It’s been a couple of years since we last checked in with Proto BuildBar, so I was grateful for the opportunity to not only attend the Catfé Kickstarter party, but also to speak with Tom Mitchell, essentially Proto BuildBar’s operations manager, though he is quick to say that he doesn’t really have a title.
I asked Tom how they all felt about investing so heavily in MakerBot technology, given the recent shakeups the company’s had in terms of upper management and changing its focus from the consumer to the professional and educational. He didn’t seem to regret the decision to go mostly with MakerBot, and told me that aside from needing to upgrade the MakerBot Replicator 2X soon, and having fried a chip on one printer’s motherboard twice, they haven’t really had many issues with the technology.
“They’re really workhorses, you know,” Tom said of the MakerBot 3D printers.
Moving on from its 3D printers, Tom also said that Proto BuildBar has “picked up some assembly kits,” including the Konstruktor, Lomography’s make-your-own 35mm SLR camera kit, a Rule Your Room Kit by littleBits, the Pick-a-Palooza, which teaches you how to make guitar picks from things like old credit cards, and a Holy Stone Predator drone. Proto BuildBar now also has a dedicated event space in the back, which has been used for everything from business meetings to birthday parties; the birthday person is 3D scanned and then gets to see their bust 3D printed!
Party guests also participate in bracket challenges with the War of Currents video game, which is reminiscent of Street Fighter or Mortal Kombat, except in this case, Nikola Tesla and Thomas Edison battle it out…and the joysticks will literally shock you! The game was designed for South by Southwest by Real Art Design Group, located right next to Proto BuildBar; both are owned by Chris Wire. Tom showed me some of the other games he’s created for Proto BuildBar, including a light-up roulette game he made for Proto BuildBar’s New Year’s Eve Party, and a derby race game. He 3D printed two guns that are copies of the one Marvin the Martian has on Looney Tunes, and equipped each one with a laser pointer, which players then aim at their targets to make Tesla and Edison race to the top, past their various patents. I also had an opportunity to play the giant claw machine, though sadly I did not win.
Back in 2015, general manager Alex Todd (who is no longer with Proto BuildBar) told 3DPrint.com that the plan was to expand, and open up ten more locations by 2017. I asked Tom how that was coming, and he said that he was actually brought in “specifically to build the brand.”
“We see Proto BuildBar as a lifestyle brand,” he explained, noting that it’s not really a makerspace in the true sense of the word. “We make the makers here, by empowering people to tackle things on their own.”
“These are really valuable resources for businesses, and we have the right pieces of technology to make them uncomfortable,” Tom said.
He went on to explain that people can’t learn and innovate without learning to work together on projects that could be considered ‘uncomfortable’ for most, like building small rocket launchers that can shoot Ping Pong balls or following plans to 3D print a missing puzzle piece. I find the concept extremely intriguing, and I absolutely agree with his reasoning. Also, team-building exercises with places like Proto BuildBar can teach people that technology is truly for everyone. Tom has some really interesting corporate team-building ideas that he’s pitched, and though no one has taken him up on the new ideas yet, I hope someone does soon.
“We want to support the community,” he explained. “They’re kind of unique, like us.”
Speaking of supporting the community, Tom, and Gem City Catfé COO (that’s Cat Operating Officer, obviously) Sabrina Cox were proud to tell me that both businesses only use other local businesses for food and beverage offerings. Dayton has a long history of being a place where innovation is born (the Wright Brothers, NCR, etc.), and really values its innovators and community partners.
“If you’re in Dayton, you know Proto exists,” Sabrina told me when I asked why the Catfé wanted to hold its event there. “If you can build 3D cat stuff, why wouldn’t you?”
10% of cat-themed 3D prints made at Proto BuildBar last night were donated to the Catfé’s Kickstarter campaign, and there were also fun cocktails on hand, like a Meow-Jito. By around 10:30 last night, the Catfé was almost to the halfway point of its goal, thanks to Proto BuildBar and the Catfé’s daytime Kickstarter launch at Boston Stoker coffee in downtown Dayton. There were lots 3D printed cat items on display and being printed, from adorable cat rings to a Black Cat Self Defense Keychain, 3D printed cat figurines, and even 3D printed cat ears!
Tom also took the time to teach me how to solder, using Proto BuildBar’s free skull pin soldering kits. The back of the skull is super encouraging, with a note at the top that says, “Congrats! You made something awesome!” We’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again now – if you can get to Proto BuildBar, do it. You can check out some more photos from my visit to Proto BuildBar below. Discuss in the Proto BuildBar forum at 3DPB.com.