MakerBot Industries

I’ve been using a 1/16″ aluminum build surface on my Thing-O-Matic for weeks, with really good results. Now you can buy an aluminum platform from Makerbot, and cover it with wide Kapton tape for the ultimate build surface. I’ve been using this combination on my Cupcake CNC for a while, and it is great: parts adhere really well and there is no warping. (Top tip: wipe the platform with acetone before printing for even better adhesion.)

However, this poses a challenge: sometimes parts stick to the platform so well that it can take a real effort, and a lot of force, to get them off. On the Cupcake, I would just detach the build platform and lever the piece loose. However, on the Thing-O-Matic, the platform is fixed, and you end up applying a lot of force to the X&Y platform as you try to release the piece.

One solution is to just double up the aluminum plate, and hold it on with bulldog clips, as described here. However, I went for a quicker solution in the short term.

Wing nut holding heated build platform for easy removal

I just put M3 wing nuts on the bolts holding the platform (you only really need 4, one on each corner, not 6). When I’m done printing, I can just detach the HBP connector (power off first!) and quickly unscrew the wing nuts. This allows for easy access to the printed piece from all sides, plus I can apply quite a bit of force without affecting the structure of the Thing-O-Matic.

At some point, I’d love to see a quick release mechanism for the Thing-O-Matic platform, like this one, but for now this is really saving me a lot of time and effort.

I’ve known Gian Pablo for a long time as comembers of NYCResistor and now he’s joining us as a part time blogger here on the MakerBot blog. He keeps his bot at Noisebridge, the SF hackerspace and he’s obsessed with optimizing and using the MakerBot to get things done. He’s also a dad, so I expect we’ll see him blog about MakerBotting as a dad as well! Welcome!

When putting together my Thing-O-Matic, first with a Mk5 extruder and then a Mk6+, a perpetual source of frustration was attaching the thermocouple to the thermal block. It seemed like tightening the nut would rotate it, and it would come loose. Moreover, more than once the stresses of assembling and disassembling the extruder would loosen it as well.

Fortunately, there is a simple solution:

Mk6+ heater block with groove for thermocouple

I used a Dremel tool with a diamond grinding bit to make a groove in the side of the heater block, where the thermocouple fits. It grips the thermocouple wire as the nut is tightened, and prevents it from rotating loose. With this simple change, I can always get the thermocouple installed on the first try, and it feels really solid.

The annual Jell-O Mold Competition is coming up again, with plenty of opportunities for MakerBot Operators and Thingiverse makers. The teens portion of the competition has already been using MakerBots to print molds — how might you use your MakerBot to make objects out of Jell-O or other gelatinous substances? Check out the Call To Entry below!

Jell-O’s Big Adventure

The Jell-O Mold Competition has taken Jell-O out of the cafeteria, but the time has come to take it out of the kitchen altogether and into the world at large! This year, Jell-O takes New York.

To get things wobbling, we took Jell-O out to the city and into the classroom for a Jell-O Mold Workshop for NYC high school students run in partnership with Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum and Eyebeam Art + Technology Center, with additional support from Smart Design–now it’s your turn to get in on the adventure.

This year’s competition asks designers to explore the everyday uses of this wobbly, delicious, shape shifting medium.

Designers will compete for cash prizes, a year membership to the Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum, gifts from Papabubble, Holstee, and more!

A crack panel of respected judges including Allan Chochinov of Core77, Emily Elsen of Four & Twenty Blackbirds pie shop, and Josee Lepage of creative agency Bondtoo will announce the winners at 8pm on Saturday, June

25, 2011.  The judging and awards ceremony will be held at the Gowanus Studio Space in Brooklyn.

Enter today!

Usually, I try to say something clever about these items, but this time, I’m going to have to defer to guru himself:

while browsing through thingiverse I found a huge number of dragons but I also noticed a serious lack of wizzards.

End quote and ’nuff said.  Take some time to hone your support material settings and then unleash some magick!

Wizzard by guru

while browsing through thingiverse I found a huge number of dragons but I also noticed a serious lack of wizzards. So I made this one in blender. See local-guru.net/blog/2011/05/16/3d-printed-wizzard for my printing adventures

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