Materials

Materials for the Laser Cutter/Vinyl Cutter:

Listed below are all the Makerspace approved materials and where to purchase them.

• Amazon: Cardboard, Cardstock, Chipboard, Clay, Cork, Fabric, Paint, Paper, Sewing Accessories, Jewelry-Making,  Unfinished Wood*, Vegetable Tanned Leather**
  • *Guaranteed for Etching, not guaranteed for cutting. Please talk to the Lab Manager with the link before purchasing.
  • **Please only use Vegetable Tanned Leather for safety reasons. Please contact the Lab Manager with the link before purchasing.
• Blick: Birch Plywood*, Basswood**, Cardboard, Cardstock, Chipboard, Clay,  Cork, Paint, Paper
  • *Plywood thicker than 1/8th” cannot be cut.
  • ** Basswood thicker than 1/4″ cannot be cut.
• Canal Plastics: Acrylic Sheets and Accessories
• CraftDealz: Acrylic & Accessories
• Custom Made Better: Acrylic
• Houston Acrylic: Acrylic
• Jo-Ann*: Cardstock, Cork, Fabric, Sewing Accessories, Jewelry-Making, Paint, Paper
  • *Jo-Ann unfortunately has no physical stores in the City, but offer delivery! Their fabric prices are significantly cheaper than Mood as well.
• JP Plus: Laser Safe Rubber
• Michael’s*: Cardboard (Elements), Cardstock, Chipboard (Elements), Clay/Modeling, Cork, Jewelry-Making, Paint, Paper, Unfinished Wood** Vegetable Tanned Leather***
  • *Michael’s has a collection of Cardboard/Wood boxes and elements that can be etched with the laser!
  • ** Sometime Michael’s carries small basswood planks, but not as frequently as Blick.
  • ***Please only use Vegetable Tanned Leather for safety reasons.
• Mood Fabric: Fabric & Sewing Accessories
• Staples: Cardboard & Chipboard, Cardstock, Paper
• T & T Plasticland: Acrylic Sheets and accessories
• Uline: Cardboard (in large quantities)

Physical Computing:

Locations care listed of each company when known for ease of purchase planning.

Boards & Components:

• Adafruit: Based in NYC. A little pricey but shipping is relatively fast, and all of the electronics have documentation on  the website.
• Pololu: Has a nice variation, including motors and some robotics kits. Ships from Nevada.
• Seeed Studio: China based, but has an office in the US. Boards and many IoT devices.
• Solarbotics: Based in Canada, has many options for motors and robotics kits.
• Sparkfun:  A little cheaper than Adafruit, but also has good documentation. Ships from Colorado, so be sure to plan accordingly when ordering.
• Tinkersphere: Has physical store in NYC. Cheap, but do not provide datasheets. Great in a pinch/Emergency.

 Bulk Components:

These are loose parts, make sure you’re getting the right component. Through-Hole pieces can be used for perfboard and breadboard. SMDs are surface mounted components for PCB circuit boards.

• Octopart is a great way to find parts and search over most of the listed sites below.
• DigiKey is based out of Minnesota.
• Jameco is based in California.
• Mouser is based in Texas.
• Newark is based in Illinois.
• SuperBightLEDS: LED lighting components. Based in Montana.

Other Bits & Bobs:

• Home Depot: Tools, Hardware, Spray Paints*
• Lowe’s: Tools, Hardware, Spray Paints*
  *Spray paint cannot be used in the Makerspace, but is placed on here should you want to do projects at home!
• McMaster-Carr: A little bit of everything for fabrication, tools, accessories, hardware, and more!
• The Container Store: Storage solutions, but also great for electronics enclosures!
• This to That: A Maker’s must have. a comprehensive guide on how to glue materials together!