MakerBot Industries

Clips for attaching plastic box to bike rack by eM5

When a friend of eM5′s needed help with finding a way to attach a plastic milk-crate style box to his daughter’s vintage bicycle, eM5 was more than happy to oblige.

I don’t know if this will be of any use to anyone else because it is so specific, but I thought it was an elegant solution and a perfect use for my Makerbot.

My friend asked me for suggestions on a wobbly installation he had done.  His daughter wanted a plastic storage box attached to the back rack of her vintage bike. As a college student in theater, she carries lots of materials back and forth on her bike, and a girlish basket she had just did not cut it.  My friend had attached the box with wire and was not happy with the results.

So I took some measurements and two versions later I had these clips.  They’re working well so far, and they look 100% better than the wire solution.

Okay, why the wacky subject line to the post, then?  The above plastic clips for attaching a plastic milk create to a vintage bicycle got me thinking, “Hey, you really could attach any thing to anything.”  If that is true, then all of sudden the world becomes a wacky mad libs kinda place.  “I went to the megaphone store and bought some lampshades.  But, when I got home, I found they didn’t fit!  So, I fired up my wooden robot printed a binder to dollhouse connector, and had a very smelly afternoon.

Clips for attaching plastic box to bike rack by eM5

I don't know if this will be of any use to anyone else because it is so specific, but I thought it was an elegant solution and a perfect use for my Makerbot. My friend asked me for suggestions on a wobbly installation he had done. His daughter wanted a plastic storage box attached to the back rack of her vintage bike. As a college student in theater, she carries lots of materials back and forth on her bike, and a girlish basket she had just did not cut it. My friend had attached the box with wire and was not happy with the results. So I took some measurements and two versions later I had these clips. They're working well so far, and they look 100% better than the wire solution.

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Minimal Lenscap holder!

One of my favorite Thingiverse design evolutions this year has been the “Lens Cap Holder” thing.  Since kitlaan posted his original (parametric) design several months ago, we’ve seen a host of variations, up to and including the elegant solution seen here from Thingiverse user joo.

While it’s a simple design, this really shows the power of a parametric design.  There are alternate versions like this one, or individualized designs for particular cameras, straps, and bags.  You can see some of the variations here.  A favorite of mine, from user Crypto, incorporates a peace sign as a structural element.

Kudos to everybody involved in this vibrant Thingiverse thread!  We all look forward to more back-and-forth exchanges like this in the new year.

Camera Lens Cap Holder by kitlaan

A (parametric) buckle that you can attach to your camera strap, which lets you (hopefully) stop losing your lens cap. The STL is sized for a 58mm lens cap, and a ~40mm strap width. The printing layers make for a great friction catch for the lens cap. But there's a designed-in lip overhang to make it a little more aggressive.

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Minimalistic lens cap holder by joo

Minimalistic 52mm lens cap holder attached to the thin part of the camera strap. The print shown in the picture was done on an eMaker Huxley with supply3Dpla.com black PLA using 0.3mm layers. Shot with Olympus E-P1/Canon FD F1.4 50mm lens, also the combination i made the cap holder for.

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Camera Lens Cap Holder by Crypto

This is a copy of a lens cap holder (58mm). I needed one to fit a Crumpler "Four Million Dollar Home" bag which has a 50mm strap. I took the opportunity to mod the design a tad. This one's for all the war photographers out there. Peace.

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Juice Box Weirdos by gwygonik

These “Juice Box Weirdos” by gwygonik (aka Gregg Wygonik) are one of my new all time favorite things on Thingiverse.  From the description of his inspiration, multiple variations on his own ideas – including some blanks so you can expand on them, with suggestions on how you could take his ideas even further, to the more full explanations in his own blog, this is what Thingiverse is about.  I don’t think we even have any juice boxes in my home, but I’m sure as heck going to go buy some now. ¹

Recently, while looking for how to best make a salsa-jar snow globe, I saw that a lot of people were turning juice boxes into boats and other cute objects by using stickers or paper. And I thought: “Wait a minute! What if I printed pieces for juice boxes? What if you could mix and match the pieces too?!”

