MakerBot Industries

Here’s a great video of Schuyler and his dad at Maker Faire! Got a story to relate about using a MakerBot with your kids or parents? We’d love to hear those stories! Drop us a note!

The latest webivision webispode of MakerBot’s weekly series on all things MakerBot.

• Bre shares a 3D scan time lapse from the New York Notables series — challenging viewers to identify the model.
• Matt interviews MakerBot staffer Ana Ranches about her Thingiverse love — a shout out to the Ladies of Thingiverse.
• Ethan shares a tip¹ for getting your shell game sorted in ReplicatorG.
• And Isaac introduces the MakerBot Father’s Day Sale — the best deal in 3D printing history.

1. including using MiseryBot’s Test Stripes part [↩]

On June 6th a team from MakerBot scanned the head Stephen Colbert and put the 3D model online, but we didn’t stop there. Hackers, bloggers, artists, musicians, comedians and anyone one else we think is notable stopped by our Brooklyn workshop to get immortalized.

Come see the results:

Thursday June 30th, 2011   7PM-10PM

314 Dean St

Brooklyn, NY 11217

Erik Beck is a video making machine! We had him by with Justin Johnson, another video-otron to the MakerBot Botcave to immortalize them in 3D by scanning them with the Polhemus 3D scanner!

Download Erik here and Justin here!

OpenScad Polygon Generator by PieterBos

In a recent OpenSCAD tutorial I described the basic process for creating 2D polygons in OpenSCAD.  However, drawing polygons in OpenSCAD can be very problematic.  Unless every triangle is described in the same “winding order,” some of the triangles in the polygon will be “flipped” causing OpenSCAD to freak out, rather than render them properly.  Rather than designing using OpenSCAD polygons, I tend to either (a) design in Inkscape, export to DXF, and extrude the DXF in OpenSCAD or (b) build up the desired polygon out of boxes and circles.

However, these methods just might be a thing of the past.  Just this week two Thingiverse users have each released a new way to easily create OpenSCAD polygons without all the potential pitfalls from manually writing them.

Simarilius created an Inkscape to Openscad Export extension which will allow you to export an Inkscape shape directly as a OpenSCAD code.  This would be a huge shortcut on the first method I suggested above, since you won’t have to deal with an intermediary file format¹ and potential translation problems that could occur.

The second OpenSCAD tool is the OpenSCAD Polygon Generator by PieterBos.  This program provides a nice graphical user interface for designing an object.  Once you’re happy with your designs, you can export them directly as OpenSCAD code.  PieterBos even put together a nice video tutorial to go along with his contribution.

Both of these tools will go a really long way to creating an easier route to developing more complex forms and making OpenSCAD more accessible.  I can’t wait to see what people design using these tools!

Inkscape to Openscad Export extension by Simarilius

inx and python extension to convert selected path to Openscad format.

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OpenScad Polygon Generator by PieterBos

Well this is an proof of concept so to speak. Not really a thing ;-). What i do here is generate scad files. I was playing with that thought for a while now. Because its a bit strange. I use one programming language (action-script 3.0 and flex in my case) to generate the other. In this case for the polygon method within openscad witch is powerfull but hard to read. So a made the visual helper for generation polygon call with a bit of extrusionWeird but it works what do you think mad or mad science ;) The small air app does not have any undo functionality and you can only draw on a grid, it was just to test something maybe i will add stuff to it ? should i ?youtube.com/watch?v=0oSW9zlKsZ8 Update 14 Jun 2011: Thanks for the great response but a bit of warning is in place the fxp source code is, well.. how do is say it.... very sloppy ;-) , just so you know build it 2 or 3 hours or so ( hack hack ) Update 13 Aug 2011: Still working on it but not ready for its first release :-( Some hints - Layers (one layer is one openscad module) each layer its own color - Adding and Deleting of Points and of course Moving points Splitting of segments - Curves (Maybe) - Save files (some json or xml) so you can save your work - Web based and AIR app - Etc Etc ;-)

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1. In this case the DXF [↩]

Hey folks!  Have you ever wanted to make signs with your MakerBot!  This can be a tricky process, but thanks to Thingiverse user Kepler, it just got a bit easier.  Not only did he make some cool OpenSCAD scripts for both the positive and negative parts of the sign, but he also made a great tutorial on how to do it.

This is a great little toolkit for this process, and I foresee many of our users making lots of signs…maybe even some signs that are not strictly necessary.  (Which is OK as long as they are funny.)

I also foresee the process of making logos getting even easier.  Sure, Kepler has just created a small revolution.  But how long can it be before the next one happens?  Maybe if I think hard enough my bot will start printing…

Printed Signs & Logos by Kepler

At my university we have a Makerbot Thing-O-Matic which has been aptly named "Madre" ("Mother", in spanish) because it will print the necessary parts to build a second generation of 3D printers (several Prusa-Mendel printers). I decided to create a small sign that we could place on the printer. I printed the letters separately from the background, in different colors. The background has the shape of the letters indented so that they can be fitted inside. I was amazed by how well it turned out, but obviously few people (if any) can benefit from the files to print this specific sign, so I have written a tutorial explaining how to make your own design using Inkscape and Openscad.mrgroup.dyndns.org/mrgroup/doku.php?id=3dprinting:home I hope you find it useful!

