MakerBot Industries

Thanks to all the MakerBot Operators who came to the Botcave last night for out MakerBot User Group New York meeting. We had a blast meeting all of you, hearing your MakerBot experiences and sharing pizza and LEDs!

MakerBot users explored the Botfarm and were 3D scanned and printed with Kyle McDonald’s 3D Photo Booth.  Highlights also included a MakerBot user show and tell, and a demonstration by our first artist-in-residence, Marius Watz.

Stay tuned to the blog for future MakerBot User Group events!

Lazzor + Cardboard + Bag?

The hour grows late dear friends!  I’m pretty sure no one has anything import due around April 14th or anything.  And, even if you do, a great way to avoid adult responsibilities is to take part in Thingiverse champion Twotimes’ Cardboard Bags design challenge.  There’s even $150.00 on the line in cash and MakerBot store credit!

So, go read up on the rules, upload your best designs, tag them with “cutbag” and then cross your fingers!

The deadline is April 15, 2011!

Robot Film Festival in New York!

You may remember Heather Knight from her awesome Botacon talk entitled, “Robotic Touch: Capacitive Sensing to Understand Human Body Language.”  Well, she’s organized a film festival!  Wait for it…  a film festival…  about ROBOTS!¹

The Robot Film Festival was founded by roboticist Heather Knight of Marilyn Monrobot to inject a sense of playfulness into traditional science and engineering and explore new frontiers for robotics before the technology is even possible.

The event itself is a two-day festival July 9-10 taking place at Three Legged Dog theater in lower Manhattan.  In addition to the juried film screenings, there will be a live performances, cocktail and coffee mixers throughout AND a red carpet award ceremony with interactive installations and uniquely designed ‘botsker’ awards.  Don’t forget your party shoes (or wheels)!

Please submit your outstanding, dazzling, hilarious or thought-provoking short film.  JUST ONE REQUIREMENT: please feature a robot as one of the main characters as or framing devices of the narrative. Films should be less than 8 minutes long.

Deadline: June 5, 2011!

Follow us on twitter for the latest details: @robotfilmfest

1. Yeah, I know the title of the post was kind of a spoiler… [↩]

Abacus by bongoboy23

And, quite possibly, the very first one ever!

[thinigiverse thing="7399"]

Ah, spring, when a young MakerBotter’s thoughts turn to…printing out large numbers of rabbits.  And this is clearly one of the must-have Easter-oriented prints.  And this egg/bunny combination is an instant classic.  Soon, we’ll all be thinking, “How did I even get through Easter/Passover/Rite of Spring without 3d-printed egg-shaped bunnies?”

Not only that, but Zydac has outdone himself with this design.  The ear inserts, nose, eyes and whiskers are all separately printable so you can get the multi-color effect seen here.  This is sure to be a crowd-pleaser, so print a couple…maybe they’ll start multiplying on their own.

Eggbunny by Zydac

This isn't just an Eggbunny- it is a groundbreaking statement about the human condition, a critique of contemporary praxis in the post-digital era and a jelly bean holder as well! Update 04 03 2012: I remodeled the Eggbunny body so it should be more friendly in Skeinforge.

This thing brought to you by

Babbage's Difference Engine

And, really, what steampunk or computer historian wouldn’t love a machine like this? ¹  The difference engine is a mechanical calculator theorized by J. H. Müller in 1786 and realized by Charles Babbage in 1855.  Babbage himself designed analytical engines and mechanical computers.

As awesome as Babbage’s difference engines are…  my hat is off to Thingiverse citizen qwertyzzz18.  Qwertyzzz18 is uploading, piece by piece, a DIY 3D printable difference engine to Thingiverse.  Babbage dealt with theory – and qwertyzzz18 is making them accessible.  Even if you travel out to the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, California, no one is going to let you take it apart, turn the pieces over, or change out parts.²  Now anyone with a Thing-O-Matic can print out the parts and build their very own.³

Difference Engine by qwertyzzz18

Babbage's Difference engine. Can calculate polynomials. Parts: Figure wheel: thingiverse.com/thing:7605 Restore arm: thingiverse.com/thing:7610 Sector wheel: thingiverse.com/thing:7711 Sector wheel tab: thingiverse.com/thing:7712 Sector wheel restore arm: thingiverse.com/thing:7713

This thing brought to you by

1. Photo courtesy of Luigi Rosa [↩]
2. Or create a mashup with a gangsta. [↩]
3. And, really, how meta would it be to print a computer to run your 3D printer to have it print a computer??? [↩]