Arch Reactor

Log in

A commitment to creating and knowledge sharing.

Our mission is to provide an uninhibited environment that promotes creativity and learning to any and all potential makers and hackers. We achieve this with our combination of collaborative work space, public classes, and the extensive knowledge base of our members.

About us

The only Constant is Change

Arch Reactor is a constantly evolving organization, the tools-on-hand are ever changing and improving, driven by member initiatives.

Wood working

Power tools, hand tools, and specialty tools allow making just about anything out of wood

Metal working

Metal working capabilities expand and improve almost weekly as member make the tools they need

Textiles

From standard machines to industrial sewing that can handle denim and leather open many possibilities

3D printing

Several filament based 3D printers and resin printers are available, supporting projects up to 500mm3

Laser Engraving

With a 3ftx4ft cutting area our CO2 laser can cut and engrave large projects with ease

And more

Vinyl cutters, soldering, oscilloscopes, lapidary, and more!

Our 5000 ft2 reaction chamber contains a Shop full of equipment, a Lab to work on your projects, a Classroom to enrich your mind, and a Lounge where ideas can fuse together. Our space is a community workshop where members learn, collaborate, and bring ideas to life. Our members keep everything running, and our community is always working to improve the space.

Lab Area

The Lab area features a lot of table space for everyone to work on their projects in a low-dust environment. There are also many tools for working on electronics and other clean projects, including a soldering station, vinyl cutter, 3D printers, and an 80W laser cutter. There are shelves where members can keep a private tote, and an assortment of salvaged and donated parts available for anyone to use. 

Classroom

The classroom seats over 20 students in a clean and quiet space conducive to learning. It is not completely finished, but it is functional and we have been using it to hold classes. We currently have two large flat panel displays on the walls for presentations. We expect in the future to add a large projector screen, white boards, a wireless microphone system, and a live streaming camera all available for any class. 

Lounge

The lounge will be a cozy area for everyone to relax and socialize in. We currently have a fridge full of soda and a freezer with pizza, and we hope to soon have a full kitchenette. There are couches and comfy chairs, a MAME machine, and soon there will be a console gaming area as well.

Shop

Many of us urbanites don’t have garages to tinker in, which is why we have a fully featured shop in our space, including saws, vices, grinders, lathes, drill presses, planers, welders, kilns, forges and all the tools we need to create. Some tools are owned by the organization, but most are owned by our members and shared. Use of the shop is restricted to members, and you must always be trained before using a new tool.

“A co-op workshop for techies, tinkerers, and free thinkers.”

Evan S. Benn

St. Louis Post-Dispatch

  • Arch Reactor shared “innovation” with the Freshman class of Principia Boarding School

    Arch Reactor shared “innovation” with the Freshman class of Principia Boarding School

    —

    by

    Kim Stahl

    Freshman class at Principia Boarding School in Town and Country, Missouri get a week long taste of what St. Louis area has to offer and explores the city in themes of art, science, innovation, history.   This year, the school’s STEM lab leader Mr. Tommie Trailor along with fellow teacher Mr. Columbo led groups of 10…

  • Arch Reactor Board of Directors 2021 Election

    —

    by

    Kamikaze Joe

    Arch Reactor holds annual elections for the board around this time.  Like most things in life right now, we are in need of making some adjustments. The board, along with several active members’ input, have unanimously decided there is not a practical way to hold elections as they are traditionally conducted this year.  As those…

  • Holiday Open Build Hours

    —

    by

    Arch Reactor Treasurer

    For any supporting members who want to work on holiday projects, the space will be open 7PM – 9PM Monday through Friday this week. Full memebers are welcome as well, of course.   No reservations required, but if too many people show up you may have to wait outside (or come back later).

  • Sewing Update!

    —

    by

    Diane Sudduth

    Sewing Machine Cabinet – Closed   Big update for anyone hoping to sew at Arch Reactor, our machine is back from it’s clearning/calibration!    Back in September, Arch Reactor was able to purchase a vintage Elna Special machine with its original cabinet.   AR had been borrowing a similar machine from one of our members for…

  • SMALL Business Week & Conference!

    —

    by

    Kim Stahl

    Register for SBA’s virtual conference on September 22-24 during National #SmallBusinessWeek. The event will feature presentations by business experts, mentoring, and virtual networking all designed to help entrepreneurs retool, pivot, and come back stronger than ever before. → www.sba.gov/nsbw  

  • HOPE 2020 – FREE Now until August 2nd

    —

    by

    Kim Stahl

    MEMBERS this is awesome!  It’s talks, workshops, and performances of the hackerspace/ makerspace variety and it’s completely FREE to JOIN! HOPE 2020 — the 13th Hackers On Planet Earth conference has started!  9 very full days of talks, workshops, and performances. All of the talks are live-streamed for free. Please enjoy! 🙂 https://hope.net

  • Tuesday and Sunday Nights Now Open

    —

    by

    Derek Sigler

    We are now opening Tuesday and Sunday evenings 7 to 11 PM.  In an effort to maintain suggested guideline we ask you to not come if you feel unwell, keep 6 feet distance and wear a mask.  We are also limiting our occupancy to 10 individuals.  If you would like to visit as either a…

  • NOMcon Virtual Conference going on this week until Saturday! Here’s what you’re missing:

    NOMcon Virtual Conference going on this week until Saturday! Here’s what you’re missing:

    —

    by

    Kim Stahl

      Wow! What an amazing NOMCON we’ve had so far. We started Day 1 off with a fantastic Keynote by Dr. Leah Hanes from Two Bit Circus Foundation, celebrated the amazing Infy Maker Award recipients, and launched into a full day of incredible panels, roundtables, workshops, spark sessions and fireside chats. We finished our incredible…

  • Tonight’s Business Meeting LINK below

    —

    by

    Kim Stahl

    Hey everyone, https://meet.jit.si/AR_Tuesday   Just an FYI: Derek has changed tonight’s meeting back to the general Tuesday meeting link (if you recieved the Newsletter).  If you would like to recieve or no longer recieve the newsletter, please email PR@archreactor.org See you on tonight’s video call Business Meeting @ 8pm.    

Become a Member

Learn, Teach, Make

Sign up