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May 01 2012
A Tip From Westport Mini Maker Faire
A few colleagues and I had a truly great time up in Westport, Connecticut last weekend, where we were part of that state’s first ever Maker Faire event. This Mini Maker Faire was held on the giant lawn outside the Westport Public Library. The only downside there was that a bunch of the guests and makers at Saturday’s event probably didn’t get a chance to go inside that gorgeous facility.
Anyway, I just wanted to thank everyone for stopping by to see us. I learned a lot from all the visitors to our table. For example, Dr. Raimund Herzog stopped by to discuss some challenges he was facing with his Thing-O-Matic extruder. He didn’t realize it, but he was giving me an education in the history of extruders.
Ray also shared a really helpful tip that I think bears re-mentioning on the blog: when assembling your TOM, it’s always a good idea to have a magnetic wand on hand, such as the one he received along with his Weller soldering station.
If you’re about to embark on an assembly adventure, get one of these. I assembled a Replicator the other day and found myself wishing I had one on hand. The guys and girls in the Bot Cave use them a lot, in case you’re wondering about the tools of the trade.
Here’s a shot of Ray showing us how useful this tool was in putting together his Filament Spindle Box, and another shot below it from our Support pages showing another angle.
Thanks, Ray!
April 26 2012
Print Your Hobby: MakerBotting For Aquariums
There are two excellent posts from Shane Graber, or sgraber on Thingiverse, about using a MakerBot for your aquarium. The first of these is a general introduction to aquarium owners themselves as to why 3D printing can be useful for that hobby. I have to be honest, I had never thought about it, but Shane makes a pretty good case:
Picture this: It’s late Saturday night and you hear a noise coming from your fish room. Upon investigation, you find your return pump is buzzing loudly and not pumping water. “Huh? What’s going on here?!” You disassemble the pump and discover that an impeller blade has sheared off, and you don’t have a replacement on hand. … However, you are no ordinary hobbyist because you have a 3D printer at your disposal. You fire up your favorite modeling program and quickly model a replacement impeller then hit the [Print] button. The printer begins spitting out molten plastic. 15 minutes later you are fitting your replacement impeller in place and have saved yourself a lot of heartache and worry — and possibly the lives of many critters in your tank.
Well gosh, when you put it that way. Printing replacement parts is always a compelling reason to have a MakerBot at home. It’s even more compelling when it’s a matter of life and death!
Today Shane posted another great piece on Advanced Aquarist about 3D printing parts for the entire process of fragging and propagating coral in your aquarium. I know what you’re thinking: if only that previous sentence had more ‘p’ and ‘r’ sounds. I’ll try harder.
The post is a great tutorial in fragging, showing you different kinds of plugs you could use and why, and explaining that for parts you want to sink in saltwater, PLA is a better option than ABS. Shane printed all these parts on his Cupcake CNC, including the coral frag plugs that he designed, and they look fantastic. It’s also so interesting to hear about this application of 3D printing that I had never considered.
What is your hobby? How much of what you do for that hobby could be printed on a MakerBot?
April 24 2012
Reverse Engineering Shaped Balloons With 3D Printing!
Creative Commons License Photo Credit: Lutz-R. Frank via Compfight
How amazing would it be to be able to have a balloon in any shape? What would you want? A piano? A cartoon character? A giant bouncy house?
The New Scientist just reported that a team at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology and Disney Research has developed a method for taking any desired 3D shape, then using their research on how a rubber balloon stretches as it inflates, reverse engineers the deflated shape that would most closely lead to the desired inflated balloon. Then, once they have the model for the deflated balloon, they create a mold for it using a 3D printer! If you just can’t wait to learn more, they’re presenting their work at the Eurographics conference in Italy next month.
Thanks to Luis Rodriguez for the link!
March 29 2012
From The Fields Of The BotFarm, We Bring You A Doggie Wheelchair!
Today we have a guest post from one of MakerBot’s awesome interns, Rebecca Hillegass. Rebecca and her comrade Jason Schapiro will be updating us from time to time on their work on the BotFarm. In this post, we hear how Rebecca used her MakerBot resources to help a friend get back on his feet.
