-tinkering/Tue, 10 Dec 2013 00:00:00 +0100Having tracked down a few new toys, we are now rather better equipped in general for people who want to tinker with electronics here.https://starship-factory.ch/en/2013/11/13/its-bigger-on-the-inside/Wed, 13 Nov 2013 00:00:00 +0100At the November plenary we decided to finally tackle the problem of overfull tables and overflowing boxes. So we have now bought a few extra shelves and been given another table. At the Monday meeting the time had come: we tidied and cleared out substantially and put up the new shelves.https://starship-factory.ch/en/2013/10/29/fresh-from-the-t-shirt-press/Tue, 29 Oct 2013 00:00:00 +0100Today we inaugurated the cutting plotter and the T-shirt press. Now you can print T-shirts here too! With our plotter, Poli-Flex Premium film needs a contact pressure of 65 g. After that it wants to be pressed for 20 seconds with the carrier film and another 15 seconds without it, at 165 °C in the T-shirt press. Designs should be saved as vector graphics in SVG format. More information about T-shirt printing at Starship Factory is in the wiki.https://starship-factory.ch/en/2013/10/24/multi-colored-full-body-iphone4-case/Thu, 24 Oct 2013 00:00:00 +0200Fresh from the Ultimaker: a multi coloured full body iPhone4 case from Thingiverse. Because the different colours have different material properties, the black-and-white part unfortunately turned out a little unstable. The GCode file’s temperatures were tuned for the main colour, turquoise.https://starship-factory.ch/en/2013/10/24/photography-lightbox/Thu, 24 Oct 2013 00:00:00 +0200To document all the great projects we make, we have built ourselves a lightbox. More about the build and the materials can be found in our wiki.https://starship-factory.ch/en/2013/10/13/update-on-the-elna-disc-project/Sun, 13 Oct 2013 00:00:00 +0200Having understood the principle of the simple Elna discs, we made a disc with a simple wave pattern. The disc has a minimum on one side and a maximum on the other. Over the course of the 18 stitches — at stitch width 4 — the machine therefore uses the maximum stitch width in full during one revolution.https://starship-factory.ch/en/2013/10/12/printing-starships-logo-design-in-3d/Sat, 12 Oct 2013 00:00:00 +0200Some of our logo drafts get modelled in 3D, printed out and painted without further ado.https://starship-factory.ch/en/2013/10/09/making-elna-supermatic-pattern-discs-yourself/Wed, 09 Oct 2013 00:00:00 +0200In one of our projects we are trying to make discs for ELNA sewing machines ourselves on the 3D printer. To do that we first have to understand how the discs work, and be able to reduce them to a model ourselves. This article explains the current progress in analysing and making the Elna discs. The current state can always be found in our wiki.https://starship-factory.ch/en/2013/09/30/our-equipment-3d-printers/Mon, 30 Sep 2013 00:00:00 +0200Starship Factory currently has two working 3D printers: an Ultimaker and a RepRap Pro Huxley. On the Ultimaker we print only with PLA, on the Huxley so far only with ABS. That avoids constantly changing material and with it the risk of clogging the printer’s nozzle.https://starship-factory.ch/en/2013/09/18/starship-factory-as-a-fablab/Wed, 18 Sep 2013 00:00:00 +0200Anyone who deals with 3D printing, CNC milling and laser cutting may already have come across the term “FabLab”. FabLabs, and so Starship Factory too, are makerspaces built on the basic idea that people there can make just about anything themselves. To achieve this, FabLabs rely essentially on three processes: 3D printing, laser cutting and CNC milling.https://starship-factory.ch/en/2013/09/15/weekly-meetings-fridays-1800-2100/Sun, 15 Sep 2013 00:00:00 +0200Dear members of Starship Factory, interested people and the merely curious! From 20.09.2013 we will finally be meeting every Friday from 18:00 to 21:00 in Yvo’s studio at St. Alban-Rheinweg 62, 4052 Basel. At the moment we have two 3D printers on site and are building a third. There is also a sewing machine, a T-shirt press and, before long, a cutting plotter.https://starship-factory.ch/en/2013/08/22/loop-scarf/Thu, 22 Aug 2013 00:00:00 +020028 °C in the shade too cold for you? Then sew yourself a loop scarf following the instructions by kangashona.https://starship-factory.ch/en/2013/08/19/how-to-build-a-sub-irrigated-planter/Mon, 19 Aug 2013 00:00:00 +0200Harvesting vegetables successfully needs neither a big garden nor much work watering. In this blog post I describe how to build a planter with long-term irrigation out of a 30 l plastic container (a flower pot in this example), an onion planting tray, some fabric (from an old pair of jeans, for instance) and a garden fleece. A drill or a cordless screwdriver is a bonus, as it makes the drainage hole easier to make.