MakerBot Industries

When we made MakerBot we made it so it would be hackable so that you could buy the pieces for a MakerBot and make different things with them, including different 3D printers. Chris Meyer has done just that. He’s put together a cool mill/reprap style design that utilizes the mostly assembled electronics to control it. AWESOME! Hackable MakerBot components for the win!

Gian Pablo got a MakerBot and has been hotrodding it. It’s BEAUTIFUL! He’s also done an amazing job of documenting it.

If you’re into MakerBot at all you’ll want to check out the following posts he’s made to his blog:

Calibrating Skeinforge
Making a MakerBot Part 1
Making a MakerBot Part 2 Terminal Block
Making a MakerBot Part 3 Heated Build Platform
Making a MakerBot Part 4 – Paxstruder

The Crashspace MakerBot crew out of LA put on an amazing performance at the handmade music night there.

From the MakerBot Music Google Group:

We had a Handmade Music event at CRASHSpace in Los Angeles. We currently have three MakerBots and had a performance of a piece written specifically for them by Frank Capodieci.

One thing that I discovered while processing the MIDI files into gcode – mid2cnc.py does not seem to handle rests/silences. The three MIDI files play back on the computer the same duration. The three gcode files had vastly different build times. The ppi setting did not affect the overall playback time, just the pitch of the individual notes.

This is a fantastic off-label use of a MakerBot! We designed the MakerBot with hackability as our top priority because we knew that if we made it so that people could hack it that they would do things with it way beyond what we could imagine. This is an amazing example of hacked excellence… the hacking just sounds so good!

Bio MakerBot from Joel BELOUET on Vimeo.

Extreme MakerBot Experimenter Extraordinaire Catarina from Altlab blogged about using the MakerBot as a platform for a digital microscope!

Joel Belouet has been working on an art piece involving microorganisms and needed a support structure for his microscope camera. It turns out the MakerBot sitting on our table was the solution.

At first Joel attached the camera to the z axis and the slide rested on the build platform, but it soon became clear that it would be much better to have the sample remain still and the camera move instead. Inverting the positions meant attaching the slide to the bottom of the z axis platform in order to prevent the camera lens from bumping against it. This setup also allowed him to use the z crank as a focus mechanism.

So we were happy with the physical setup which, in conjunction with ReplicatorG’s control panel, proved very useful for finding and tracking microorganisms within the sample.

But we also wanted to try an automated scan.

So the next step was to generate a path for the camera. We made a bunch of experiments with MakerBot’s Frostruder Tool Sweet, but eventually an stl + skeinforge, with a feedrate of 12 mm/m, turned out to be the best solution.

Finally, the microscope camera (which is a cheap webcam with a macro lens that Joel flipped upside down) was connected to his Processing script that records both video and stills from the incoming video feed.

Read more over on the altlab blog!

toothpaste on ceramic tile by CatarinaMota

There are so many awesome projects involving makerbots being tweeted about.  Check them out!

catlx: Joel’s Processing script to generate paths for #makerbot+microscope RT @i_ilinx Path_Maker 0.1 released ! http://bit.ly/bLy2cg

hugepedlar: My fermenter tap is leaking, so I printed a god damn PLUG for it on my makerbot. How awesome is that?

suiseikobo: 皿ネジを使って平らに作成したホットステージに、カプトンを貼った0.1mm厚のステンレス板を載せてプリ ント。その後ステンレス板を曲げてモデルを簡単に取り外せるライフハック。いかがですか？ http://yfrog.com/3u31fkj #CupcakeCNC

michaeluna: Makerbot 3-D printer, Eyebeam Gallery NYC http://twitpic.com/208jun

local_guru: Custom Cookie Cutters for the Makerbot: http://bit.ly/8YykQd

uxfeeds: Better Living With MakerBot – Episode 1: Kitchen Lamp: This is a short documentation of fixing my kitchen lamp with my MakerBot. http://url4.eu/50zv8

You may have seen this sweet addition to the MakerBot CupCake CNC if you’ve seen us lately at MakerFaire, ATX or at the BotCave- but now it’s available to everyone!  The Deluxe Filament Spindle Kit MK1 is the best way to improve the printing experience-  No hand adjusting the plastic!  We’ve solved this issue with a really snazzy lasercut box and spindle system and filament guide tube.  Just stack your Bot right on top of the box and your machine can extrude hands-free for days and days!  The pull from the extruder uncoils the filament so you can kick back and have another cup of coffee.  Or just work on the next thing you want to print!

Also good news, the Heated Build Platform V2 Kit is back in stock and will resume shipping after the weekend!  Have a great one!

Waag Society (waag.org), Premsela (premsela.org), Creative Commons (creativecommons.org) and Fablab ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fab_lab) have created the (Un)limited Design Contest, putting open design into practice, using digital fabrication as a starting point. At MakerBot and Thingiverse, we’re big fans of getting more digital designs into the world and this contest is designed to do just that. You can download and modify any of the designs entered into the contest. Plus, they are offering MakerBot kits for the winners! Great!

The (Un)limited Design Contest invites anybody — designers, makers, amateurs — to submit their own designs in the area of form, fashion, food and fusion. The contest winners will be revealed at a festive awards ceremony at the international PICNIC festival (picnicnetwork.com) on the 24th of September. The best design in each category wins a Makerbot 3D printer.

Unique about the (Un)limited Design Contest is that all designs are open for anybody to be used, reinterpreted and redesigned. These derivative designs are also entitled to take part in the contest — even more: copying and improving designs is strongly encouraged. It’s all about sharing creativity and expertise, all in the spirit of open design. Each entry’s instructions and blueprint will be made available on the contest website under a Creative Commons license.

Visit one of the Fablabs, or any other prototyping facility, before the 9th of September and enter the (Un)limited Design Contest with your digitally fabricated product.

Join the contest at www.unlimiteddesigncontest.org

hexagonal dress by Goof van Beek – winner 2009, fashion

Lullaby for a Makerbot from haeyoung kim on Vimeo.

Bubblyfish is working with us this summer researching the musical capabilities of the MakerBot and as far as I can tell this is the first original composition of music made specifically for the MakerBot. If you like this make sure to check out the rest of her videos.

From pathological to borderline acceptable in one firmware update

In case ReplicatorG hasn’t already notified you, there’s a new update to the motherboard firmware.  The v2.2 release includes the extruder packet retry code suggested by Miguel Angel, revnar, and others.  As you can see, it’s drastically reduced packet drops from our in-house Pathological Extruder Board, so just imagine what it will do for yours!  If you’ve had extruder comms issues, install it and give it a while.

This is just an update to the motherboard firmware– you don’t have to update anything on your extruder controller.

Happy printing, and let me know how the update works for you!

Joel Belouet and Catarina Mota have collaborated on what may be my favorite (and delicious) MakerBot project of all time. Using a MakerBot + Frostruder + Heated Build Platform they have managed to 3D print and cook a real cookie. That’s right: your MakerBot is capable of autonomous cookie creation from start to finish. MMM. Oh yeah, and check out the their hilarious documentation site.