MakerBot Industries

Just one example of a MakerBot Thing-O-Matic creation (the one on the right)

Just because Cracked.com is not necessarily the first source you’d think of when it comes to great tech reviews doesn’t mean they don’t make a valid point.  The MakerBot Thing-O-Matic is ranked right up there with augmented reality goggles, personal satellites, and zero-gravity flight as a “shockingly affordable Sci-Fi invention.”¹  They even give several suggestions on the kinds of things you can 3D print for yourself. ²

Besides, what could be a better investment than a tool that can make more of itself?

1. And, interestingly, the Thing-O-Matic personal matter replicator is even one of the cheapest options of these future-devices! [↩]
2. And, er…, one option several times… [↩]

The tireless innovators of blablabLAB are taking it to the streets again, this time in Stortorget (that’s “the Main Square” for us anglo-speakers) of Malmö, Sweden, this Thursday and Friday, August 25th and 26th.  If you’re hanging out in Malmö, and you haven’t seen the blablabLAB “Be Your Own Souvenir” project, or just want to see some Thing-O-Matics in action, head on over.  Hopefully there’ll also be a korvkiosk so you can pick up a tunnbrödsrulle…

Flying Maple Seed Model by qharley

This Maple Seed Helicopter design race was one of the swiftest little challenges we’ve run.  There were four entries tagged with “mapleseed”, not counting my own contribution.  Each submission added an interesting twist, but my favorite variation was the hook added to the heavy end of the seed by Stefan so that it could be shot into the air via a rubber band or slingshot.  Of the entries,qharley’s contribution went through a second iteration, was actually printed, and he posted his results.

At the time I’m writing this, Stefan’s entry received 8 likes + 0 comments¹ and qharley’s had 3 likes + 5 comments.  qharley might have a slight edge due to the secondary iteration of the same essential design garnering an additional 2 likes, but I feel quite comfortable calling this one a well-deserved tie.

Thanks again to @mostley for the idea for this challenge and all of the participants.  If anyone has an idea for a cool design challenge or design race, please leave a comment or e-mail me through Thingiverse or this website.

Maple Seed Experiment by Stefan

This is a maple seed concept I worked on last fall. I couldn't quite get my machine to print one perfectly. The super thin blade was problematic for my cupcake and settings. The hook is for a rubber band launch. I was hoping for a slingshot style launch into the blue with a slow flutter back to earth. It launches nicely, but only spins and falls slowly about half the time. It needs to be optimized for transition to spinning descent.

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Flying Mapleseed model by qharley

So, the other thing was a dart. Very purposeful and straight downwards movement on that thing. This one flies well, but I'll see if I can work out the CAD files for it. It was quite literally derived from the Free falling design. I changed it by hand until it worked. I have no idea if something like this is even printable with no support, and even so - the support may be stronger than the fragile wing. I will give the tip a flat foot to stand on. Printing vertically may be the only way forward.

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1. Not counting my own, here [↩]