MakerBot Industries

I wanted to use a metal spring for a new design.  However, the problem with metal springs is trying to find something that is useful, ubiquitous, and cheap.  However, I was shocked that I simply could not find any pictures anywhere on the internet of the inside of a Pez dispenser!  After a little help from Chris Connors, I decided that the metal spring from inside a Pez dispenser would be absolutely perfect for my application.  After locating a Pez dispenser of my own, I disassembled it and found it was, indeed, just what I needed.

If you’re interested in taking apart a Pez dispenser in a minimally destructive way, here’s how you do it:

The reason you need to tilt the Pez candy platform down is because it has two small prongs on the front and back, making it slightly too long to come out of the colored plastic Pez case easily.

Notice the bumps along the side of the white plastic slide.  The bumps at the bottom prevent the slide from coming out of the colored case easily.  The bumps at the top prevent the white plastic slide from coming out of the bottom.

In case you’re curious, I was using my Pez dispenser for a Pez Powered Disc Shooter.

Preparing for a quest

A day or so ago I tried out a single TinkerCAD quest.  I then immediately completed all of them.¹  Frankly, I was kinda shocked they were as fun as they turned out to be.  If you haven’t given this a shot, I highly recommend trying it out.

Some of my favorite video games include what amounts to a learning level.  Your first goal is to complete a simple task using a set of features before really getting into the game.  By the time you’ve completed those simple tasks, you’re basically ready to tackle any of the obstacles in your way.  Many programs include initial help dialogs to point out the various buttons or even a learning mode, but most have you learn by viewing rather than learning by doing.

Given how much fun I have 3D printing, it’s very refreshing to also have a fun way to design as well.

1. Photo courtesy of Lrice [↩]