MakerBot Industries

TOM Tentative Sound Damper by Bluemetal

One of the most interesting lessons I’ve learned from Thingiverse is the importance of sharing.  Take, for instance, Bluemetal’s “TOM Tentative Sound Damper.”  Although the design didn’t have the hoped-for impact, reducing operational noise, there were two very important side-effects.

First, it looks AWESOME.  Whether or not it works, the springloaded feet and just cool.  Secondly, Bluemetal’s designs prompted MakerBot’s own Nick Starno to share a handy little hardware tweak.  Nick suggests:

I was able to eliminate a lot of noise by cutting some of the rubber tube that comes with the ABP into <1mm “washers” and compress them between the rods and rod covers. 6 total, one for a single end of each rod, and the difference in sound is quite significant.

If it wasn’t for Bluemetal’s post, Nick wouldn’t have posted that comment, and we might never have known about this quick trick!

TOM Sound Damper by Bluemetal

Inspired by thingiverse.com/thing:14802 and trying to find ways to reduce the noise on my TOM, I decided to create this TOM shock absorber in the hope it would help. After all the testing was done, there was actually some reduction on the loudness of the Y stage due to less contact with the desktop where the printer is sitting :) A way to test the potential reduction is to raise the printer away from the desktop and see if it makes less noise. If it does then the dampers will help a bit. The TOM seems now ready to start moving about and with the top up like in my case is starting to resemble a wood and plastic WALL-E. :) If you have the backside spool holder ( thingiverse.com/thing:7105 ) installed you will need to move it elsewhere as one of the back feet colides with it. The SketchUp file is included for others to tweak with it.

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Robotic Hand v3.0 by armjunkie

Thingiverse citizen armjunkie has shared version 3.0 of his seriously amazing robotic hand.  As with the prior version, the entire model is detailed and intricate.  Each joint in each finger is tensioned using dental rubber bands and controlled with fishing line.  In true Thingiverse spirit, armjunkie responded to a comment providing even more detail about how the behavior of the hand’s opening and closing motions can be customized by the number and placement of those same dental rubber bands.

One of the things I particularly about this model is the split photo above showing his designs¹ alongside the reality.  There is just something extremely satisfying about getting to see a design completely come to life exactly as you have planned. ²   Such intricate designs portend great things for the possibilities of creating plastic automata, puppets, and prostheses.

Robotic Hand v3.0 by armjunkie

My first Robotic Hand (version 2.0) was designed with no 3d printer in mind. Version 2.0 had many shortfalls and difficulties. Since then, I've gotten a TOM and have learned how to design with its limitations and benefits in mind. I present to the 'verse Robotic Hand Version 3.0. Ver 3 requires less non-printable hardware, it requires less plastic to print, less printing time, less post-print work (very little sanding), and far less pull force is required to manipulate. Version 3.0 Video of the Robot Hand in action:youtu.be/7AlyGPnU6U0Version 3.0 Flickr Set:flic.kr/s/aHsjxvAHJgVersion 2.0 for reference:thingiverse.com/thing:2408

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1. In Google Sketchup? [↩]
2. In this, I can only envy armjunkie [↩]

Thanks to beauturner for the image!

Hello and welcome, MakerBotters new and old!  We hope that you’re using some days to complete ambitious MakerBotting projects before the end of the year, posting detailed updates to your Thingiverse pages along the way.

In light of this, there are a few things that you should know.  First, there will be an additional lead time of about a week on all orders due to an end-of-year physical inventory — orders placed this week will likely not ship out until January 3rd.  But once we can ship again, our amazing crew will clear out all the accrued orders.  Thank you for your patience.

Btw: everybody in the community owes a big thank-you to Eddie, Lindsay, Liz, and the whole production crew for pushing out all the holiday orders; everything we ship out passes through their hands, and it’s been a very busy season for them.   Three cheers for the shipping crew!

Next, our dedicated tech support crew will be taking a well-deserved day off today, 12/26, but we’ll be back tomorrow to answer all of your emails.  We do anticipate a lot of questions from new MakerBotters during this week, so please allow us a bit of extra time to answer your questions.

If you’re having trouble, make sure that you’ve carefully read through our documentation, especially the updated Thing-O-Matic build sequence and our brand-new Quick Start Guide.  If you’re still having issues you can’t resolve, send us an email at support@makerbot.com and we’ll help you work through any issues you’re experiencing.

Enjoy the last week of 2011!

Thanks to vik for the image!

To all of you who are celebrating the popular winter holiday today, from all of us at MakerBot: Merry Christmas.  We hope that you all are enjoying it in health and prosperity.

If you’ve just unboxed a brand-new Thing-O-Matic kit, welcome to the MakerBot community!  You’ll most likely want to have a look at our build instructions and Quick Start Guide to get started!  I know it’s all very exciting, but make sure you read and understand those instructions before starting your build.  If you do have issues you can’t resolve on your own, make sure that you email us at support@makerbot.com and we’ll get back to as soon as we can.

