MakerBot Industries

Ok, we haven’t actually been able to deliver fully printable vinyl records, but this is still pretty cool for the analog audiophiles.  How many times have you been watching your favorite single-spinning DJ dropping their 7-inchers on fancy machined-aluminum adapters, and said “man, those are cool?”

Well, this is a pretty stylish DIY option, as you can see.  Cheers to thingiverse user vinyl for working on this!

Also notice — Thingiverse numbers have passed 10,000!  Next up: 100,000.  Thanks everybody and keep modeling!

7-inch vinyl centering tool by vinyl

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Tinkercad, a powerful online solid modeling CAD application, has just introduced a new feature that I have a feeling will be very popular among MakerBot Operators.

Secretly (or not so secretly?) the developers are veteran hardcore games developers taking a stab at a new field. They draw from their past UI/interactive design experience to create a focused tool that is designed from the ground up to be as intuitive a modeler as most people need for 3D printing models.

I was at first dubious about a WebGL-based solid modeler, as much as I love 3dtin, but I became converted while team-teaching a “Prototyping on a MakerBot” course for the teen after-school program at Cooper Hewitt National Design Museum. Students picked up Tinkercad quickly, and made intricate, capable work during the first session, projects that I was able to print for them with little or no STL repair!

A number of Thingiverse participants have been using this tool (Including me)  – and the Tinkercad “Export to Thingiverse” button makes it easy for them to share their design and print files they have created with the software here.

Well, the Tinkercad developers didn’t leave the games part of their past experience out of the equation — they have started rolling games elements into Tinkercad as a tutorial series designed to help user dive into using their tool quickly and easily. I have taken a couple of them and enjoyed them — and I love the beautiful Thing-O-Matic-printed buttons that is featured in their current Quest set. (They hope to start adding new quests fairly regularly, as these quests generate the feedback they need to tune this element of Tinkercad. Make sure to dive in now and send feedback to help them move forward with the Quests project!)

So create or login to your Tinkercad account — and discover the new Quests tab on the top bar. Happy questing!

This past weekend we celebrated Space Month under a star field and the glowing LED strips of a gathering of MakerBots busy printing Rockets, Astronauts, UFOs and Aliens in 3D. There was even 3D Zoetrope animated with MakerBot printed characters. In our Mission Control room attendees grabbed a space helmet for a fake moon landing and puppeteered in a MakerBot printed puppet show. Take a look at a few great pics from the event!

MakerBot Industries has had the good fortune to sell as many user-assembled 3D printer kits as our team can physically produce since 2009, benefiting tremendously from word-of-mouth, social networking, and community outreach efforts. Even so, we feel there are even more people out there in the world who need MakerBots. More than we can reach from the BotCave by shouting out the door.

This is where you come in, MakerBot Publicist.

This brand new job will be a hands-on media relations staff position with the primary responsibility to raise awareness even more broadly, telling the story of MakerBot through creative, comprehensive media outreach, and effective placement in national and regional outlets. The ideal candidate will increase MakerBot’s public awareness in new markets by creating and executing additional strategies to complement existing outreach efforts.

A portfolio of successful past media placements is required that specifically demonstrates results-driven interaction with top-tier national and regional consumer media, and broadcast outlets. The ideal candidate is a self-starter who independently initiates and follows through with opportunities; has established contacts; has strong problem-solving skills; and has proven experience juggling multiple, high-pressure deadlines.

Specific responsibilities include:

• Maintain and expand department’s media contact databases.
• Develop, research and produce a variety of publicity materials related to areas of responsibility, including but not limited to: press releases, pitch letters, bios, website content and talking points for public appearances. These materials are to be journalistically sound, creative in approach, and help generate media coverage.
• Handle media relations support activities related to his/her efforts including but not limited to tracking media results, distributing releases, coordinating interviews and visits.
• Leverage established contacts and proven placement success with regional and national consumer and trade media, including newspapers, magazines, blogs and digital, and experience pitching broadcast media.
• Coordinate social media campaigns.
• Make use of outstanding writing, speaking, organizational and interpersonal skills, attention to detail a must.
• All applications must include a resume and cover letter to be considered. Please send materials to hiring at makerbot dot com, Subject: “Publicist Applicant: [Name]“.

Dale Dougherty, founder of Make magazine and the organizer of Maker Faire, posted a great video about how making things helps kids learn to be enthusiastic about science.  There’s also a shot of a MakerBot Thing-O-Matic in action @ 9:25. 