A little background – After losing control of his back legs, my puppy, Freddy, was diagnosed with degenerative disk disease. It was unclear if he would regain the ability to walk normally. My first thought was to design and 3D-print a wheelchair to help him out. As an intern at MakerBot, I’ve gotten a lot of exposure to 3D designing and working with the bots. I was eager to apply this knowledge to my own side project.
Building Blocks by MathematicalGastronomist, in the shape of a doggie wheelchair
The frame of the wheelchair is completely made out of 3D-printed rods and connectors, which were designed using OpenSCAD (check out the files here on Thingiverse). The designs emulate building blocks, allowing the wheelchair to be easily customizable for any size dog. In addition, the blocks and connectors have built-in holes for M3 screws so that all the parts can be securely fastened together. After I printed and constructed the frame of the wheelchair from these building pieces, I brought it home, attached wheels, and designed a layout for the fabric that would be both supportive and comfortable for Fred.
I picked up stretch knit fabric, velcro, and strapping material from Jo-Ann’s Fabrics and Crafts and sized the pieces so that they were the proper dimensions for the wheelchair. I chose stretch strapping and fabric so that it would be most comfortable for Fred. I draped the knit fabric over the two sides of the wheelchair and velcro-ed it to the side rods. I also stitched the fabric around the side rods for extra support. I left space between the end of the fabric and the back of the frame for Freddy’s legs. My plan was to then criss-cross the material between his back legs to hoist them off the ground, but I got a little stuck on the last part, and haven’t had much time to go back to the drawing board yet. (Another idea I’ve recently considered is draping fabric along the bottom of the frame – in front of the wheels – to allow his legs to rest on the suspended fabric instead of on the ground).
As for wheels, I originally attached them directly to the bottom of the frame, but am now considering picking up spoke-wheels with larger diameters to attach onto the sides of the frame (this time incorporating an axle into the construction). I previously dismissed this idea because I wanted wheels that could swivel to provide a larger range of motion. However, the axle construction seems more stable.
As you can see, this project is still a work in progress – if you have any experience with doggie wheelchairs, or any ideas of how to create a supportive fabric framework, I’m eager to hear suggestions!
Also, a disclaimer: I can’t vouch for the reliability or safety of the wheelchair since it’s still in testing stages, but I hope one day it can be a cheaper alternative for those makers who need to help out their furry friends.
PS: Freddy is taking physical therapy like a champ – doing better everyday!
Special thanks to my fellow intern, Jason Schapiro, for helping out with the project!
March 27 2012
FFL Gives How To Tips On Putting MakerBots In Libraries
You may already know that our friends at the Fayetteville Free Library launched the first ever makerspace within a public library. The “Fab Lab” includes two of our MakerBot Thing-O-Matics. If you haven’t heard, definitely read the writeup on their page. It provides a nice distinction between their lab and the larger world of makerspaces.
On Friday, FFL’s Transliteracy Development Director Lauren Britton — whose school project became what is now the Fabulous Lab at FFL — spoke at the Computers in Libraries 2012 conference in Washington, DC. Library commentator David Lee King took some quick notes on the talk, and I thought it was interesting that among her points was a pricing strategy for use of the TOM’s:
they’re using a time strategy – first 10 minutes of printing is free, then 10-15 cents a minute after that.
If you want to know more about the CIL conference, they’re hashtagging it #CILDC on twitter.
March 26 2012
You’ve Come A Long Way, Baby!
Check out @schmarty‘s photo of his three generations of MakerBot. Left to right: Cupcake CNC #131, Thing-O-Matic #5564, and Replicator #7516. What a handsome family!
You can check out the evolution of Schmarty’s Things on Thingiverse, too.
February 25 2012
February 08 2012
January 14 2012
January 09 2012
Introducing The MakerBot Replicator™
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 10, 2012 (Brooklyn, NY) – MakerBot Industries is excited to announce the launch of its latest product, The MakerBot Replicator™, which will debut at CES in Las Vegas, NV on Tuesday, January 10th. Available in the MakerBot store for pre-order today!
The MakerBot Replicator™ is the ultimate personal 3D printer, with MakerBot Dualstrusion™ (2-color printing) and a bigger printing footprint, giving you the superpower to print things BIG! Assembled in Brooklyn by skilled technicians, the MakerBot Replicator™ is ready within minutes to start printing right out of the box. Starting at $1749, The MakerBot Replicator™ is an affordable, open source 3D printer that is compact enough to sit on your desktop. Want to print in two colors? Choose the Dualstrusion™ option!
