MakerBot Industries

We’ve now finished shipping Batch #14, over two weeks ahead of schedule! We’re also well into shipping Batch #15, which is also now two weeks ahead of schedule. As usual, I can’t tell you exactly when your CupCake will ship, but I can tell you that we are currently on track to meet our stated deadline of the middle-of-May for this batch. We’re working very hard to ship you your CupCakes as soon as possible while still meeting our stringent quality standards.

Seizing the Means of Production!

If you haven’t entered the Make/MakerBot giveaway, you have a week left to upload a thing to Thingiverse! 247 things have been entered into the contest so far. AWESOME!

Great post up about MakerBot from my time at Re:Publica in Germany.

About half the people who order the devices are, according to Pettis, are programmers or could be classified as “geeks”. But there were also enough people with no technology background, which would order the 3-D Printer, “They simply want to live in the future.”

It’s in German and here’s a translated webpage into English

The folks in Washington state are rocking it these days. Kevin, who is in the Learn Make Cupcake group at the University of Washington has been printing Mendel parts like mad and added a nice hack to his extruder to stop busting out PTFE barriers.

via LearnMakeCupcake: Playing Ketchup.

One of the MakerBots over at the University of Washington is getting a workout!

This weekend our MakerBot got a big work out as we had the College of Engineering Open House (now called Discovery Days). Belinda — one of the team members designed a “give away part” which was a little W. Belinda started making hundreds of the little W’s. The MakerBot ran almost non-stop for three days. All-in-all, it was a great performance.

via Open3DP (Open 3D Printing).

Philip Steffan runs an interesting space starting up in Berlin called Open Design City, and he gave a presentation about MakerBot at the first Ignite in Berlin!

A few years ago, I started Ignite with my friend Brady to bring geeks together in Seattle. Brady has stuck with it and grown Ignite into a worldwide phenomenon. Recently, MakerBot Operator Cathal Garvey spoke at an Ignite event in Ireland and gave a great presentation! Watch it!

According to the MakerBot map, where MakerBot Operators can share their approximate location of their MakerBot, there are more MakerBots clustered in Seattle than any other place on earth. It’s arguable that the greater San Francisco area has more, but you have to go pretty far and include Sacramento. There are lots of MakerBots out there that aren’t on the map, but this is what we have to go by right now! Is your MakerBot on the map?

Makerbot Operators,

We have shipped a number of CupCake CNC kits with a minor defect. This defect is easily remedied and is well within the scope of the MakerBot operator to implement.

Products Affected

The issue is relatively minor which affects CupCakes with a Serial Number of 982 and above. This includes part of Batch #13 and all of Batch #14. Batch #15 should be unaffected.

Description of the Problem

An incorrect X-Cap has been included in the CupCake CNC Lasercut parts kit. The bolt holes on this part do not line up with the bolt holes on the mating part, the X-Back. As such, you are unable to bolt the X-Cap to the X-Back. See the photo below which shows the misaligned holes. (Please note that two identical X-Caps are included. The X-Front will correctly mate with one of the X-Caps).

Solution

The problem is easily fixed. MakerBot Operators who have purchased one of the affected kits may pursue one of the following options:

1. Drill new holes in the X-Back, using the X-Cap as a template.
2. Glue the X-Cap to the X-Back.
3. Contact MakerBot for a free replacement X-Cap (email contact@makerbot.com).

All CupCake CNC’s in Batch #14 which have shipped to date have a replacement X-Cap included.

Instructions for Drilling Holes in the X-Back

If you decide to pursue this option, here is how you should drill holes in the X-Back:

Step 1: Place the X-Cap on top of the X-Back and carefully align the top edges as shown.

Step 2: Using a 3mm drill bit, drill two holes into the X-Back, in the same location as the holes in the X-Cap.

Thanks for working with us to fix this issue and thanks for your loyalty! The fix is plain and simple and your bots should be up and running in no-time.

It’s fun to take a MakerBot out into the world and blow people’s minds with 3D printing! I have a whole routine around taking a MakerBot out and about. Here are some tips and trips I wrote down for you for when you travel with a MakerBot.

• For short trips around town, I just tuck the cords away, throw my tools and plastic in a backpack and carry it as is. Its very fun carrying it on the public transit and always starts conversations.
• For longer trips, you’ll want a Pelican 1620 case which is the best investment I’ve ever made in travel gear. Between me and the baggage handlers, we’ve  brutalized this case and it has kept my MakerBot safe. The weight of the pelican with everything in it is always 42 pounds.
• Be nice to the people at the airport. Always explain that you have a 3D printing robot with you and would be happy to tell the TSA about it and answer any questions. Bonus points for converting them into Operators. I’ve seen TSA folks deal with the most unpleasant people in the world. If you are friendly and use your best manners, it goes a long way with them. Having an awesome robot in a bag can make you a ray of sunshine in their day.
• Having a copy of Make: Magazine with the MakerBot on the cover helps explain what a MakerBot is to TSA type folks.
• I pack a box with tools and a spare parts kit. I bring a small screwdriver, pliers, metric allen keys, flashlight, tweezers, xacto knife, sd card reader, extra ethernet cable, extra ttl cable, a pen, kapton tape and some blue tape. I also throw in a little baggy of extra m5 and m3 nuts and bolts. All this goes in the checked pelican case.
• I take about 2-3 pounds of plastic. The most I can go through in a week is less than  a pound printing full time, but you never know when an Icelandic Volcano is going to keep you stranded in Berlin for an extra 5-1000 days. (Knocking on wood that I get home on Friday)
• I use a heated build platform with sanded down kapton, but I always bring an acrylic platform as a backup.
• I bring a spare parts kit and an extra plastruder with an extra extruder controller on it when I’m going to be away for a while. MakerBot plastruders can be fussy. I’m good at building them reliable  and I haven’t needed my spare in a long time, but it’s always handy to have one spare so I can just switch them up if I get a jam or the teeth need flossing. I like to be prepared for worst case scenarios.
• It’s always great to have a bunch of printed parts to show including a bottle opener, eliptical gears, unfold’s head, and the whale tooth.
• My laptop works as a boombox to play daft punk and ward away gremlins.
• Check the regional groups page to see if the place you’re visiting has a MakerBot community, connect with them!

What would you add to this list? Make your own suggestions in the comments!

Photo Credit: kk+ took this at Gnomedex last year.