MakerBot Industries

The apotheosis of the Bre-scan mashup has finally arrived, thanks to a collaboration between Michael Curry (Skimbal), Michael Overstreet (I-Bioloid), & Luis E. Rodriguez (Luis). While much of the magic here is indeed below the neck, it is remarkable how well Curry’s implementation of the head “reads” dramatically and brings the whole robot together. I thought it worth posting again to share this video. I’m looking forward to seeing Boomer/Bre Bot in more detail at World Maker Faire 2011.

I learned two things from this video. One, the head scan really sells me on the robot as a character. Two, I am really scared of my boss now.

Curry writes in his Thingiverse release: “Bre Pettis’ head adapted to match the Bioloid bracket system and artfully grafted onto a new, superior, robot body. I for one welcome our new robotic CEO…”

Bre Pettis Bioloid Head by Skimbal

Bre Pettis' head adapted to match the Bioloid bracket system and artfully grafted onto a new, superior, robot body. I for one welcome our new robotic CEO... Video of Bre Bot in actionmike-ibioloid.blogspot.com/2011/09/brebot-10.html Bre Bot is a derivative of:thingiverse.com/thing:9010 &thingiverse.com/thing:5192 Is a collaboration of: Michael Curry (Skimbal) Michael Overstreet (I-Bioloid) & Luis E. Rodriguez (Luis) And is brought to you by the letter: C

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Showcasing the endless possibilities of the Thing-O-Matic, the New Museum MakerBot Challenge is open to the entire creative community. Embodying the New Museum’s mission of “New Art, New Ideas,” this interactive and experiential Challenge aims to push the concept of the “derivative,” by improving on or personalizing established design conventions. From the banal toothbrush to complex bicycle gears, how can 3D printing help to develop the world around us?

Prizes

The winning design will be printed on a MakerBot Thing-O-Matic on display in the New Museum’s window. The winning designer will receive a New Museum Deluxe membership ($400 value), a MakerBot Thing-O-Matic® Kit ($1299 value), and a special invitation to the New Museum MakerBot Challenge launch party.

Five runner-ups will have their designs printed by MakerBot and sent to them.

How to enter

- If you are not already registered, sign up for an account at Thingiverse.com

- Upload your 3D files, and tag them with NewMuseumChallenge by October 31st, 2011

- In the description, write a statement about your design. What is the design a derivative of? How does it improve on or challenge existing design conventions?

Rules

- Designs may be one single part or multiple parts that are each smaller than 4 x 4 x 4 ¾ in (100 x 100 x 120 mm) and printable on a MakerBot Thing-O-Matic.

- Different parts can be made in white, yellow, orange, red, UV reactive red, UV reactive nuclear green, camping green, blue, black, and glow-in-the-dark.

- The design may require multiple builds, however no more than three builds are allowed.

- Designs may include other parts like screws or LEDs but keep in mind the jurors will be looking for designs that utilize 3D printing’s ability to empower everyone to download, print and use the design.

Who’s in the jury?

A team from both MakerBot and the New Museum will select the final designs. The jurors are looking for designs that utilize the unique ability of 3D printing to personalize and improve on the world around us.

And last, here are a few existing Thingiverse items that we think belong in this challenge:

Earbud holder by arkatipe

I made this specifically because my brother wanted something that wasn't easily molded with an injection molding machine. The undercuts on the bollards and the jack port should make it impossible, if not unrealistically expensive to make that way. The picture is pretty self explanatory. Put earbuds in, wind and then push the jack end into the hole provided. EDIT: This only seems to work with the new iPod / iphone earbuds with the volume control buttons on the cord. Thanks to all those who tried with other earbuds.

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Soap Dish by TrevorLaw

The instructions for this soap dish are embedded into the part itself.

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Reddit Upvote/Downvote Button Enclosure by TheNewHobbyist

These are the files for the Reddit Upvote/Downvote Button Enclosure I built to fit a project I was working on. This is just barely big enough to fit a Teensy development board and a couple of buttons. I've included the code and better instructions on the project itself on my blog here: thenewhobbyist.com/2011/07/am-i-doing-this-right-reddit-upvote-button/ I've also included in the images for this thing my wiring diagram if you'd like to take a shot at making your own. Being able to print a project box to my exact dimensions was as expected, awesome. Here's a video of it in action:youtube.com/watch?v=yNkKHRwk3MA&feature=player_embedded New Museum Challenge Notes: The ability to 3D model and print the enclosure and buttons for this project allowed me to make design decisions that would not have been possible using conventional methods. The arrow buttons for example, are not available through any distributor I could find commercially. Additionally the enclosure itself is the exact size (down to the millimeter) to fit my electronics. I believe the conventional idea of using off the shelf parts and fitting your designs into them is coming to an end. The ability to translate my vision for this project to a physical object would not be possible without access to a 3D printer.

