Act quickly!

It’s the CupCake CNC Ultimate : Blowout!! We have all the components we need to sell the last remaining stock of the CupCake machine, and it’s for sale online NOW!

We have reduced the price to a blistering $699.00 to encourage our users to grab another CupCake while they can. This is a great time to buy a 3D printer as a gift as well, because it’s an incredible value. The CupCake CNC has been featured in articles and media around the world, and we are down to the very last units. We have them shipping with a one week lead time, so it’s the fastest, cheapest way to get a 3D printer in your hands and get started printing. Got one bot hanging out all lonesome like? Build it a brand new Bot to keep it company! These are our stock CupCake Ultimate CNCs, and when they are gone, close the curtains, because the CupCake CNC show is a glorious wrap!

You might remember a few weeks ago when we announced that the Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum, had acquired a Thing-O-Matic. Well, registration is now open for a FREE Cooper-Hewitt workshop for teens, focused on prototyping with a MakerBot. Starting on April 30th, the workshop will consist of five hands-on sessions led by MakerBot’s Matt and Mike: four at Tekserve, with a fifth hosted by MakerBot in the BotCave and BotFarm for final prints and critiques.

For more information, take a look at the Cooper-Hewitt posting for the series here. Very limited slots, so register quickly!

Workshop participants will learn to:

• Design and print prototypes in 3-D.
• Use 3-D apps like Rhino, Blender and brand-new Tinkercad. (We are going to tune our choices a bit based on experience of teens participating.)
• Assemble, modify, and troubleshoot Makerbot hardware and software.

Mike and I are looking forward to team teaching this series. Also, we will be sharing our curriculum, tips & tricks, and student models-in-progress with the MakerBot community here and at Thingiverse for those of you who don’t live in NYC and will miss out on this opportunity.

Inkscape for Unicorn Users

I’m not a veteran Inkscape user by any means. ¹  I’ve learned just enough about Inkscape to be able to make use of Schmarty’s excellent Inkscape->Gcode plugin and print fun things out on my Unicorn.  In case you’re new to Inkscape as well, here are a few things you’d need to know to make the most of it with your Unicorn.

1. How to convert a JPG or PNG into an SVG using Inkscape
   1. File -> Import -> [your file]
   2. Select all
   3. Path -> Trace Bitmap
   4. Click “Grays”
   5. Choose a number under “Scans”
      • I have been using 6, but use whatever gives you the desired effect.  This will essentially “posterize” your object into at most 6 shades of gray.  This is the setting with which you’re really going to want to experiment.
      • The Gcode output by Schmarty’s excellent Inkscape->Gcode plugin will instruct the Unicorn to draw each layer.  The more colors, the more layers.  This could be a good thing if you’re switching out pens.
   6. Select all
   7. Path -> Object to Path
   8. File -> Save As -> [your desired file name or type]
2. How to change units for the ruler in Inkscape
   1. File -> Document Properties -> Page -> Default units [your favorite unit]
3. How to change your default template in Inkscape
   1. Configure a blank SVG file exactly as you want your new default template to look
      • I like to use a default template based on the dimensions of a standard office sticky-note.
   2. Save your blank SVG file as “default.svg” somewhere convenient
   3. Navigate to your “Templates” folder for Inkscape
      • This will usually be in a subdirectory of your Inkscape installation, but may vary depending upon your operating system.
      • I’m using the PortableApps version of Inkscape² , so my Templates directory on Windows is “InkscapePortable\App\Inkscape\share\templates”
   4. Rename the current “default.svg” to something else
      • You may want to come back to it some day.  If that’s a possibility, I’d recommend “default_original.svg” or some variation thereof.
   5. Cut and paste the “default.svg” you created above to the “Templates” folder

1. Inkscape is a free open source vector drawing program. [↩]
2. I have this thing about commitment. [↩]

Thing9 by Zomboe

I find myself printing Zomboe‘s Snake model essentially every time I calibrate a bot or want to offer a quick wow to someone who hasn’t experienced 3D printing before. That model is truly one of the most popular hits of the T-verse as printed in the BotCave.¹

Seeing his outstanding Thing9 yesterday it occurred to me that I haven’t been singing my praises for his ThingSeries, which he has been adding to for nearly a year now. Now, here is a modeler unafraid to let his imagination run wild and to keep pushing the limits of what he can model and print on a regular basis. I find myself challenged and inspired by this series. And while he didn’t design these for the Thing-O-Matic, the latest developments with the Stepstruder MK6 on a Thing-O-Matic allow for more satisfying scaled-to-build-envelope prints of Zomboe’s pieces than were previously possible.

Somewhere between tech experiments, contagious nightmares, and cute and cuddly Tim Burton-esque figurines, Thing1 through Thing9 are worth examining again in the order of release to get a sense of the progress of his experimentation. I can’t get enough of Thing9 — it feels to me like a set-piece for a stopmotion HP Lovecraft children’s movie.² These models are also great tests for tweaking Skeinforge : Reversal settings. Or try turning Reversal entirely off for a few of these to create models that actually benefit aesthetically from stringing.

Untitled by Zomboe

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Untitled by Zomboe

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Untitled by Zomboe

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1. At CES and MakerFaire this past year, I watched individuals sit for the entire ~15min print just so she or he could be the one to grab it as it rolled off the front of the ABP. [↩]
2. And makes me want to make such a movie! [↩]

The kobolds spring from their ambush suddenly, surprising the wily ranger with a bevy of attacks before he could unsheathe his trusty bastard sword +2, “Nafralgur.”

Mark it down, the ranger loses 6 hp.

Finally, Tauron, the rugged ranger, brings his blade to bear on the nearest foe…and he hits!

OK, lemme see, that’s going to be 1d8 plus 2…let me see, where is that thing the 8-sided die, I just printed dougkeenan‘s design from Thingiverse…it’s really cool because the numbers are super legible.  Hmmm…where is that thing…I just…ok guys, go get some sodas while I print another one.  That was a critical hit anyway, so that kobold’s toast.  The others flee in fear into the recesses of the cavern.  Um…get me some cheese curls too, ok guys?

Error - could not find Thing 7818.

Error - could not find Thing 7841.