MakerBot Industries

If that's not how to America, then I don't know what is.

If you’ve just come from The Colbert Report and are visiting this website for the first time, we’ve got some really great stuff for you starting with a copy of Stephen Colbert’s entire head.  You’ve just seen Bre Pettis, co-founder of MakerBot, talking about and demonstrating our flagship product, the Thing-O-Matic.  It is a small, affordable 3D printing machine you build yourself that can make anything you can dream up out of plastic. ¹  Think of it as Star Trek replicator for your desktop.

It’s useful for designers and artists who can use it to quickly refine their designs, tinkerers who need to prototype their inventions, or anyone who fixes things around the house.  Why not prototype your idea for an iPhone accessory with a MakerBot?  Want a new handle for your window blinds?  Need to replace a broken car key fob?  Maybe you want to use your Duplo blocks with your wooden train set?  Just fire up your printer!

And, if you’re running short of ideas or want to see what other people have done with their 3D printers, don’t forget to check out Thingiverse.com – an free online website for sharing designs.  That’s where you’ll find Stephen Colbert’s head,  which you can print your own copy of, or, better yet, add on to another design!  We call these mash-ups, just like when a musician combines two songs into one.

This is a great way to get started with 3d modeling, and we want you to do it.  Grab Stephen’s head and paste it onto something else!  If it’s related to bears, bald eagles, America, or Freedom, all the better.  We’ve had a few friends get the ball rolling, but there’s plenty to be done yet.

There’s lots of great free software for designing and mashing things up.  MeshMixer is a great app for these mash-ups.  If you want to design something of your own, try 3dtin.com or one of many other free 3d modeling programs.  And if you upload something made from Colbert’s head, be sure and tag your creation with “Colbert.”

I think we’re all pretty excited, so stay tuned to the blog for updates.

The head of Stephen Colbert by Colbert

At long last, everyone in the world (ok everyone who has access to a 3d printer) can have their own bust of America's greatest entertainer and statesman, Stephen Colbert. Even better, you can use this model and your favorite 3d modeling software to add Mr. Colbert's face to objects which were formerly lacking in Colbert heads, like bannisters, umbrella handles, toothpaste squeezers, and rabbits. (To name a few.) Made with a Polhemus 3d scanner at the Colbert set on 6/6/2011.

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1. And, yes!  It works with Macs, PC’s, and Linux! [↩]

Getting Started with MakerBot

Coming later this year from MAKE and O’Reilly Media, Inc., Bre and MakerBlock have teamed up on a new book: Getting Started with MakerBot.  Here’s just a little blurb to whet your appetite:

Get a hands-on introduction to the world of personal fabrication with the MakerBot, the easiest and most affordable rapid prototyper available. This book shows you how the MakerBot open source 3D printer democratizes manufacturing and brings the power of large factories right to your desktop. Not only will you learn how to operate MakerBot, you’ll also get guidelines on how to design and print almost anything you can imagine — including models, mechanical parts, puzzles, and toys.

What’s more, this book is coming out under a Creative Commons license, and you can read the text of the book as it’s being written,¹ through the magic of O’Reilly’s Open Feedback Publishing System.  The book is available right here.

1. No pressure, right? [↩]

Dino by foxdewayne

This T-Rex skeleton model is probably my newest favorite thing to print.  Besides being an awesome dinosaur, this model reminds me of the little wooden kits available from every museum gift shop from my youth.  When I’m going for a high quality print, each of foxdewayne’s dinosaur skeleton part print plates takes my Thing-O-Matic about 20 minutes to produce.  After shrinking foxdewayne’s print files down about 50%, my T-Rex is about 5 inches tall and 7 inches long when fully assembled.  Since I shrunk the thickness of the skeleton parts along with everything else, the parts still slide together and hold themselves in place snugly.

Originally designed for lasercutting, this model also highlights the benefits of 3D printing over milling and lasercutting.  The only material used is just enough to produce the model itself – with little to no waste.  When milling or lasercutting, your machine is cutting away all the material that you don’t want, leaving a pile of dust or an outline of your model. ¹

I’ve already printed several of these and look forward to printing many more. ²  While my clear PLA models look great, I’m looking forward to also printing one in glow-in-the dark and then probably another with a white spine, arms, legs, and head – with a rainbow colored set of tail bones and ribs.

1. All of the material that would need to be cut from around these very irregular shapes could probably go into making one or even two additional models. [↩]
2. My daughter has one and I’ve got one on my desk at work. [↩]