Research

UNC-Chapel Hill is a premier research university, conducting over a billion dollars of sponsored research each year. BeAM@Carolina is here to help researchers achieve their objectives by providing resources and educational opportunities to expand their skillset and prototype, all at little to no cost to you.

BeAM provides access to digital and traditional fabrication tools for free and offers a selection of materials—including 3D Printer filament—at no cost to the user.

Recent Research Enhanced by BeAM

Lockett Lab (Chemistry) Published in Analytical Chemistry: A pH-Sensing Optode for Mapping Spatiotemporal Gradients in 3D Paper-Based Cell Cultures
Marchesan Lab (School of Dentistry) Published in Nature Protocols: An experimental murine model to study periodontitis

Engineering, Design and Prototyping Services

The BeAM Design Center facilitates and complements research of all types by providing engineering consultation, design, fabrication and prototyping. Submit a work request to the BeAM Design Center!

Featured Technology

BeAM offers 14 Ultimaker 3 printers in the Murray makerspace, and 24 Ultimaker 3 printers in the Carmichael makerspace.
The nGen Flex 3D Printer station is set up for projects that require semi-flexible parts. This station has a Lulzbot Mini loaded with nGen Flex filament. The filament’s Shore Hardness = 95A.
The Ultimaker S3 printer is a step above the rest of our fleet. It is more robust, can use a variety of filament types, and capable of printing layers as small as 0.001 inch.
The NinjaFlex 3D printer station is set up for projects requiring very flexible printed parts with high elongation. This station has a Lulzbot Mini loaded with Ninjaflex filament. The filament’s Shore Hardness = 85A.

Researcher FAQs

Anything that is housed in BeAM is available to researchers! Our most popular tools for researchers include 3D printers and laser cutters. But we also have knife plotters for cutting gaskets or other materials, electronics prototyping equipment and consumables, and CNC machines.

Yes, please use our reservation system to schedule a time to visit our makerspaces. Reserving times in advance ensures that you will have access to the tools you need to use. We also welcome walk-ins during our open hours for research, but you may not be able to access the tools you need if someone else has already reserved them.

Awesome! It sounds like you might benefit from a consultation with our staff. Fill out the contact form at the bottom of the page to get in touch. A consultation is a one-on-one meeting with a senior staff member who is competent in either experimental design or the technique you are interested in. If you don’t want to wait, stop into the makerspace and chat with whoever’s on duty—they may be able to point you in the right direction!

Mostly, yes! If it is safe to use your material with our equipment, then we can usually accommodate your request. Fill out the contact form below, or email beam@unc.edu.

Email beam@unc.edu and we will see if we can accommodate your request. All trainings on the website are first come, first served, so if your group is small, you can show up early to any training and take it together. If your group is larger, or has a specific request as a part of a training curriculum, we will work with you to see if it’s possible. Generally, we need a month’s notice to schedule a special event for a group.

Yes! Please visit the BeAM Design Center website and submit a request there. Email design.center@unc.edu with questions or to set up a consultation appointment.

Yes! Check the BeAM calendar to see what’s being offered. Research workshops are also advertised on the BeAM listserv so click here to sign up for that! Alternatively, you can email listmanager@listserv.unc.edu with “subscribe beam_members” in the body of the message. If you are interested in collaborating with BeAM to provide a workshop to the research community, please contact beam@unc.edu.

Congratulations and thanks for including us in your acknowledgements. Please include is as “the Be A Maker (BeAM) network of makerspaces” at UNC Chapel Hill. Also, please email anna@beam.unc.edu a copy/link to your publication!