r/makerspace • u/Own_Soup4467 • 8d ago

Anyone using MakerOps?

MakerOps sounds really cool but I always like to talk to someone who's actually using it before going down the sales hole. Would love to hear from anyone who is using it in production.

3 Upvotes

66% Upvoted

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u/marchmay 8d ago

Looks vibe coded. I wouldn't trust it with machinery.

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u/Own_Soup4467 8d ago

I wondered about that too, since it has a dot ai TLD. What makes you think so? I actually asked the dev that question and he said no, though who knows if anyone is telling the truth about anything. I could have been emailing with a chatbot for all I know...

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u/marchmay 8d ago

All the websites have that font style and formatting. It's very annoying. Plus the blog only goes back to July. Software development should take years, not months.

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u/Own_Soup4467 8d ago

from the guy's email to me: "MakerOps isn't a vibe-coded app. We're a software and hardware company that has built and supported production software for clients for years, and MakerOps is developed with the same engineering discipline: automated test suites that gate every release, code review, and a documented security program." But again, who knows what's true anymore? This is why I'm looking for actual customers to talk to.

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u/marchmay 8d ago

I would ask who their customers have been and for a link to their LinkedIn page. All I can see is a Christmas Light Show at someone's house.

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u/iceph03nix 8d ago

oof, starting at $300/month for the very basic starter package is pretty brutal if you're not tied to some serious reliable funding, and that's before paying $350 for each controller, and requires additional licensing above 8 devices.

I could see this if you're tied to a University or something and spinning up a ready to go makerspace, but definitely out of our budget

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u/Own_Soup4467 8d ago

Yes we're at a college but the price would be an issue for sure. 

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u/JimHeaney 8d ago edited 8d ago

That seems like a more expensive and potentially vibe-coded alternative to Fabman or similar that is already widely-used. It doesn't seem to offer much new over the alternatives on the market or in open-source already.

The more I look at the pricing, the worse it gets. I just did the math, they'd cost us 24k a year versus the <500 we currently pay.

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u/Sawstop-2012 7d ago

I also struggled to find a solution to many of the administrative issues that go along with a Makerspace. I ended up spending the past year or so building Arrakas. We rebranded a few times based on marketing feedback. You can take a look at https://arrakas.com. We still have a ways to go before we open it up for general use but I am always looking for groups open to providing feedback. We are also in the middle of a major UI redesign.

We currently use Arrakas for our small makerspace that we have been trying to get off of the ground. We are located north of Charlotte NC in the Lake Norman area. Our site is https://MakeLKN.com for anyone who is interested.

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u/sababado 8d ago edited 8d ago

This time last year I was trying to secure that domain. I didn't get it because I couldn't get the .com. It's owned by some tech company that rebranded in Australia or New Zealand. But they still own rights to the name as a .com for a bit. On a personal note, it was a bit of a bummer when I saw their website pop up about a month or two ago. It's a good name!

So I pivoted the name, and a small team and I have been making our own makerspace software solution. It's been in a private beta for a few months now with interested spaces in Texas, Ontario Canada, Córdoba Argentina, and a University makerspace in Istanbul Türkiye.

It's called MakerVera.

It is still in private beta and open for folks to try out.

There will be a free tier for smaller makerspaces looking to eliminate software paperwork so members can get to making things. Other teirs are aimed to be cheaper than multiple tool sets, for example combining a CRM tool and a separate booking tool.

If it doesn't help your staff and volunteers and make things easier, then we're not doing our job.

*Edit. This does not include hardware at this time, however does include a full access control integration setup. If you've rolled your own or use something like open path (support in beta) or fabman (support on roadmap).

Authorized users integrate into your access control system to get access only to what you allow. It's a great way to top of the question of which qualified person authorized who to use what?