makersCAFE Opens in East London – Drink Coffee, 3D Print, Laser Scan, Chat and Learn

Whenever a new technology begins to enter the mainstream, the general public naturally takes an interest in it. In the past year or two, the amount of media coverage surrounding 3D printing has sky rocketed, all the while, the majority of individuals have very little idea about how 3D printing actually works.

Wouldn’t it be great if there was a place in town where one could go, and see an actual 3D printer in action, touch it, and even use it to print something out? Well, a man named Soner Ozenc thought so too, and thus has opened London’s first Makers Cafe. Located in the Shoreditch area of east London, the Cafe opened its doors just two days ago.

According to the company, “Makers Cafe is a space for makers, wonderers, tinkerers, the designers and creatives in general. For those of us who need our caffeine while cultivating these fragile ideas.”

The idea for such a venue has been around for a while now. In fact, there are similar cafes located in Germany, Spain, and China. Ozenc takes many of the ideas from these cafes and incorporates his own touch. Being the founder of RazorLab, an online design studio which allowed users to upload their own designs and have the company etch or laser cut them for a fee, Oznc certainly isn’t foreign to the design services industry.

The premise behind his new cafe is simple. Those wishing to use the computer aided technologies such as 3D printers or laser cutters, whether it’s their first time, or they are ‘pros’, they can come in, and pay a fee of £1 per minute ($1.66) to rent time on the cafe’s machines. Perhaps some people just want to come and watch the machines in action while enjoying a barista style coffee and chatting it up with friends or colleagues, while small businesses could use the venue as a sort of self-serve three-dimensional print shop.

Have you ever been to a coffee shop, chatting it up with friends, when an amazing idea popped up? At makersCAFE, that idea may actually be able to become a reality through the use of their machines.

“Customers will have a chance to see the actual machines and the idea is they will come with their ideas and will witness their ideas becoming physical objects,” Ozenc told the IBTimes UK.

That’s not all though.  Ozenc plans on having all sorts of interactive social gatherings at his cafe, which include workshops, guest speakers, and even parties.

“In the daytime, people can come in to have their items laser-cut or 3D-printed, but after 6pm, makersCAFE will be running workshops, talks and parties to make digital manufacturing more accessible to the public,” Ozenc added.

For those in the London area who are considering stopping by, the makersCAFE is open the following hours each day:

Let us know if you stop by makersCAFE in London, and what you thought. Discuss in the Makers Cafe London forum thread on 3DPB.com.