MakerBot Industries

Here’s something a bit different: a MakerBot Thing-O-Matic features prominently in Adri Schokker’s installation “Reconstruction of a Catastrophe.”  As you can see in this video, the the Thing-O-Matic is used in conjunction with a novel video interface to create human figures for the installation.

The piece deals with the human connection to disastrous events; it uses the MakerBot-created items to actually place the viewer in the recreated scene.  The piece is not graphic, but the relationship it creates to the piece is an uncomfortable one for the viewer; it’s a bit darker than most of the projects we share here, so use your judgment before showing it to younger people.  That said, this is an innovative and thoughtful piece of art; we’re glad that a MakerBot Thing-O-Matic helped in its creation.

Motorized propeller beanie by Thaed

It’s long been held that “With great power comes great responsibility.”  You see, there is a reason scientists aren’t trying to find a way to make sharks fly. ¹  Some things were just not meant to be.  Like flying dogs with motorized beanies.

Seriously though, mad props to Thaed for this cool new puppy accessory.

Motorized propeller beanie by Thaed

What self-respecting nerd wouldn't have one of these things lying around? Originally, I wanted it to be solar powered, but I had to settle for AAA batteries. I scavenged the motor and propeller from a 6 in 1 educational solar kit. There's no reason why you can't print your own propeller and use a motor from a cd player or really any motor.

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1. Or, trying to graft lasers onto dinosaurs [↩]

The GE Air Show continues, with a third episode of user-submitted designs featuring classic airplanes. As always, the printable files can be found on the GE Thingiverse page.

It’s a challenge to respond quickly to user submissions: the list of ideas is received on Sunday evening, and then the team works on it during Monday and Tuesday, starting to print on Monday afternoons. After that, the production crew puts together the video and it is usually online by Thursday or Friday. In order to work so fast, the team is using a number of techniques: some models are made in OpenSCAD, others in Sketchup and and other tools from scratch, and some are based on models from the Sketchup 3D warehouse. Netfabb is useful for slicing a model into different parts. After a few weeks of doing this, we’ve now evolved a series of useful tools and techniques, building up common part libraries (eg. for propellers) and a streamlined workflow for making objects printable (ie. almost everything is designed to print in sections, in order to avoid overhangs and support material).

A question that has come up a few times is “what is GE doing on Thingiverse?”  The answer is, a lot of things:

• Demonstrating support for innovative new companies and technologies, such as Makerbot and 3D printing
• Connecting with the community of makers, innovators and DIYers
• Learning about social media, and the kinds of things that will engage social media users (the number of “likes” on the GE Facebook page has gone from 15,000 to more than 90,000 since the Airshow started!)
• Experimenting with very fast turnaround marketing, highly responsive to users (this project involves doing in less than a week what would usually take months, and doing it repeatedly)

The exciting thing about this is that it is an experiment, everyone (including GE) is learning as it goes along. Suggestions and contributions are most welcome, via the GE Facebook page, or comments on the Thingiverse page.

Dutch Design Week

Jakajima is organizing an international conference focused on home 3D printing to take place on October 25, 2011 in Eindhoven, The Netherlands, during the Dutch Design Week. From the organizer, Pieter Hermans, the topics will include:

1. Patent/IP Issues
2. 3D Content Publishing
3. The technical expertise required for 3D design
4. Trends in 3D printing materials
5. Trends in 3D printing
6. 3D printing in the home, social and cultural implications
7. 3D printing in the home and new business opportunities

For more information, check out their website!

Hurricane Irene is on its way to New York City and as such we here at MakerBot are taking the necessary precautions to make sure MakerBot HQ survives the storm. Sales, support and other contact requests may be delayed until Monday at the earliest as we prepare for the worst. We’d like to take this opportunity to thank Noah for his superb engineering and design skills. MakerBot appreciates your patience. Stay safe everyone.

TARDIS Lollipop Mold by Bioluminescence

How do you make a time traveling, infinitely big on the inside, flying police call box even cooler?  You make it out of candy.

Bioluminescence has provided their design files, STL’s, materials list, and instructions for how anyone can make their own time traveling candy.

Also, I would like to take this opportunity to publicly address the rumors that uploading anything Doctor Who related will definitely get liked, commented upon, and then blogged by me.  Let me put this issue to rest by assuring everyone, once and for all, this is completely true.

TARDIS Lollipop Mold by Bioluminescence

Using food-safe silicone sealant, a lot of patience, and a good lollipop recipe, you too can have TARDIS shaped lollipops to keep the kids (both big and small) quiet when the new Doctor Who episodes start up again.

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You’ve asked for it, and here it is. You can now find the 32 inch Thing-O-Matic ABP/HBP Wire Harness in our online store! We’ve got ‘em in stock and ready to go. Feel free to now use your old harness as a great fashion accessory to complement your “Fall” collection or your custom project. If you need to replace the wire harness for your Thing-O-Matic’s Heated or Automated Build Platform, this is the right part!

As many of you here in New York know, the Afro-Punk Festival is coming up this weekend, and we’ve been busy getting ready by scanning some of the awesome people who are involved.

The concert has a great lineup, including Brooklyn’s own Das Racist and Toro y Moi.  And best of all, we’ve managed to convince a few of these very cool-looking people to sit and be scanned, including DJ Dances with White Girls (above) and Jahka of Ninjasonik (below.)

We’ll be at the show printing some of these scans in UV-reactive plastic, so look for our booth if you’re there.  Hopefully no upcoming weather events will interfere…

Jahka by Afro-Punk

Jahka - Ninja Sonic

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Earthquake!

As many of you are aware, the eastern seaboard was rocked by a 5.8 magnitude earthquake this afternoon.  Luckily, 5.8 is big enough to cause just that…a fairly gentle rocking, unless you were very close to the epicenter near Richmond, VA.  Luckily, damage reports are light thus far.

Nevertheless, it’s pretty strange to experience any kind of earthquake here in New York, and a few people freaked out.  Luckily, cooler heads prevailed on Thingiverse.   Take Thaed, who has designed a device that can tell you if there’s actually an earthquake, or if you’re just dizzy.

I hope all the earthquakes our readers experience are in the range that require a device like this.  Seeing the calamities in Japan and Haiti make me very glad that we can laugh this one off.  They’re still rebuilding after both those disasters; donations to UNICEF, the Red Cross, or Doctors Without Borders (among many others) will do good there.

Earthquake Detector. by Thaed

I managed to miss today's quake, so I designed something I can print that will let me know in the future here in Cleveland.

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Turtle Shell Racer by Skimbal

Weeks ago my daughter came to me with a toy catalog to show me a pink kitchen set she wanted. ¹  I suggested that she use her existing pink kitchen set.  She pointed out that this particular kitchen set had a microwave where hers did not.  I offered that she and I could design and print one to go with her existing set.  She responded that she would need it large enough to match the rest of her set.  I explained that one of the only people I knew who was capable of printing something that large was Michael Curry and that we might need to ask him.

Fast forward to yesterday after work.  She wanted to draw plans for things we could print on our Thing-O-Matic.  One of her requests was a blender.  We drew one and then she asked if we could really print it.  I suggested that we could – but that we’d need to do it in big pieces and might need to ask Webca for help.

Then she piped up, “Or Michael Curry.”

Webca, Michael Curry – you guys are heroes in our house. 

1. By way of context, my daughter is a little over four years old. [↩]