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Bar Hairclip - NyanCat and Slim by Bioluminescence

Iterating on the previous 'plain' hairclip (see comparison image), this new SLIM version disposes of the need of a 3rd spring, and trims down the size significantly without reducing strength or function. I personally find this version to be even more secure to wear, but feedback on how it fits on other people's hair would be very welcome indeed! This particular rainbow version, I printed using a welded-together string of several colo(u)rs of ABS - coming to a total of 79cm (31") of 3mm filament. The Nyan-Cat add-on, can be printed separately, painted, and glued on with hot glue. Nyancat YouTube video: youtube.com/watch?v=QH2-TGUlwu4

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MEG-i-PHONE!!!!!!! by zgbot

i modified the original by making the cone snap in and out as well as chopping off the hard corners. print it with exterior support this is still a work in progress, it works but i can make it better the large cone i printed failed half way through so i glued it to another cone i had to make a super mega phone cone. the straight one with the small cone is pretty damn loud i drilled out the hole so its not the correct size for slip in fit. this is a video of the sound differenceflickr.com/photos/zgbot/5516445973/

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Bre Pettis Bioloid

Thanks to Skimbal we now have a cyborg CEO.  Now all we need is cyborg talk show host.

Bre Pettis Bioloid Head by Skimbal

Bre Pettis' head adapted to match the Bioloid bracket system and artfully grafted onto a new, superior, robot body. I for one welcome our new robotic CEO... Video of Bre Bot in actionmike-ibioloid.blogspot.com/2011/09/brebot-10.html Bre Bot is a derivative of:thingiverse.com/thing:9010 &thingiverse.com/thing:5192 Is a collaboration of: Michael Curry (Skimbal) Michael Overstreet (I-Bioloid) & Luis E. Rodriguez (Luis) And is brought to you by the letter: C

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The talking head of Stephen Colbert by Skimbal

The Talking Head - Stephen Colbert Edition Have you ever wanted Stephen Colbert to personally read you the News? Spread the truthiness from a place of honor at your very own kitchen table? Well now he can. Last seen Closing the Colbert Show!

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Y U NO PICK UP YOUR DIRTY SOCKS?!?

For a meme to “go viral” on the internet has typically meant that a particular idea¹ is rapidly propagated² across the internet.  To stretch the medical metaphor, the vector of infection would be the internet itself – probably through Facebook, Twitter, or even e-mail forwards.

What’s interesting to me is that while this analogy went from the physical world of medicine into the digital world of the internet, 3D printing can allow a digital meme to be rebroadcast across the world of matter.  Look at the existing memes that have already been posted to Thingiverse – the “Y U No Guy,” a creepy bear, and the Nyan cat to name just a few.³  What I particularly liked about fromar’s “Y U NO Guy” comic/meme/print is the way his wife uses the print:

My wife has been leaving this guy on the junk she wants me to pick up to say: Y U NO PICK UP YOUR DIRTY SOCKS?!?

Who would ever thought that the “Y U NO Guy” meme would ever have been spread across a dirty sock vector?

Y U No? Guy by fromar

It's the Internet meme "Y U NO?" Guy.knowyourmeme.com/memes/y-u-no-guy My wife has been leaving this guy on the junk she wants me to pick up to say: Y U NO PICK UP YOUR DIRTY SOCKS?!?

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1. Or meme [↩]
2. Repeated and passed on [↩]
3. There’s also my contribution…  I’d really suggest NOT trying it out.  You have been warned. [↩]

MakerBot operator Ed Rodgers had a problem.  He lives close to railroad tracks and the trains made a lot of noise when they rolled passed.  What was his solution?

With some custom printed parts from on Sector67‘s MakerBot 3D printer, an Arduino, and a few other parts, he now has a smart home that will close its windows when a train passes by.  The video above shows off his setup as well as the dramatic reduction in train noises when the windows are closed.

On Thingiverse, we each play a number of roles — modeler, maker, curator, cheerleader, and printer. At World Maker Faire this coming weekend (Sept 17th-18th), the MakerBot booth will be showcase some of our favorite designs from Thingiverse on our display table and printing on the BotFarm. This satisfies the first three categories.¹

So what about great MakerBot Operator masterprints that we all “coo” over on the “Whose Making What” parade?