With a build envelope that’s roughly the size of a loaf of bread, The MakerBot Replicator™ gives you the power to go big. Make an entire chess set with the press of a button. Friends, classmates, co-workers, and family will see the things you make and say “Wow!”
The MakerBot Replicator™ creates anything you can imagine with the new MakerBot Stepstruder™ MK8, the extruder is the part of the machine that turns raw feedstock, like ABS (what Lego® is made of) or PLA (a biodegradable material made from corn), into the objects you desire. You can order your MakerBot Replicator™ with single or dual MakerBot Stepstruders on it. By choosing the dual extrusion option, you’ll print with two different colors at the same time. MakerBot Dualstrusion™ unlocks the ability to make beautiful combinations of colors and opens the door to experimenting with with multi-material objects.
The MakerBot Replicator™ is ideal for personalized manufacturing, providing a new way to make the things you want and need. It is also an essential tool for children and students; parents and educators with a MakerBot Replicator™ offer the next generation an opportunity to learn the digital designing skills required to solve the problems of the future. Students with access to a MakerBot have an edge in the future job market. Just like the youth of the 1980’s, who had access to computers, children with access to a MakerBot Replicator™ will become the leaders who make a better tomorrow.
The MakerBot Replicator™ is the tool from tomorrow, today. In the two years since the company was founded, the capabilities of a MakerBot have grown from printing cupcake-sized objects in 2009 to printing things as large as an entire loaf of bread today on on the MakerBot Replicator™. MakerBot Industries continues to demonstrate its dedication to putting the tools of creativity into the hands of the those brilliant and bold enough to bring their imagination into the physical world.
Press Kit: View and download photos of The MakerBot Replicator™
View product specs and pre-order your MakerBot Replicator™ today!
December 17 2011
December 05 2011
Tent Repair
Children's Tent Joiner by darthcarter
Thingiverse citizen darthcarter has shared their designs for this Children’s Tent Joiner. Darthcarter’s friend’s children had broken a corner bracket for their play tent and this quick printing fix is the solution.
What struck me about this fix is that I remember fixing a friend’s kid’s tent about two years before I had purchased my first 3D printer. Unlike the elegant fix1 above, my solution was a mess of tape, plastic cut from a 2-liter bottle, was frustrating to create, and didn’t work very long at all. 2
What would you have fixed if only you had a 3D printer at your disposal?
- Seriously, that’s probably seven lines of code!
- Then again, not much works for very long once you toss a 2-year-old inside…
November 06 2011
November 02 2011
September 16 2011
Dorm Essentials – a 3D Printer
Dorm Doorstop by Tetnum
Tetnum and his fellow college dorm students tried every doorstop he could find to work on their doors to no avail. The commercial doorstops were too short, would slide, or just plain didn’t work.1 The ones on Thingiverse were getting destroyed by the door closers. Undaunted, Tetnum designed and printed on his trusty MakeBot Cupcake CNC a taller gripping door stop that incorporated the school’s logo.
My cupcake has been running nonstop to make enough for my floor. the doorstops have been in use for 4 weeks and are all holding up.
I could totally see this doorstop as a must-have dorm essential for any incoming college freshman. It’s thin and can be stowed away anywhere in a small dorm room, useful for keeping the door open or from letting it swing open accidentally, and personalized for their college. In a dorm room where space is at an absolute premium, it makes sense to have a 3D printer where you can create objects on demand, rather than have to stock up on things in advance. Rock on Tetnum!
- Do you remember that super-low pile carpet from dorm rooms?
August 10 2011
Yao Xiao’s Amazing Line Art
One-line portrait of a MakerBot by Yao Xiao
Here’s an amazing one-line drawing of a MakerBot Thing-O-Matic by Yao Xiao. Fluid and evocative, this single-line drawing does an amazing job of conveying the essence of a 3D printer. But, I wonder…
Who’s ready to upload a Unicorn pen plotter TSP single-line drawing of Yao Xiao to Thingiverse?
Thanks to Molly Crabapple for the tip!1
- Get your own Molly Crabapple here!
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