FitzKits - A Lean Pipe Building Solution

by Aaron

Custom gaming setup built from FitzKits

FitzKits is a lean pipe system for building stuff fast and easy. I had the pleasure of volunteering some help to friend and FitzKits' owner, Cody, who I met through hackerspace mailing lists. He recently front paged Hack-a-Day with a new instructable on building custom computer/gaming desks.

I thought it was time to talk about FitzKits a bit as an example of makerspace adventures. As I said, we met through a mailing list. He was looking to build something for 3D printing enthusiasts. My interest was in learning about makery startup businesses, it gave me chance to design physical objects for an end-user, and I figured it would be a lot fun. It was.

Since then FitzKits has worked with schools, businesses, and various makerspaces including HackRVA to create custom work space solutions.

So far, HackRVA'ers have made a rolling tool-cart, a 3D printing stand, an electronics work bench, a couple desks, and a partial light kit(never really finished) for the space, most of the materials donated to us by FitzKits. I have plans to build a "WALL OF MONITORS" on our coding/game-making(playing?) computer station to go with the Oculus Rift and other hardware.

One of the highlights of FitzKits is it allows for trial&error as well as reconfiguration. One of the desks I made was no longer needed, so we salvaged the pipe and brackets to be made into the "WALL OF MONITORS" eventually (looking for a deal on a pallet of flat screens).
 
Well, I could include tales of Kickstarter, Start-Up Weekend, meeting Mark Fraunfelder, prototyping, and other collaborative creativity, but I'll save that for another time.

For those interested in starting a business from their maker aspirations, FitzKits shows the power of participating with makerspaces and that a person can take a novel idea to market by engaging with and contributing to the DIY community.