Builder's Lab Makerspace
Led equipment research and selection, layout planning, and doccumentation for Builder's Lab, a shared prototyping space for early stage medical device startups at MBI. Managed a ~$100K equipment budget and coordinated with vendors on procurement.
Builder's Lab Makerspace
Background
Builder's Lab is a shared prototyping and instrumentation space MBI is building for early-stage medical device and diagnostics companies. The space is designed to serve 6–8 companies (21 people), spanning 3D printing, CNC, laser cutting, and electronics workspaces. As an intern at MBI, I led the equipment selection, space layout planning, doccumentation, and procurement decisions for the makersapce.
My responsibilities included leading equipment selection, procurement, and space planning for the biomedical device prototyping lab, developing standard operating procedures for equipment use and troubleshooting, and coordinating with vendors to arrange shipping and payment.
Documentation & Layout Planning
I wrote standard operating procedures for the Bambu Lab P2S/H2D 3D printers, desktop CNC mill, and the Formlabs Form 4 resin printer. These doccuments covered safety, workflow, and troubleshooting procedures specific to each piece of equipment. I also worked through facility safety requirements (PPE, waste-stream separation for resin printing, OSHA eyewash/shower requirements) to make sure the SOPs reflected lab safety requierments.
Designed a layout for the makerspace in Adobe Illustrator, mapping out the most efficient locations for lab benches, prototyping equipment, and shared spaces, selecting equipment locations for efficiency and practicality. Calculated electrical requierments for each area, and specified outlet locations and which outlets required dedicated circuts. Coordinated with operations team to ensure feasability of the selected floor plan.
Equipment Research & Selection
Undertook equipment selection with comparative research and use case analysis. Evaluated desktop CNC mills, laser cutters, 3D printers, and electronics equipment on cost, utility, software usability, and shared-space practicality, performing the use case analysis in coordination with scientists, engineers, and the operations team to determine what equipment would be useful for med device prototyping. Coordinated with vendors and priced out prototyping equipment, finding the best value equipment for the space. Through vendor selection and equipment selection, I reduced the equipment cost by 60% compared to the original proposal while managing a ~$100K budget.
Result
I procured the lab's equipment, including 3D printers, a CNC mill, a laser cutter, and electrical instrumentation, and presented the equipment and layout plan to grant sponsors.
The makerspace is set to open later this year, providing early stage medical device companies with a space for prototyping and device assembly!
