Talk:Vote For Injection Molding Machine

Sponsors

This vote needs a full member to be a sponsor. As of the writing of this comment, the only sponsor is Alex, who is listed as a Starving Hacker on the member site. If this is incorrect, we should probably make sure his status on the member site gets updated before the vote is announced. If he really is a starving hacker, he'll either need to become a full member before putting this vote forward, or he'll have to get another full member to sponsor the vote. --Justin (talk) 10:44, 4 May 2015 (CDT)

Yes, I need a full member to sponsor. I also need a list of voting members emails so I can let them know about this. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Cvrtw (talk • contribs) 13:38, May 4, 2015}

That's not how votes work - you won't be informing the membership yourself. You (well, the full member who proposes the vote) will announce the vote on the mailing list and probably at a member meeting, once the language is polished and ready to go. From there, the secretary of the org will notify voting members. --Dbever (talk) 14:04, 4 May 2015 (CDT)

Don't worry about letting all the voting members know about this. It is the responsibility of the Board of Directors to inform the voting members when they need to vote and to tally the votes. Once the board is aware and you are ready to start the voting, the secretary will send an email to all eligible members asking them to vote. --Justin (talk) 14:06, 4 May 2015 (CDT)

Preparation

I'm most concerned that we need time to develop a group of people that know enough about these things to make a confident decision. The membership will expect the first major machine funded 'do what it says on the box' and perform well enough to justify the resources expended. I want to get the DIY machine made before considering the language for the vote complete. Right now I'm working on that with Andrew C., Everett has been working on parts, and Dean has committed to help source steel for the frame. We expect to each put in about $20 towards parts and materials. Andrew has found a filastruder that will provide the heater element, I believe. This might take a month to finish, considering everyone's schedules. I expect it might cost $60 to $200, depending on what we can scrounge. Figure $125, or so, as the expected 'average estimate.' --Rdoeksen (talk) 09:20, 31 May 2015 (CDT)

Text of vote page

I'd like to see a candidate machine in the background section. --Dbever (talk) 09:20, 4 May 2015 (CDT)

Where does it go?

What will the power and space requirements be? Have we already identified a good place for this machine to live? Will the fairly dusty environment of the shop pose problems? If it can't go in the shop, is it prohibitively loud/smelly/unpleasant to be around? The upstairs isn't suitable for equipment of that nature. --Dbever (talk) 09:22, 4 May 2015 (CDT)

Good question. Ray posted the dimension for the machine I had in mind as the most likely purchase. Its 9" x 14" by 25" tall. My plan is to make a simple box with a door for it to be stored downstairs under the table next to the laser cutter. Then, in use, just bring it up on the table. -Alex

Consider that a machine's footprint is not the end of its space requirements - how much room is required while operating it? If you place it on that table, will the operator impede the fire lane while using the machine? --Dbever (talk) 13:09, 6 May 2015 (CDT)

If it's the air powered version, it is much taller with a 12x12" foot print. I plan to put it downstairs. Haven't contacted current area hosts yet.-Alex

This need to go in language or background? -Alex

It's just something that needs to be considered. --Dbever (talk) 13:09, 6 May 2015 (CDT)

Seconded. I would highly recommend putting tape down to represent the floor space and talking to area hosts and members about location soon. --Bry (talk) 13:12, 6 May 2015 (CDT)

Authorized funds

Does the authorized amount include the cost of shipping and other related costs to getting this thing up and running? Is there at least a 20% buffer in the funds allocated to help account for unexpected expenses related to this vote? This would be easier for us to see if you included a candidate machine in the background section like Derik requested. --Justin (talk) 10:08, 4 May 2015 (CDT)

Short timeline

This seems like a really short timeline between creating the vote page and locking in the language. Keep in mind that the language of the vote needs to be locked in 5 days before the actual vote happens, and we won't be able to change it once the secretary starts asking people to vote on it. I realize some of this discussion already happened on the mailing list, so I expect most of the discussion here would just be to improve the vote/language itself. --Justin (talk) 10:12, 4 May 2015 (CDT)

Speaking of short timeline, as the vote is written there is only about 1.5 months between when the vote passes and when the authorization for funds expires. I think this is rather short. Personally, I generally forgo the expiration of vote funds entirely in the language (expecting they'll get expired at the next budget vote if necessary), but if you do want to include an expiration, I think 90 days would be more appropriate. --Justin (talk) 10:16, 4 May 2015 (CDT)

I also came here to voice concern about the short expiration of the spending authorization. Given that many of the details of the vote are still up for discussion, I would like to see a tentative date for 2-3 months after the vote is scheduled to be voted on, the actual date can be set when the language is locked in. --Kuroishi (talk) 10:51, 4 May 2015 (CDT)

Really, I think the language should just say "90 days after the vote" instead of writing a specific date. This means we don't have to change the language if the date of the vote changes. --Justin (talk) 10:56, 4 May 2015 (CDT)

I'll change that, also changed day to vote on it. --Alex (talk)

As a past administrator, please change "business days" to just "days". Calculating business days is a pain in the ass. --Bry (talk) 13:12, 6 May 2015 (CDT)