MakerBot Industries

Hey everybody!  It’s Friday, so, despite having just been upstaged badly by the amazing sun-printing video, we’re back with another episode of everyone’s favorite web-show about all things MakerBot.  We’ve got a Thingiverse round-up showing off a printable flyswatter, a 3d-scanned sign of the horns and its first mashup, some printable keys, and just a few of the cool folks we’ve scanned with the Polhemus FastScan.  Then, our artist-in-residence Jonathan Monaghan tells us a bit about the scanning process, and invites everybody to next Thursday’s party.

“Solar Sinter” is a 3d printer by Markus Kayser that lives on sand and sun. It’s based on selective laser sintering (SLS), using Saharan sand as the medium and sunlight from a Fresnel lens in place of laser.

If you jump to 1:36 in the video above, Markus appears to be using MakerBot electronics to drive the Solar Sinter.

Markus writes:

In a world increasingly concerned with questions of energy production and raw material shortages, this project explores the potential of desert manufacturing, where energy and material occur in abundance.

In this experiment sunlight and sand are used as raw energy and material to produce glass objects using a 3D printing process, that combines natural energy and material with high-tech production technology.

Solar-sintering aims to raise questions about the future of manufacturing and triggers dreams of the full utilisation of the production potential of the world’s most efficient energy resource – the sun. Whilst not providing definitive answers, this experiment aims to provide a point of departure for fresh thinking.

MakerBot Operators and friends in the New York Area are invited to check out the final wrap-up show for Jell-O’s Big Adventure, Brooklyn’s annual Jell-O Mold competition. This year is the year of the DIY 3D printer, with a number of the high school student groups and adult designers using MakerBots to accomplish unusual gelatin creations. Keith Ozar, MakerBot’s Marketing Manager, will be one of the judges this year — and his wife, the amazing Anney Fresh, will be emceeing and bringing lots of mischief. Details below!

Help take Jell-O on a big adventure—out of the kitchen and into the world at large!—as a crack panel of judges including creative consultant and curator Josee Lepage of Bondtoo, and Keith Ozar of MakerBot Industries, Emily Elsen of Four & Twenty Blackbirds pie shop ,and Core77′s Allan Chochinov and host Anney Fresh of Space Kittys announce the winners of the third annual Jell-O Mold Competition on Saturday June 25, 2011 at 8pm.

Guests will also have the opportunity to vote for People’s Choice. Kelso beer and Jell-O shots will be served, along with the Jell-O creations. There is an $8 cover, students under the age of 16 enter for free.  Doors open at 6pm.  Music by DJ Allied Mastercomputer till 10pm.

More information at www.gowanusstudio.org/jello

And check out this video about last year’s competition!

A few weeks ago, CNN came to the BotCave to talk to Bre about the entrepreneurial origins of MakerBot for “Start Small, Think Big” — and got caught up themselves in what is possible if you have a MakerBot at your disposal. Here’s their segment!

Also, take a look at the CNN crew having a great time while filming in the BotCave.

311mm x 311mm Printer using TOM parts by Scooter

Thingiverse citizen Scooter posted his work-in-progress designs for a printer that could be built out of parts printed on a Thing-O-Matic.  Along with his description he added this a simple request:

I have been working on this design for over a week, but I am having trouble printing the larger parts flat. Some times they are almost flat but not the intire part, they always tend to warp up in the corners and ends. The smaller parts seem to print fine. Each part has a common wall thickness, and actually designed so they could even be injection molded.

Are there any veteran TOM users thay can reply with some help in correcting this warping issue.

At last count, Scooter’s project designs have at least 20 helpful comments with lots of different ways to defeat warping and curling.  These suggestions were so great that I had to go back and update yesterday’s post to add two additional methods.  However, the best part is that a simple request for help can garner so much information.

If you’ve gotten stuck on a project or it has just stalled, why not upload it to Thingiverse?  There’s bound to be someone interested in helping!

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