If you have a print you are particularly proud of and want to donate to us for the Faire, bring it up to our booth and check it in with one of our “RaceWay Pit Crew” staffers. We will place your object on our display table (or within the Raceway set per your request) and tag it with the Thingiverse item number and your name as printer.

Just to make sure, you should upload a snapshot of your print to Thingiverse as an “I Made One” to preserve the memories. While we will keep these items out of the hands of our visitors, the exuberance of visitor’s love for our booth has been known to clear us out.²

Some examples of masterprints that will be on display include TheMakerGuy‘s print of Webca’s 3D Printed Full Sized MakerBot³ and Skimbal‘s & Tbuser‘s prints of some of their own designs.

When we get back from Maker Faire we will unpack our collection of prints and rebuild the MakerBot Workshop Trophy  Case, opposite the recently expanded BotFarm. Your masterprints will be labeled and added to our display!

1. And we are bringing our racing pompomps for the fourth. [↩]
2. Where or where did our brass Stanford bunny go? [↩]
3. His son Elliot, recently on MakerBot.TV, is not afraid to take up our Sword of Omens to defend his dad’s week-long print [↩]

We’ve been working overtime getting our Turtle Shell Racers ready for Maker Faire!  If you didn’t hear the news, we’re going to have a lot of racers running at our booth, and, as you can see in the above slideshow, it’s been a group effort to get everything ready.

Is something like this going on at your home?  If you’ve at home working on your own amazing, 3d-printed racing creation, we are inviting you to bring it to our Maker Faire area and run it around the track for a chance at weekend bragging rights.  Who says track days are only for car nuts?

MakerBot Investor and board member Brad Feld dived into MakerBot in a big way quite recently.¹ As a little pre-World Maker Faire treat he has just put up twenty Custom-Assembled Thing-O-Matics on his deals site Brad Feld’s Amazing Deals.

You know that “yell-and-sell” technique on the late night infomercials where a booming voice intones “Act now, Quantities Extremely Limited”? Well, there’s a ring of truth to this kind of thing: we will not be offering this deal in our store and if the high demand for our staff-built Custom-Assembled bots so far is any guide, these twenty will be sold before the day is out.

So…act now! What are you waiting for! This offer won’t come again! There has never been a better time …! Yup, all quite true: jump to Brad’s site and take advantage of his generosity!

NOTE: The four week lead time for production of the Custom-Assembled Thing-O-Matics still applies!

1. And check out the Foundry coins he made on Thingiverse while getting to know our bots! [↩]

Protoceratops at the ROM by clothbot

As I was typing up the last post I recalled Clothbot’s recent submission to Thingiverse.  While at the Royal Ontario Museum he took about 15 photos of a protoceratops fossilized skeleton on display.  Once home he passed the photos through My3DScanner.com and ended up with a 3D model of the dinosaur.  Clothbot pointed out to me that proper lighting is key – only 12 of the 15 photos were acceptable.  Avoiding too many shadows or a washed out background is important to getting a final model that won’t have holes in it.

So, it would seem anyone with a camera phone and an internet connection might just be carrying around their own bionic eyes.  What I’m dying to see is a model uploaded to Thingiverse that was created by mounting a camera on a quadrocopter, taking a photo or video, and turning a large landmark into a 3D model.

Protoceratops at the ROM by clothbot

As we were wandering around the Royal Ontario Museum, I spied this scrawny little critter and thought to myself, "I must take a bunch of photos of this scrawny little critter." So I did. That bunch of photos is at:flickr.com/photos/aplumb/sets/72157627212309301/ Then I bundled them up and passed them thru my3dscanner.com/ to generate the attached colour 3D point cloud. The only filtering I did was remove some fragments of other skeletons that were picked up in the process.

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What would you do with a bionic eye?

Tony Buser posted his own take on the “MakerBot Goggles” phenomena where you see everything as DIY 3D printable:

I think I’ve discovered a corollary to MakerBot Goggles – Spinscan Goggles. Now everything I see I wonder if I can scan and MakerBot a copy.

Making a rote copy and merely duplicating an existing object can definitely be useful.  What I find more interesting is being able to scan a physical object in the world around you and manipulate the 3D image to be remixed into something even more useful.

So, if you were wearing your own Spinscan Goggles, what would you want to scan and duplicate?  What would you want to scan and mashup or remix?