3DPrintingCampWI 2012 Organizational Meeting

So we had the first organizational meeting today for planning the 3DPrintingCampWI 2012 unconference at Sector67. All 3D printing enthusiasts in the Midwest USA are invited to put July 21 on their calendars for coming to Madison, Wisconsin, USA, for the state's first 3D printing unconference (at least the first one I know of...).

Rep Rap from Wikipedia

Joe K, Brian V and I met at Sector67 to get the planning started for the July 21 event. 3DPrintingCampWI is being planned as a 'true' unconference in the BarCampMilwaukee tradition where the participant-led sessions will be scheduled at the start of the unconference. Because the event will be a true unconference, the planning is slightly easier than if we were organizing a high-profile event with a large budget. Our three main organizational tasks are:

1. Make sure all 3D printing enthusiasts in the Midwest know about the event
2. Address all the logistical issues for the event, such as space, meals, agenda, etc
3. Contact potential sponsors about covering the cost of a tent (or two) for the parking lot, providing food and beverages during the day and sponsoring event tshirts for the participants. The only critical need is for a tent in case of rain. (Sponsors are optional, but greatly appreciated for food, venue fee, tshirts and swag.)

If a 3D printing unconference sounds like a fun, interesting and worthwhile event, please consider becoming one of the volunteers to help organize and make this a successful unconference. If you're not sure what an unconference is, here's a link to the Wikipedia entry for unconference. Contact me at bwaldron [att] gmail {dott} com to volunteer and find out how you can help.

Photo by Pete Prodoehl, CC BY-NC-SA

There's a limit of 125 people on the registration for this event because the Sector67 hackerspace community workshop can't comfortably hold my normal target of 200 people for an unconference. We're planning to have a large tent in the parking lot to provide some overflow space and to take advantage of the nice weather we're predicting for July 21. We expect the unconference to fill up quickly, so if you want to participate in 3DPrintingCampWI 2012, be sure to register for the event as soon as possible. Shoot me an email if you want to reserve your spot before the event website and registration system gets finalized.

Speaking of registering for the event and letting all the 3D printing enthusiasts know about 3DPrintingCampWI 2012, we need a lead website developer. I contacted one person about this, but if you're interested, an unconference can always use two or three web developers to work together on the event site.

3D printer meetup at Sector67 in April 2012

The direct inspiration for launching the first 3D printing unconference in Wisconsin came from (1) Chris Meyer who organized a 3D printer meetup at Sector67 in April 2012, and (2) Justin Kruger who registered the domain barcampmilwaukee.com, for the first Wisconsin technology unconference, the same day we returned from participating in the first BarCampChicago.

My goal is to have 3DPrintingCampWI develop into a yearly participant-driven event where 3D printing enthusiasts and practitioners share what they know and learn from others, promoting and advancing all aspects of 3D printing and other forms of personal additive manufacturing. Joe, Brian and I discussed the possibilities for a two-day camp next year which would include a build session for Rep Raps, as well as a few other cool things that could be done with several months of planning and a 2+ day unconference.

So I have three requests for 3D printing enthusiasts:

1. Reserve July 21 on your calendar for participating in 3DPrintingCampWI 2012 in Madison, Wisconsin, USA.
2. Consider volunteering to help organize 3DPrintingCampWI or help make the success in some other way.
3. Tell lots of other people about the event and invite them to participate in the event with you.

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