I would be totally remiss if I didn’t mention Gregg’s blog detailing his adventures with his family and MakerBot 3D printer.  Gregg, if you’re reading this, I’ve followed you on Twitter and added your blog to my “must read” RSS feed.

Juice Box Weirdos by gwygonik

Recently, while looking for how to best make a salsa-jar snow globe, I saw that a lot of people were turning juice boxes into boats and other cute objects by using stickers or paper. And I thought: "Wait a minute! What if I printed pieces for juice boxes? What if you could mix and match the pieces too?!" Surprisingly, I was unable to find a commercial product that did this. This seems like a gold-mine to some mass-produced toy company (which is why I was going to set the license to non-commercial, but decided that if folks wanted to make and sell on Shapeways or similar, feel free :-) I was going to title these "juice box heroes", but there is a musical band by that name (apparently doing children-friendly versions of classic songs). Given that I made an owl with goggles on, "weirdos" is more appropriate. More info and pictures at my blog: myplasticfuture.com/one-for-the-kids-and-kids-at-heart These are more for sparking imagination than being "things" on their own. Which is why I've included a plain, basic end-cap for YOU to make your own things on: pirate ships, aircraft carriers, cats, alligators, dinosaurs, mars rovers, you name it! I have included all the SketchUp files to use as a launching point.

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1. For, um, my kid. [↩]

Change Maker by patchorang

My wallet has a little change pouch that, like an idiot, I keep change in.  I don’t even know why I do this any more.  I don’t really carry much cash and typically use a debit/credit card for most purchases anyhow.  Whatever, then, would possess me to actually cart around a random collection of pennies, nickles, dimes, and quarters?!  Really, if I were approaching the situation logically – like patchorang, I would carry only 10 coins.

It includes 3 quarters, 2 dimes, 1 nickel, and 4 pennies. Keep in your wallet so you can always make perfect change.

This is such a great idea for so many reasons.  It would prevent your wallet from jingling. ¹  It would have a slimmer profile than a pile of the same coins.  It could be slid into one of the credit card sections in your wallet.  It is also a quick printing, easy to carry, practical and very understandable way to show off what kinds of things you can do with a 3D printer.

Also, 9000 bonus internet points, bragging rights, and a blog-nod to the first person to upload an OpenSCAD derivative and leave a comment here with a link to it on Thingiverse.

Change Maker by patchorang

Inspired by this instructable: instructables.com/id/Always-have-Correct-Change-in-your-wallet/ I made a 3D printed version. It includes 3 quarters, 2 dimes, 1 nickel, and 4 pennies. Keep in your wallet so you can always make perfect change.

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1. Jingling, while festive, is not really what I want my wallet to do. [↩]

Michael Colton's Printed 'Copter!

Yesterday I asked for flight videos from ‘copters with printed parts.  Two readers came through:

• Michael Colton was the first to leave a comment with a link to a flight video and even provided the above photo!  Michael says, “The frame (except for the carbon rods), motor mounts, camera mounts, battery tray, etc. are all 3D printed parts of my own design.”  His flight video was part of a documentary earlier this year.  I hereby award Mr. Colton 9000 internet points along with the promised bragging rights for being the first one to send in this video!

• A little later Buzz uploaded a link to his homemade quadcopter.  I just couldn’t not give this guy a mention.  His ‘copter featured printed mounts four IR range sensors.  Unfortunately, he also says this is the first and last video his ‘copter ever provided, suffering a tragic catastrophic fall at the end of the video.  The last part of this video is nearly heartbreaking.  You may just not want to watch past 8:02.  Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

Loud AND dangerous you say? Tell me more!