And to all of those who have just given the gift of MakerBot: enjoy a nice, quiet day, and make sure that your loved one doesn’t forget to feed him or herself.

Happy Holidays!

So you still haven’t gotten anything for Dad?  Have a 3d printer?  Even though there time for shipping has past, you still don’t need to hit the mall.  Here’s your solution: a 3d-printable tie!

Thingiverse user Nudel_P was no doubt in this very situation just a few days ago, before he created this ingenious 3d-printable accessory.  The advantages are obvious: easy assembly, high resistance to soup drips, and a handsome, vaguely 8-bit aesthetic.

Fire up your MakerBot and print one out today in your favorite color — your dad is sure to love it!

Tie - Print and wear - Parametric by Nudel_P

I present to you, the RepRap tie!Update 12.30.2011: Added minecraft stl one one 20x20cm build plate and individual pieces in zip file. Yet untested! Don't know how well the holes will print when laying flat, please leave feedback if you try.Update 12.30.2011: Added a stl file of a tie made from a stl file. Check out tie_stl.zip for source code. Not yet printed! For years people have made ties out of wood, and I adopted the principle for 3d printing. Could it be a world first? The basic idea is to take a 3d model, cut holes in it for string and then cut it into smaller pieces so the tie will bend. I'm not overly satisfied with how the ties sits around the neck, perhaps someone has an idea for a better solution? Also, any special ideas for a tie, just make a comment and I'll give it a go. :)

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As it gets to the candle-lighting hour here on the East Coast, it really feels like (C)Hanu(k)kah 2k11 is going to be a good one.  And what’s the number one accessory for the festival of lights?

OK, well, yes, candles.  But the number two accessory is definitely the dreidel!  And thanks to the prolific Zydac, Thingiverse has a lovely example to help share out the gelt.

Well done, Thingiverse!  Now what about some printable latkes?

Dreidel by Zydac

Fast spinning dreidel for Hannukah. Makes a good stocking stuffer for Christmas too! Update 12/20/2011: Dreidel 03 has the Hebrew letters flipped the right way. Doh!

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A broken lock and me without my MakerBot

As you may not know, I don’t actually work at the BotCave/MakerBot Headquarters in Brooklyn.¹  Today for my day job I had to go to a bunch of meetings in a building that was filled with meeting rooms.  I had left a bunch of my work, backpack, and some other stuff in one particular meeting room while I went to go make some copies.  When I came back I discovered that the door had locked behind me because something inside the mechanism was broken. ²  Although I was able to get into the room eventually, I needed to be in and out of several meeting rooms and it became a pain to find someone to let me back in.

Now, if I only had my trusty MakerBot with me, I could have just ripped out a quick doorstop, propped the door open, or perhaps over-engineered a little plate that would fit inside the door jamb to prevent the door from locking.  Or, I could even have put the call out to Thingiverse for someone to design a brand new door handle and lock.

How would a MakerBot have changed your day today?

1. In fact, it was a condition of my employment… [↩]
2. Photo courtesy of Auntie P [↩]

Ye Plastic-hungry masses: we have good news!  We’ve just received a shipment of 1.75 mm plastic and it just so happens that plastic will be delivered by Christmas (aka day 6 of Channukah or the day before Kwanzaa) if you order today and choose one of the overnight shipping options!

Even better, we’ve received another small allotment of one of our new favorites, silver ABS in 1.75 mm.

If you’re still doing last-minute holiday shopping, there’s still time: just choose one of the next day delivery options.  We hope that this makes a few holiday seasons just a bit brighter.

Final pre-Christmas ship dates:

Ground Shipping: Too Late!

3-day service: Too Late!

2-day service: Too Late

Next Day Air: Today!

NOTHING says Christmas more than an animatronic 3D printed dinosaur skull singing “Jingle Bells.”  In the creator, rweaving‘s, own words:

It was my son’s idea to create a dinosaur skull that would sing jingle bells. This is the result of that project. The skull is controlled via servo motor triggered by the music. The skull, stand and mechanics were printed using a Makerbot Thingomatic. You can make your own by going to http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:14248

But, perhaps the best part of all was rweaving’s comment afterwards:

I love being able to take my 4 year old’s crazy idea and making it into reality.

Can you imagine if your parents had a Thing-O-Matic?  Just look back at some of the wacky things your parents put up on their fridge or office wall, the wacky amazing things that were only possible in your 4-year-old mind… and now think about how insanely cool the world would have been if your parents had said, “Sure thing kiddo, we can print that.”

Animatronic Dinosaur Skull by rweaving

It was my son's idea to create a dinosaur skull that would sing jingle bells. This is the result of that project. The bottom jaw is controlled via a servo mounted in the base. In this video you can see the skull in action singing jingle bells.youtu.be/Z-ojvIRqI_Q Undubbed with circuit board visibleyoutube.com/watch?v=0hoYsfMroyg

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