Come collage at CRASH Space! RSVP HERE Supplies such as glue, stickers, cardboard, and some basic collage items will be provided, but we’d love donations of any kind for the event if they are brought home after. Any donations not brought home will be donated to Remainders. Open to the general LA community, membership not required.
It’s springtime in the American Midwest, which means flowers are blooming, birds are chirping, the grass is getting greener, and at my house the fountains need to be set up for the summer. This fountain pump was struggling for a day then stopped pumping altogether and started rattling loudly. When I went to order a replacement pump I realized this was already a replacement pump from only 3 years ago, so I thought I’d do a little digging to see what went wrong and see if anything was serviceable. The little 6W 500 liter per hour pump is a familiar AC impeller type and I found that one of the impeller blades had broken off. I was impressed at the amount of scale on the fountain and the degradation of the impeller specifically. I hadn’t thought about it but I guess it makes sense as we continually add water to replace evaporated water, constantly increasing the concentration of dissolved minerals in the solution. With the replacement pump already installed in the fountain and nothing left to lose, I decided to whip up a 3D printable impeller model in FreeCAD based on the broken part to see if I could repair the pump. Here are the FreeCAD and 3D printable .step files: I printed it in Inland PLA on my VORON Trident 3D printer. I thought I might have trouble with the thin wall cylinder at the top but it turned out alright. I used clear silicone RTV adhesive to glue the impeller into the magnetic rotor body, then went to Workshop 88’s Thursday open house (every Thursday from 7:00pm – 9:00pm). When I got back home I reassembled the motor, ran a drill up the center to ensure smooth operation, then tried it out. Holy Moly, did it work! It sprayed water all over my bench and workshop. I don’t know how durable the PLA impeller will be but now I have a spare pump for home and shop projects, or maybe I will experiment with impeller designs, or maybe to shuffle back into that fountain every 3 years (lol). A quick and fun project enabled by open source software and 3D printing. Workshop 88 makerspace is sponsored by Comparion Insurance . Local agents who know insurance inside and out, able to easily guide clients through the complex process of finding policies to match their unique needs. Benefits: The right coverage at the right price Insurance options from a wide variety of carriers A local expert looking out for their exact needs Use the QR code or this link get a no-commitment insurance quote and save money today: https://www.comparioninsurance.com/workshop-88… The post Revive a dead pump with FreeCAD and 3D printing! first appeared on Workshop88 .
April 17, 2026: The Claremont MakerSpace is excited to announce fine artist Charlotte Lacoste was selected as the Spring 2026 Artist in Residence. This program is supported in part by the League of NH Craftsmen through their Craft Education Program Enhancement Grant. CMS was a proud recipient of this grant in March, which enabled the spring residency. The full press release follows and you can read more about the program via the AiR program page . FINAL CMS Announces Spring Artist in Residence Download
In reply to Linda Mackey . You can give me a call at 260-209-9150 and I can add one more ticket to your registration.