The last six months or so have seen a noticeable increase in the number of designs on Thingiverse devoted to flying objects.  People are uploading designs for printed ‘copter motor holders, electronics holders, and full frames.  You can find most of them under the names of  “helicopter,” “tricopter,” “quadcopter,” or “quadrocopter” with 32, 5, 3, and 27 things associated with each, respectively.

The photo above is taken from “Quadracopter body” by avh.  He offers this warning, “It is not only loud, but quite dangerous, so flying over people is not recommended!”  (I’m sure he’s still working out the kinks.)

In any case, we may have been promised jet packs and hovercars, but at least the day of printing your own mini-copter are fast approaching.

Now for the challenge part…  9000 internet points and bragging rights to the person who can get me an on-board flight video¹ from any kind of ‘copter sporting any number of printed parts.

Quadracopter body by avh

This thingy is a replacement body for your arducopter. It hides the electronic speed controls, power distribution panel, and a ton of wires inside. It is really strong, and it makes your copter look bad ass. The design features attachment points for battery strap, bolt holes for attaching the arms, vents for the ESCs, cable holes big enough to fit the battery cable with connector. I would love some suggestions for attachments. I'm planning to add some kind of cover for the electronics.

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1. Yes, I know that is redundant [↩]

Quick note for anyone placing small orders: while our store is still accepting orders, we have been forced to take a brief holiday from our usual lightning-fast shipping in order to do a year-end physical inventory.  Please anticipate a few extra days of lead time for all orders.

We will be shipping again starting Tuesday, January 3rd, 2012.  There may be a backlog, but our tireless shipping crew (mostly Liz) will tear through that in a few days.  We apologize for any inconvenience this causes.

Throne by cushwa, printed by mifga

Thingiverse citizen cushwa may be new to Thingiverse, but they’ve uploaded some amazing designs in their less than two weeks on the site.  So far they have uploaded a throne, mirror, medieval table, medieval chair, fireplace, canopy bed, dresser with working drawers, and a suit of armor.  These aren’t just pretty 3D models of fanciful furniture, cushwa clearly took the time to split up each model and lay them out for printing without the need for support structures.

Keep up the awesome work!

dresser by cushwa

Medieval sort of dresser. Suitable for Kings and Queens.

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Tracks? Where we're going, we might need tracks.

Thingiverse citizen makedave has uploaded this really awesome “1:43 Car Wall Track.”  Perfectly sized for Hot Wheels tracks, these track mounts will allow you to stick your tracks to the wall.  In his own words,

My daughter wanted a Hot Wheels wall track system for Christmas and I thought that is neat, but I want to use the Hot Wheels track we already have. So here is a wall mount for regular Hot Wheels tracks.

This solution is so great for so many reasons.  Makedave was able to fulfill a Christmas wish, exercise his design and printing skills, save money on buying a whole new set of tracks, and essentially repurpose the tracks they already had.  Also, double bonus points for use of a time traveling deLorean.

1:43 Car Wall Track by makedave

My daughter wanted a Hot Wheels wall track system for Christmas and I thought that is neat, but I want to use the Hot Wheels track we already have. So here is a wall mount for regular Hot Wheels tracks.

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Dalek Energy Weapon (1:1 Scale) by elmoray

…Is a life-size Dalek Energy Weapon to display prominently on my desk at work.

Dalek Energy Weapon (1:1 Scale) by elmoray

I have been working on my 1:1 scale Dalek for a few years now. One thing I never liked was how my hand made energy weapon came out. Now that I have a 3D printer, I decided to do an upgrade. This design, like the handmade version, used a plasma/lightning tube that I removed from a toy. If you are working on your own Dalek, then you will need to replace that with a plastic tube or render a center rod for the part. Also, I did not add the servo screw holes in the print. I just added them with a drill after I made the part. Lastly, I used 1/4 plastic tubing for the cage. I decided not to print those because the part would have been too large for my printer. It was easier to use the tubing. It is by far the largest and most complex print I have done to date on my Mosaic printer.

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