MakeSpace at HereEast

After our recent move to our new home at Here East, Stratford, we have been developing our new Makespace which will be our core prototyping facility. GDI hub has joined forces with the Surgical Robot Vision Lab and the Autonomous Manufacturing Lab to create a shared space that brings together a wealth of expertise as well as equipment, improving knowledge exchange and increasing collaboration opportunities.

Inclusivity has naturally been a key part of our considerations for the space. Our general workstations and electronics stations will be easily height adjustable to accommodate both standing operators, stools or wheelchair users. We will have an extensive electronics suite for production and testing, including in-house PCB fabrication.

We will have a large range of 3D printing available to suit our prototyping needs, with the ability to print in a multitude of exotic materials: carbon fiber and nylon for high tensile strength parts with the Markforged Mark Two; high resolution stereolithography printing using the Formlabs Form 2; and multi-material printing on a huge 60cm x 40cm bed with the Hyrel Hydra 16A, capable of handling nanocomposites, soft or functionally graded materials and resins. We are also set-up for processing hazardous materials reducing the restrictions on what we can build with, and we also have 3 of the latest workhorse FDM Ultimaker printers for reliable PLA and ABS printing.

We will have extensive testing equipment available for when prototypes are ready, including motion tracking hardware for in-depth analysis of wearable devices and, vitally, a range of data collection tools available for taking testing out of the lab and into the real world.

The builders are in the space right now, so we will update this page as soon as further progress has been made!