MakerBot Industries

We’re a fast growing robotics startup and we’re looking to add motivated production and shipping technicians to our team. Here is the scoop on the open positions:

Duties & Responsibilities:
- Manual assembly of small products and kits
- Picking, Packing and Shipping customer orders
- Maintaining accurate inventory counts in our computer system
- Restocking supplies from warehouse

Requirements:
- Detail oriented. You pride yourself on getting it right every time.
- Self-motivator with a strong work ethic, and able to work in a fast paced environment
- Rock solid computer skills (e.g. Windows, Office, Internet)
- Experience using UPS Worldship shipping software or equivalent
- 2-5 years experience picking, packing and shipping customer orders
- Able to lift 35 lbs

Bonus Qualifications:
- Experience using different types of shipping software (e.g. DHL, Endicia)
- Past experience or interest in robotics and 3D Printing
- Experience in shipping products for a large company

This position is full time 40 hours per week, the pay is $12/hour.

We offer a fun working environment, a steady paycheck and the opportunity to be a part of the next manufacturing revolution.

If you’re interested, please email us your resume along with a brief explanation of why you want to work with us and how your qualifications & experience will add value to our company. hiring (at) makerbot.com

Your MakerBot will never look like this.

I would argue it is not really possible to ruin a MakerBot. ¹²

I found coasterman‘s descriptions of the MakerBot Thing Mount Hanging³ to be particularly thought provoking.  I suppose you could destroy a wooden piece if you really tried – crack, break, weaken, chip, sand, or drill it.  However, when you can literally print a replacement part for any wooden component, none of these possibilities should be scary.  Even stripping teeth out of a belt or gear, stripping the threads on a bolt or nut, crushing some delicate part, frying a board…  none of these are catastrophic.  If you built your own 3D printer from all the components in a kit, there’s nothing that can go so terribly wrong that it can’t be fixed with some some TLC and maybe a new component or two.  Burn out your extruder board?  Unsolder the burned out part, solder in the new $5 component.

In a world where you really could find or fabricate a new part for something, what does the word “ruin” even mean?  I would propose “ruin” means something that has been damaged so badly that it is cheaper to scrap than fix.  Yes, you can damage a car, refrigerator, laser printer, or cell phone so badly that it is cheaper to get a new one. ⁴  Those things can be ruined.

But, my MakerBot?  Nah.  I’d hate to see it happen, but even something bad happened to it, this little robot can help rebuild itself.  Possibly, even with a few upgrades…

1. Then again, if you paid me enough, I would argue yes.  But, my heart wouldn’t really be in it. [↩]
2. Photo courtesy of archer10 [↩]
3. And the comments! [↩]
4. Although, in at least two of those scenarios – the laser printer and the cell phone, you’re probably competing with subsidies or business models creating artificially low replacement costs. [↩]

Chris Palmer's SlideTab Surface Creation System

Chris Palmer is an origami designer and artist who was among those modern origami designers featured in the documentary Between The Folds by Vanessa Gould. ¹  His most recent contribution to Thingiverse is a SlideTab Surface Creation System designed to replace the usual glue-tab-A-to-flap-A flat materials assembly system.  You have to check out the numerous hats Chris assembled out of this system and Flickr slideshow. ²

Here’s what I thought when I saw his surface creation system – a modular board game where the board could be assembled into a sphere.³

1. This is a must-include for your Netflix queue. [↩]
2. Think: Taj Majal [↩]
3. Or, near enough to a sphere for the casual gamer. [↩]

Will Smith of Tested.com interviewed Bre Pettis at CES 2011 in Las Vegas over the weekend! Bre and Will discussed the improvements of the Thing-O-Matic over the Cupcake CNC as well as share a few printing war stories. ¹

1. My favorite quote from this interview: “4th grade math, happening right here!” [↩]

Makerbot your way to your New Years resolution

Thingiverse champion Pattywac has another challenge for you!¹  The chosen design will receive $50.00 from Pattywac and $100.00 in MakerBot store credit provided by MakerBot Industries!  Here are the details:

All submissions to this challenge must be related in some way to a New Years Resolution

Rules:

1. Needs to be printable (at least partly… Unicorns and Frostruders included) on a Makerbot
2. Needs to have something to do with a New Years Resolution
3. Post submissions on Thingiverse by 8pm CST on Jan 30, 2010.
4. Multiple entries are allowed, but they must be distinct from one another.
5. To enter be sure and tag your Thing with the word “NewYears2011”

The entries will be judged using the following criteria:

• Number of Likes on Thingiverse
• Number of times it has been made by someone else
• Average Thingiverse rating
• Makerbot printability (not just fitting it in the space but also how many separate prints are required)
• Effort put into design (based on testing and revisions (if at all needed), how well does it fit the challenge)
• Mechanical design (based on # of pieces, possible modes for failure, etc)
• Does it build on previous challenge winners?
• Future for use in other Thingiverse designs
• Are multiple (editable) file formats provided?

1. Photo courtesy of Seb Cooper [↩]

Seriously, who else thought of The Cure’s “Lullaby” when they saw this clip? ¹ And, I mean, that scritch scratchy sound? It wouldn’t be scarier if it were made of fingernails and crawling up a blackboard…
Special thanks to moleofproduction for this seriously creepy ModHex and endless therapy bills.

1. The spiderman is always… hungry [↩]

Vertices and diameter suggestions

A little over a year ago Nick Ames put together this handy graphic demonstrating his recommendations for designing printable objects with small holes.  The reason this is even a concern is that a printer’s hardware takes longer to calculate the print head’s path on objects that are closer to a true circle. ¹  If the calculations are taking too long then the extruder may end up depositing a little bit of extra plastic causing “blobbies.”  This is definitely not a big problem and merely requires some extra clean up which is easily accomplished with a drill bit or sanding.

I would offer a few caveats to Nick’s recommendations.  First, the slower you’re printing the less this is an issue.

Second, these recommendations are really only relevant to vertical holes.  If you’ve got a hole running in the XY plane, there are other considerations – like overhang issues.  For small M3 size holes in the XY plane, I use a high-vertex count polygon or even a true circle.  In those instances the holes are so small that overhangs aren’t a big deal.  And since the hole is being sliced on its side, the hardware doesn’t have to perform a lot of tough calculations.

Third, unless there’s a cosmetic reason go ahead and print with the smallest vertex count polygon your design permits.  There probably won’t be a structural difference and you’ll have less clean up post-printing.

A special thanks and kudos to Jordan Mills for finding Nick’s post and graphic for me!

1. The RepRap wiki has a lot of math explaining what’s going on here. [↩]

Apple made with 3D printing technology, Apple Core Stop Motion Video Art

“Het Klokhuis” (The Apple Core) is a Dutch youth science show which covers all sorts of sciencey things.¹ The interesting thing about their stop motion animation introduction sequence is that it uses 3D printed models!

1. Photo from creativereview.co.uk [↩]

Having 3D printing enthusiasts tout 3D printing as the next big thing for 2011 isn’t exactly surprising.

What about a company with a track record of trend picking?  Take a gander at JWT Worldwide’s slide show on the “100 things to watch in 2011.”  Oh, what’s right there, way at the top?

That’s right, 3D printing clocking in as the #1 thing to watch for the coming year!