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Tek Jansen by OhadReiter, printed by Tony Buser

Let’s just go ahead and compare that print to the 3D rendering by OhadReiter:

Stephen Colbert's Tek Jansen by OhadReiter

Frankly, when I saw OhadReiter’s model for the first time, I just assumed no one was going to print it.  Although the final print was rather small, Tony was able to print it with an amazing amount of detail.  Tony‘s print just goes to show the level of detail that can be printed with a well calibrated machine and a MK6 Stepper Extruder.

Stephen Colbert's Tek Jansen by OhadReiter

Tek Jansen, based on his appearance in Stephen Colbert's Tek Jansen #1 from Oni Press ( onipress.com/title/stephen-colberts-tek-jansen-1 ).

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I'm the new hotness.

One of the most popular prints on Thingiverse is Starno‘s Coin-Op Bottle Opener – it’s functional, beautiful, easy to print, and uses our 16th president’s head for operation. Of course, like the Lincoln monument, it takes up quite a bit of space.

That’s one of the reasons br3ttb‘s modification to the design is so ingenious. It’s smaller, doesn’t require as much plastic, and won’t challenge your rabbit’s foot for king of the keychain. While it does require a little bit of extra work to get it working, the payoff is worth it.

Of course, this all started with hoeken‘s original bottle opener, which makes for a great tale, and a great example of what Thingiverse is all about. We approve!

Mighty Bottle Opener by br3ttb

UPDATE: I've been unable to find a reliable way to protect the plastic with this design. If you're using PLA, keep reading; people have had good results. If you're printing with ABS however, I recommend using this updated design: thingiverse.com/thing:11025 The Coin-Op Bottle Opener ( thingiverse.com/thing:1842 ) is awesome on so many levels. No wonder it's often the first thing that gets printed on a new machine. It doesn't take long to see its weakness though: it's HUGE. This design keeps the same (strong, satisfying) jaw geometry, but puts it in a package that isn't a burden on your pants pocket. Also, because it's much smaller, it takes FAR less time to print. One drawback is that you need to man-handle a paper clip to keep the plastic from getting chewed up. On the plus side you get to call yourself "crafty." Also I removed most of the handle, so you may have to adjust your normal hand position. I find this opener works best with my thumb on top, index finger underneath. (I've left this as a "work in progress" for the time being. It has done well in my testing, but please let me know if something doesn't work for you)History: - Part gets submitted using a modified bottle cap as the protector. looks awesome (it's still the title thumbnail) - Thing gets featured. - Turns out the bottle cap protector doesn't work all that well. Embarrassing update posted. (good thing it's a "work in progress") - Furious design session yeilds improved paper clip design. (thanks go out to thingiverse users waaronw and jprodgers for their contributions to that process) - Made the part ~1mm wider (to help the fill around the hole) and added a little recess for the paperclip on the back side.

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Hey everybody!  As we’d expected, the amazing Thingiverse community has taken notice, and they’ve been busily making wild, crazy, and wonderful mashups with Mr. Colbert’s likeness.  Check out the growing collection!

Here are a few of the new standouts, including the Colbeagle by Jon Monaghan which was featured on the show.  Not all of these are printable (yet) but they are all outstanding.  Keep up the good work!

Stephen Colbert's Tek Jansen by OhadReiter

Tek Jansen, based on his appearance in Stephen Colbert's Tek Jansen #1 from Oni Press ( onipress.com/title/stephen-colberts-tek-jansen-1 ).

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ColberT-rex by JamieClay

Proof that dinosaurs and man coexisted, the ColberT-rex was a cunning linguist that would distract you with it's verbosity all the while stealing a slice of your fresh pizza pie (using his pizza slicer tail). Thought to have gone extinct when early man adopted a strict no-carb diet, rumors abound that it has been spotted lurking outside the Pappa John's in Orlando.

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Colbeagle by JonMonaghan

As seen on TV!

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Inverse Colbert by meshmixer

(I'm sorry. Couldn't help myself.)

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USB memory stick holder by jpcw

To date my solution for organizing extra USB memory sticks and SD flash cards has been to toss them into a drawer.  Thingiverse user jpcw’s solution is so much more elegant – a block with carefully designed notches for holding USB memory cards and another block with equally carefully designed notches for holding SD flash cards.  Much like the tool holders for hex keys, screwdrivers, and wrenches, it is now possible to hang your SD cards right off of the side of your MakerBot.  Nice!

USB memory stick holder by jpcw

This is a simple USB memory stick holder that holds up to 5 memory sticks. It should fit most size memory sticks and print fairly well without a raft.

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SD Card Holder by jpcw

This is a simple SD Card holder that holds up to 8 SD cards. The slots are a little tight to stop the cards falling out if you knock over the holder. Very simple design and prints well without a raft on my heated build platform. I tried using a bit of FeastWatson Prooftint oak wood stain on it and the effect is quite good. I didn’t expect the stain to go very well on the ABS but it comes out really nice

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