At MakerBot, we’re huge fans of the designer brand Nooka. They make awesome accessories and they use a MakerBot to make cool things like this giant icosahedron for their lookbook!

This week’s amazing, superlative Robot Hospital extravaganza is going to hit you like a ton of tribbles.  Why tribbles? Because it’s Space Month, as Keith Ozar explains.  Don’t miss the special Space Month MakerBot Make-A-Thon at 3rd Ward tomorrow, July 16th, 2-6pm, where we’ll be printing some of the space-themed items shown in this Thingiverse roundup!

Join us for our second 3rd Ward MakerBot Make-A-Thon, where you’ll get to see our tiny space factories in action, meet MakerBot Operators from the entire region, and talk to members of the MakerBot team.

In this installment, we’re celebrating Space Month. We’ll be printing Rockets, Astronauts, UFOs and Aliens in 3D. There will even be a space-themed 3D-printed object Zoetrope, giving a 21st century-spin on a centuries-old device.

Wear a space costume and get a printed space shuttle. Plus, grab a helmet and show your friends you landed on the moon in our photo booth. And there will be prize giveaways from MakerBot, NOOKA, Apress and O’Reilly Media!

Click here for photos from 3rd Ward’s first MakerBot Make-A-Thon.

MakerBot Make-A-Thon 2 // MakerBots in Space
Saturday, July 16, 2-6pm
195 Morgan Ave,
Brooklyn, NY 11237
FREE admission RSVPs are required at 3rdward.com/rsvp

Open Source Disc Shooter

I started to design an open source disc shooter about six months back.  At that time I was using Google Sketchup to design things.  Since then I’ve been designing in OpenSCAD.  Here’s a few things I learned while starting over:

1. Solid modelers FTW.  I find it more difficult to revise a Sketchup design than it is to redesign from scratch with a solid modeler.  When you move a line or surface in Sketchup, it can push/pull any lines or surfaces connected to it.  Since making a change to something in Sketchup means fixing all the things connected to that change, it’s often just easier to start over.¹
2. Sometimes starting over isn’t so bad.  One of the reasons I set this design aside was that I had hit a design block.  Starting over means that I now have a fresh perspective on the design.  Since then I’ve also been inspired by mraiser’s 27-to-1 reduction gearset and it’s snap-together assembly to design the mechanism with assembly of this device in mind.  Another more recent inspiration is Tony’s mars rover for many of the same reasons.
3. Over design and scale back later.  My initial designs had pieces that were 1.5mm thick.  Now I’ve redesigned the parts mostly with 2-3mm thicknesses.  Just so you know, making a change like this is really really simple in OpenSCAD.  Just change the thickness variable, and the design instantly incorporates the new thicknesses.   Once I get the basic design totally working, I’ll be able to scale back the thickness of parts later.  It will be a lot easier to decide which parts to alter once I have a working prototype.
4. Printing in clear PLA isn’t always such a good idea.  Yes, it’s biodegradable.  Yes, it doesn’t warp on large flat pieces.  And, yes, it really does smell like candy as it melts.  However, finding small clear parts on tan carpet can be a challenge.  I think I’ll print in nuclear green for the next batch of discs.  I had honestly never previously given much thought to the color of plastic I was using in a prototype.
5. Design from the inside out.  In this revision, I began with designing the firing pin that slides forward and worked my way outwards.  My original attempt was centered around trying to make a printable version of an existing toy.  Since then I’ve tried to design from what I perceive to be the most critical parts and work my way out. ²
6. Design with clearances in mind.  My previous attempt did not fit well together at all.  This time, since I was designing from the inside-out, I made sure that each piece could fit with the others.  Also, since the prior versions were so thin, they didn’t have much room for adding clearances later.

1. Don’t get me wrong, I really like Sketchup a lot, but the free version of the program models surfaces, not solids.  This means you could create some amazing looking models that are not really solids at all. [↩]
2. In this, I take my inspiration from chats with Syvwlch. [↩]

That’s right — the time has finally arrived for the Robot Film Festival!  The screenings (and awards ceremony) are in lower Manhattan this weekend.  There are a number of films by many different directors, both famous and completely unknown, as well as comedy, workshops and a BotBQ.

Saturday is completely sold out, but Sunday tickets are still available (for now.)  That’s the day with the workshops, Reggie Watts, and the barbecue.  Get’em while you still can!