IDeATe Facilities

The IDeATe Resources web site includes detailed information on borrowing equipment, the room reservation system, fabrication policies, machine tutorials, and other reference material.

Facilities: Most IDeATe facilities are located in Hunt Library. Lending,
Physical Computing Lab, Media Lab, the laser cutters, 3D printers, woodshop, and CNC router are on the lower level. Some of the equipment requires special training which you will receive either in the class that requires it or in a micro course. If you are unsure of how to operate any of the equipment or are unsure how to use the equipment safely and effectively, please send email to help@ideate.cmu.edu.
Safety: Report all fires and emergencies immediately to University Police at

412-268-2323.

  • Emergency response: University Police — 412-268-2323
  • Building maintenance: Facilities Management & Campus Services — 412-268-2910
  • IDeATe-related inquiries — help@ideate.cmu.edu

IDeATe Lending: Once you are enrolled in an IDeATe course, you will have access to IDeATe Lending. You will maintain your access through the rest of your time at Carnegie Mellon. You must present your CMU ID each time you borrow an item. You will also be able to purchase a limited number of consumable items (such as plywood and acrylic) for projects. Please visit https://resources.ideate.cmu.edu/lending/ for more detailed information on available resources, to review the IDeATe Lending Borrower Policy, and to find hours of operation.

Classroom and Lending access: If you are enrolled in an IDeATe class at least a week before the start of the course, you will have access to IDeATe Lending and (if applicable) have keycard access to the classroom door on the first day of class. If you add a course during the Add Period, you may need to wait a few business days to receive access while the lists are updated. If you add a course after the last day of the Add Period, email help@ideate.cmu.edu with your name, Andrew ID, and course number so we can add you to our systems.

Laser cutter access: If you are required to use the laser cutters for this class, you have provisional access for the duration of the class. Until you have been trained on the use of the Rabbit laser cutters and have completed the fire safety requirements, you may only use the laser cutters under the continuous supervision of your instructor, TA, or other qualified person. To maintain access to the laser cutters after your class is over, you must complete Environmental Health & Safety training on Fire Extinguisher Use, Parts 1 and 2, available at https://cmu.bioraft.com/.

IDeATe advising: If you have questions or need advice about IDeATe minors or
courses, please get in touch with Kelly Delaney, the Assistant Director of IDeATe. Her office is in Hunt 246 and her email is kellydel@andrew.cmu.edu.

Physical Computing Lab: Hunt A10: Policies and Inventory

  1. Physical Computing Lab Policies
  2. Physical Computing Lab Inventory. The lab inventory of components and materials is available online as a Google Sheet with separate tabs for tools and materials. Please note that many parts have purchasing links or datasheet links which can lead to detailed specifications.
  3. If you see that general stock of an item is depleted, please report it via the Physical Computing materials stock request Google form. This URL also appears as a QR code on a poster on a column in the lab.

Course Project Purchasing

If a course offers a project budget, students may submit purchasing requests for project-specific items, subject to instructor approval. Please check the lab and lending inventories first to see if what you need is already available before making a special request.

To submit a request, please duplicate the 16-223 purchasing request template Google Sheet, rename your copy to include your project name, then when completed, share it with garthz@andrew.cmu.edu with ‘notify’ enabled. It’s also a good idea to email a brief confirmation.