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Frequently Asked Questions

Who has access to the Design + Technology LAB?

At this moment the Design + Technology Lab is only available to students, staff, and faculty of The Creative School.

For safety reasons our shop is not open to drop-in visits outside of Open LAB hours.

The Service Bureau is the LAB's in-house 3D printing, laser cutting and vinyl cutting hub for students, staff, and faculty of The Creative School. Learn more here (opens in new window) .

Come to Open LAB! Open LAB is your chance to access the LAB space, equipment and staff expertise. We can talk through your ideas, assess the best path forward and offer training on LAB tools.

Open LAB runs weekly during the Fall and Winter semesters.

We encourage Toronto Metropolitan University community members who do not fit our access criteria to explore the many different labs and maker spaces across campus. Ask your department or faculty what facilities they have available for you to access. Here are a list of a few:

Additionally, there are many external 3D printing and laser cutting spaces across the city such as HotPop Factory (external link, opens in new window)  or the Maker Bean Cafe (external link, opens in new window) . You can also 3D print through services at the Toronto Public Library (external link, opens in new window) .

  • Students interested in better understanding how to work with laser cutters and 3D printers for the purpose of submitting files through our service bureau can access our online resources here.
  • For in-person learning, there are many classes within the Creative School that have curricular activities in collaboration with the lab. These offer access to our equipment and spaces. Please see what classes in your department offer these opportunities.
  • Get tool training and project support during our Open LAB hours! Learn more here.
  • There are workshops that run periodically in the lab that focus on specific equipment and/or techniques. These are announced through our social media channels (external link)  and events page.
  • Finally, each year we offer a number of grants for students from the Creative School. These provide recipients with opportunity to work hands on with equipment as well as a material budget.

Students

We organize a yearly Creative School student grant competition. Selected students are awarded the opportunity to pursue their proposed digital fabrication projects in our space with a material budget.

Faculty

We offer two $5000 seed grants anually to support faculty SRC activities in the Lab, with emphasis on projects that advance technology use within the creative sector. Projects can include, but are not limited to: AR/VR, 360 videos, flatbed UV printing, robotics, digital fabrication, 3D knitting and textile computing, drones, photogrammetry, 3D scanning, motion tracking/capture, 3D printing, and wearable technology. Learn more here (opens in new window) .

We would love to talk to you about your class and how we can help support your curricular goals. Take a read through our  (PDF file) staff guide and submit a project request form so that we can get started.

Yes! The Design + Technology Lab offers a wide range of curriculum-support materials related to our digital and analog equipment. These include resources for fabrication, prototyping, 3D modeling, scanning, and more. Visit our Resources page here.

If you’d like to further explore how we can support your teaching, please reach out through our project request form.