Makerspace Membership, Tool Induction and Machine Booking Software You Build Yourself

Mythex lets a makerspace link members, inductions, machine bookings and storage in one record: members can only book the laser cutter once they have passed its induction, safety theory happens online before the practical, and materials taken from the rack go on the monthly bill. Describe your space in chat, test it in the live preview and publish with a real database.

What a volunteer-run workshop has to keep track of

A makerspace is a room full of dangerous, expensive machines shared by members who come and go at all hours, often run by volunteers. The rule that matters most is that nobody uses the laser, lathe or CNC router without an induction, yet inductions are usually tracked on a sheet taped to the machine. Bookings happen in the chat server, storage shelves fill with abandoned projects, members walk off with plywood without paying, and lapsed members keep their door fobs for months. Committees argue about what to buy next without data. A space needs one membership record that answers who may use which tool, who owes what and who should still have access.

Machine bookings limited to members inducted on that tool
Inductions recorded with the host who signed them off
Storage bays with an expiry date
Sheet stock and filament billed to the member's account
Access status tied to active membership
Machine hours to guide maintenance and purchases

What you can build for makerspaces

Machine booking only for inducted members

The booking system checks the member's inductions before offering a slot. Slot lengths suit the machine, short for the laser and long for 3D printing, with a weekly cap on busy machines at peak times. Maintenance blocks take a machine out of service, and induction sessions are bookable with a small cap per host.

Build a machine booking system for my makerspace. Members can only book a machine if they have passed its induction. Laser cutter slots are 30 minutes with a limit of 3 per member per week on evenings, 3D printers book in 2-hour blocks, and maintenance can block a machine. Induction sessions are bookable with up to 4 people per host.

Tiers with their own access hours and storage

Evenings-only, full access and business tiers each carry their own hours. Storage bays come with some tiers and are waitlisted on others, concession rates have an expiry date, and the active members list is the one your door system checks against.

Create membership tiers for my makerspace: evenings and weekends, 24/7 full access with a storage bay, and business. Members can pause for up to 3 months. Concession rates expire on a date I set. Keep a list of active members for checking against our door fobs, and flag fobs of lapsed members.

Safety theory online, hands-on in the space

Members watch the induction theory and pass a short safety quiz before they can book the practical. When a host signs off the practical, the induction appears on the member's record and unlocks booking for that tool.

Make an online induction course for my makerspace with a module per machine (laser cutter, CNC router, lathe, bandsaw): short videos, a list of allowed and banned materials, and a safety quiz that must score 80% before the member can book a practical session. A host's sign-off adds the induction to the member record.

A member portal where reporting a fault takes 30 seconds

Members see their inductions, storage bay and its expiry, and one list of dues, classes and materials. Reporting a machine fault is one photo and a sentence, and the machine shows as out of order for the next person.

Build a member portal for my makerspace. Members see inductions passed and the tools they may use, their storage bay and its expiry, and payment history for dues, classes and materials. A big 'report a fault' button takes a photo and description and marks the machine out of order.

Materials on the monthly bill

Dues are billed by tier with pauses for members away. Plywood, acrylic and filament logged at the rack are added to the member's monthly statement, non-members pay for classes separately, and businesses pay their own rate.

Make an invoicing app for my makerspace. Monthly dues by tier with pauses, materials logged by members at the rack (plywood sheets, acrylic, filament by gram) added to their monthly bill, separate invoices for non-member class fees, and a business rate for companies prototyping in the space.

Open nights and repair cafes with booked places

Open nights and build nights are capped at room capacity, workshop tickets include a materials fee, and repair cafe visitors book a slot for the item they want fixed.

Create event booking for my makerspace: free monthly open nights capped at 30, paid workshops with a materials fee, and a repair cafe where visitors book a 20-minute slot and describe the item to fix.

Moving the induction sheets online

Collect every induction sheet from every machine and enter them against members with the host and date. Where a sheet is unreadable, ask the member to confirm with a host. Then switch machine booking on for the laser first, since it is usually the busiest and riskiest. Move the other machines across over the following month.

All taped sheets entered with host and date
Laser booking switched on first
Other machines over the next month

Minors, safety and liability

If under-18s use the space, record their age, a parent or guardian contact and any supervision rule, and keep them off machines your policy excludes. Store signed waivers on the member record. Mythex builds the records and checks you describe; your insurance requirements and safety rules are yours to set.

Questions

Can it stop uninducted members booking machines?

Yes. Each machine requires its induction, and members without it do not see bookable slots. Hosts add the induction when they sign off the practical.

Can it control our door access?

It keeps the list of who should be active. Linking it directly to your door system depends on that system offering an API you connect yourself.

Can volunteers manage it without technical skills?

Yes. Mythex builds it from plain descriptions, and changes are made by asking in chat. Give volunteers admin roles limited to what they run.

Can members pay dues by card?

Yes, if you connect a payment provider such as Stripe with your own account. Recurring dues and material charges can go through it.

Is there a free option?

Yes. The Free plan has no card requirement and daily credits to build and publish. Pro is $25/month for a custom domain, code editing and export.

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