If you haven’t done so already, be sure to reserve your spot at tomorrow’s MakerBot User Group New York! We’ve added a few seats to the event and want everyone who is interested to be there — but we need to see that RSVP!

Chocolate MakerBot Bunny by cushwa

The Plan, Stan:

Community members will get to share their 3D-printed creations from the series “MakerBot vs. The Easter Bunny”! We asked you to create Easter-themed designs (uploaded to Thingiverse and tagged with “Easter”). Your imagination is the only limit on what you come up with!

Those in attendance will get some updates from MakerBot Industries, along with some instructive talks from our staff.

• Annelise, producer of MakerBot TV, will talk about collaborating on creative projects. And she’ll give us a sneak peek at a work in progress!
• Liz and Tony will show how to make molds from the things you print on your MakerBot. Like, say, an Easter Bunny.
• Colin will talk about using low melting point metals like pewter for home casting projects.
• And more!

For more details, please visit the invitation page. Looking forward to seeing everyone!

Untitled by cushwa

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Even though whoever published that post on Ada Lovelace thought it was Women’s History Month, it is obviously not Women’s History Month. That is in March, which almost everyone, except for that particular individual, knows.

It is, however, Autism Awareness Day. I love this beautiful design on Thingiverse from antohneoo. The puzzle piece, which could be converted for use as a night light, honors the Light It Up Blue campaign.

This is really an elegant campaign. The idea is to shine a light on autism spectrum disorders. There are some really nice pictures on the organization’s homepage of different buildings glowing in various shades of blue.

We hope our MakerBot users out there in the wild are using their 3D printers to make copies of this great design for themselves and their neighbors. Show us what you got!

Untitled by antohneeo

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Did you know that one of the most important figures in the history of computing was a woman?

Last month was Women’s History Month, but there’s never a bad time to celebrate the incredible Ada Lovelace, daughter of Lord Byron. The Wikipedia page devoted to this 19th century wonder woman has more than can be captured in a blog post, but here are some highlights. Keep in mind that left her impressive mark on the world before her untimely death at 36.

Here’s the skinny:

– In 1822, Charles Babbage begins conceptualizing a “difference engine,” a machine intended to compute values of polynomial functions. The engine is never built.

– After abandoning the difference engine, Babbage began work on the “analytical engine,” the first general-purpose computer that can be considered Turing-complete. The machine is never built.

– From 1842-43, Ada Lovelace, a well-lettered young mathematician, translated Luigi Menabrea’s work on Babbage’s Analytical Engine, adding in turn her own extensive notes.

– Lovelace’s notes included a demonstration of how the Engine could be used to produce a sequence of Bernoulli numbers. This demonstration is now widely considered the world’s first computer program.

The painter William Bewick was so impressed with Ms. Lovelace that he compared her to the “extraordinary genius” of her father, Lord Byron.

Crutch Tip by Darthcarter

I sprained my ankle on Friday and have a bright and shiny pair of crutches to show for my troubles.  After combing through Thingiverse, I was able to find only one crutch accessory – Darthcarter’s crutch tip featured above.

Thus, I propose an OpenSCAD design challenge – please create for me some accessories for my crutches.  They can be anything at all – perhaps an attachment for crutches that would give it a gripper claw extension, maybe a hook for holding the crutches up on a wall when not in use, or perhaps a clip for holding the two crutches together when I set them down.  This is my first time using crutches, so I’m sure there are a million little improvements for them.

9000 MakerBlock-backed certified internet points to the first person to design some kind of a crutch accessory or improvement in OpenSCAD and upload it to Thingiverse.¹  9000 additional MakerBlock-backed certified internet points to the most practical crutch accessory or improvement.  Please tag your Thing with “makercrutch” so that I can find them!

FYI, this is my challenge alone and not from MakerBot Industries.  I am the only source of MakerBlock backed certified internet points and imaginary currency.

1. One of the reasons I’m making this an OpenSCAD challenge is that I can’t hobble around my workroom looking for my calipers in order to measure my crutches! [↩]

Another Monday, another episode!

Today on MakerBot TV I’ll show you some of the ways that folks have personalized, customized and accessorized their MakerBots and hopefully get you inspired to turn your MakerBot into your very own work of art!

Nickel Stand for Role Playing Portraits by Gilgamesh82

I just love this printable plastic stand for role playing portraits by Gilgamesh82. ¹  Given that the pieces are plastic and paper, the idea of using a nickel for weight is a really great innovation.

With just a regular black-and-white 2D printer, a nickel, and a little bit of plastic you can have a really amazing functional game piece for just about any kind of game.  Why play Clue with boring pieces?  Why play Candyland with some generic looking figures?  Why not include pictures of the players themselves?

Untitled by Gilgamesh82

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1. It reminds me of the cardboard creature feet featured on this blog a few months ago. [↩]

A quick calendar update for any NoVA residents: Reverse Space, a makerspace in Herndon, Virginia, posted yesterday that their new MakerBot Replicator is online and ready to roll!

The space has invited community members to come hang out with the Replicator on Thursday, April 5.

If you’re not a member of Reverse Space, you might want to consider it. Unless the policy has changed, it looks like membership is currently free and due-less. The space boasts a bunch of maker tools, but also a foosball table and a mini-fridge.

In the interest of sharing best practices, MakerBot highly recommends stocking that fridge with energy drinks that may or may not give you wings.

Reverse Space is located at:
13505 Dulles Technology Drive #3
Herndon, Virginia 20171