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Over the years we have really enjoyed the excitement of the ShopBot Jamboree and the opportunity to meet and interact with so many ShopBotters. It’s been a fun and inspiring event for us and I know from what the ShopBotters who attend tell me that they get a lot out of it.One request that we have gotten for many years from ShopBotters on the West Coast and other places far from Durham is that they would like something like the Jamboree nearer home. Yes, regional Camp ShopBots are great opportunities to meet and talk with other ShopBotters, but they don’t offer the same wealth of information and stimulation, and breadth of meeting opportunity of a larger get-together. However, at this time ShopBot’s resources only allow us to sponsor and coordinate one event a year like the Jamboree. |
What we thought might be a good solution is occasionally, say every 3-4 years, to hold the Jamboree on the West Coast or in the middle of the country. These away-from-home Jamborees would create more opportunities for participation and would give us the opportunity to get out of town every once in a while, too.
So, for Shopbot Jamboree 2007 we are in the preliminary stages of planning a West Coast ShopBot Jamboree for San Mateo California.
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What will help make this ShopBot Jamboree a very special event is that we have been invited to hold it in conjunction with the Maker Faire. The Maker Faire is a fascinating celebration of 21st century creativity put on by Make Magazine. Last year’s Faire had thousands of participants and featured inventive projects of hundreds of “Makers”; everything from robotic bugs, through various crafts, to a flame thrower. And, of course, there were the ShopBotters Jillian and Jeffrey showing off the clever products of upstart company “Because We Can …”. |
Make Magazine is a great new magazine oriented towards a do-it-yourself, make-it-yourself, hack-it-yourself approach to integrating technology into our lives. It’s not going to replace your subscription to your favorite woodworking magazine. But if you have any interest in puttering with new things or with approaching what you can do with CNC with a new attitude, you’ll find this magazine an inspiring treat. It is published (quarterly at the moment) by O’Reilly Media, a company famous for their technology books (“putting the cool in geek”). We’re hoping to see more and more applications for robotic tools and CNC in coming issues of Make. You can get the magazine at places like Barnes & Noble, but the one near me is always quickly sold out soon after an issue arrives.
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Back to the Jamboree; the preliminary dates are May 17-18 (this is two days in advance of the 2007 Maker Faire, which will be May 19-20) and the site will be the same as for Maker Faire, the San Mateo Fairground. We’ll be arranging a room deal for ShopBotters at a nearby ‘headquarters’ hotel. After the Jamboree, you’ll be welcome to stick around and participate in the Maker Faire.The organization of this ShopBot Jamboree will be similar to what you’ve come to expect: Lots of information about putting a ShopBot to use, with talks and demos on cutting and production techniques; booths, presentations, and consultations with our favorite CNC vendors (software and hardware); and most importantly, the Jamboree as always will be an event to meet and exchange info with other ShopBotters and to hear about what they are up to. For those who are interested, there will also be a ShopBot: Basic Training session. |
Having a Jamboree on the West Coast is a bit of a logistic challenge for us. When we’re here at home in Durham, opening up the factory works well because we already have tools, space, and ShopBot people in place (and we’re able to mostly keep our business and support services going at the same time). For California, to maintain the character of the Jamboree, we’re planning to get several of our new PRS ShopBots out to San Mateo along with a lot of our ShopBot crew. The facilities for running tools and doing a little cutting look excellent at the fairgrounds. Nonetheless, we’re going to be especially dependent on active participation of West Coast ShopBotters to make this a great Jamboree. In particular, we’re hoping as many ShopBotters as possible will bring show-and-tell projects with them. Whether you’re just getting started or an old CNC pro, other ShopBotters really enjoy seeing and hearing about your experiences. If you are uncomfortable standing up in the group, bring your stuff anyway to show people casually – or pictures and .jpg’s if you can’t carry your project. We’d also like to hear from West Coasters who have suggestions for presenters (ShopBotters or vendors) and/or any kind of “local knowledge” that would be helpful in making the event interesting or fun.
So this is your preliminary notice: ShopBot Jamboree 2007, May 17-18, San Mateo Fairgrounds, San Mateo, California. There will shortly be a Forum section set up for the Jamboree [and/or email questions about the Jamboree].