MakerBot Industries

Paper rolls

I was chatting with a friend about the new “MakerBot party mode,” when I wondered if anyone had ever tried using a Unicorn in conjunction with an Automated Build Platform and a tape roll from a calculator. ¹²

I think it would be really cool to have something like this.  It could be used to run a Unicorn continuously, churning out little stick figures dancing on a roll of paper.  Or, perhaps, a novel written in reverse. ^34 5

I suspect in order to do this successfully you would need:

1. To run the Unicorn relatively slowly.  This way the paper wouldn’t be shoved out of shape too much as it rolled in
2. Only draw pictures within a relatively small area.  Again, so that the paper wouldn’t be shoved out of shape
3. The tape roll would have to run from somewhere outside the rear of the ‘bot.  The full roll would add a lot of mass to the XY platform.  I suppose this wouldn’t be a problem if you ran the Unicorn slowly enough.
4. A clamp might be needed to hold the tape roll to the motorized ABP axle.  This would help keep the paper in place as you print and also grip the paper when it needs to roll forward.  I suppose an alternative is to use a variation on the ABP that would
5. To re-write the Unicorn code so that it would move the paper forward as it printed.  It could advance the paper as little as one line at a time or roll through to a totally new section.

Did I miss anything?  What else might you need?

1. These still exist, right? [↩]
2. Photo courtesy of Steve Snodgrass [↩]
3. I would call it: “It Did Butler The”  A time traveling butler tries to clean up the past…  but ends up causing the disasters he seeks to prevent. [↩]
4. I have to say…  that doesn’t sound nearly as awful as I had intended it to be… [↩]
5. If you’re interested in the movie rights, e-mail me. [↩]

A close up remote

As a kid I received a few remote control toys.  Back then “remote control” was a funny term that wouldn’t be widely recognizable today. ¹  Imagine opening a toy race car – to find out that the remote control is really just a few dials with a reallllly long cord running to the back of the toy. ²  Yes, I suppose the control is, indeed, remote from the toy.

My point with all of this is that although something is technically true, it can still be a little deceptive.  According to a recent article from the TechTalk section on IEEE Spectrum MakerBot was one of only two 3D printers being displayed at CES 2011 in Las Vegas.  The other was a traditional inkjet printer except that it could blend two images so that you get a “3D” view when wearing those blue-red glasses.

So, how about a new slogan for MakerBot?  Perhaps something like, “You don’t need special glasses.”

1. Photo courtesy of jasleen_kaur [↩]
2. If you were lucky it was a long cord.  If you were unlucky, well, then I suppose there’s no real point in putting batteries in it, right? [↩]

We’ve talked about this before, but these amazing bracelets by nervoussystem are more than worthy of a blogpost of their own.

Everybody here at the Botcave is really psyched and very appreciative that nervoussystem took their designs and released them on Thingiverse for all of us to print out; these are some of the most impressive things that you can MakerBot, and are beautiful objects in their own right.  There are three different bracelet designs and each one is available in three sizes.

Thanks, nervoussystem!

Subdivision Bracelet by nervoussystem

We've decided to discontinue several bracelets from our Cell Cycle collection to make way for new designs. This is one of those designs. I've uploaded it in three sizes: small - inner diameter: 2.3in, inner circumference: 7.2in medium - inner diameter: 2.5in, inner circumference: 7.85in large - inner diameter: 2.7in, inner circumference: 8.5in Inspired by the complex forms of radiolarians, where intricate pattern is integral to structure, these shapes derive from a simulation of spring meshes which form mirrored catenoid surfaces. We created interactive software to morph, twist, and subdivide each design, transforming a simple mesh to a complex patterned structure.

This thing brought to you by

Regular bracelet by nervoussystem

We've decided to discontinue several bracelets from our Cell Cycle collection to make way for new designs. This is one of those designs. I've uploaded it in three sizes: small - inner diameter: 2.3in, inner circumference: 7.2in medium - inner diameter: 2.5in, inner circumference: 7.85in large - inner diameter: 2.7in, inner circumference: 8.5in Inspired by the complex forms of radiolarians, where intricate pattern is integral to structure, these shapes derive from a simulation of spring meshes which form mirrored catenoid surfaces. We created interactive software to morph, twist, and subdivide each design, transforming a simple mesh to a complex patterned structure.

This thing brought to you by

Diagrid Bracelet by nervoussystem

We've decided to discontinue several bracelets from our Cell Cycle collection to make way for new designs. This is one of those designs. I've uploaded it in three sizes: small - inner diameter: 2.3in, inner circumference: 7.2in medium - inner diameter: 2.5in, inner circumference: 7.85in large - inner diameter: 2.7in, inner circumference: 8.5in Inspired by the complex forms of radiolarians, where intricate pattern is integral to structure, these shapes derive from a simulation of spring meshes which form mirrored catenoid surfaces. We created interactive software to morph, twist, and subdivide each design, transforming a simple mesh to a complex patterned structure.

This thing brought to you by