Paper Folding Models by aubenc

The recent news of a process for creating balloons of any shape using 3D printed molds and sophisticated balloon deflating modelling, reminded me of two really cool ways for creating paper models.

First is TreeMaker by Robert Lang, an engineer and world-renowned origami master.  Lang’s free and open source program lets the user specify the number and ratio of major “flaps” and it designs a base that should collapse into a model with that number and ratio of flaps.  When folding an octopus, one uses a base with 9 flaps – 8 equal flaps for the eight legs and 1 shorter flap that forms the head.  A giraffe would probably use five really long flaps (for the legs and neck) and one very short one (for the tail).

The second is a type of software that assists with creating papercraft models by exploding a 3D model into a flat pattern that, when cut out and assembled using glue and tabs, would create a physical paper version of the 3D model.  There are several different programs that do this, but I’m not aware of any that are free or open source. ¹

If you know of any versions that are either free or open source – please share!

Untitled by aubenc

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1. The wikipedia article provides several suggestions and links if you’re interested. [↩]

The games going on in St. Louis as I type are a culmination of “three separate robotics competitions for the ultimate Sport for the Mind. The event includes the FIRST Robotics Competition Championship, the FIRST Tech Challenge World Championship, and the FIRST LEGO League World Festival.”

And be warned: “…it’s the hardest fun you’ll ever have.”

Anyone wondering how to incorporate MakerBot into a robotics education program should browse our Curriculum Page. There are tutorials for several web-based 3D modeling and design applications, as well as a number of specific lesson ideas under Science, Math, Computer Science, and Interdisciplinary categories.

From Wired:

A well-run bake sale can generate enough funds for a school to buy a 3-D printer and 123D is a free, beginner’s CAD program. It just takes one plucky parent to get kids learning the basics of mechanical engineering by the time they can ride a bike.

Check out their nice slideshow of “10 Amazing Things 3D Printers Can Do Now,” including these sweet scissors.

Credit: Caroline Poe Photography

Check out this post from Austin-based design technologist (at frog) Gregg Wygonik, who attended what is now officially known – by proclamation of the Mayor! – as ACE Academy Innovation Day. I never get tired of reading about young kids who need no explanation of what 3D printing is or why it’s powerful.

Gregg is an enthusiastic MakerBotter, and he answered our call to action (wittingly or not) for a community member to go represent us at this cool day-long science fair for young innovators. Apparently this wasn’t like “normal science fairs where kids have dioramas of the earth’s layers.” No, these kids brought “innovative forms of lightning rods for houses, cool robots, 3D LED matrix cubes, and a new type of ‘flame in a can’ over which they were roasting marshmallows.”

And then one of the youngsters asked Gregg why he was running Windows on a Mac, while another schooled his peer on time-lapse YouTube videos of 3D prints in progress.

Heh…kids.

Were these kids exceptionally engaged in the world or is that just what kids are like these days? It seems that 3-year-olds can handle iPads about as well as 63-year-old novices, and whenever I see a child near a 3D printer they just get it. That’s exactly what Gregg experienced at ACE Innovation this weekend.

While we got questions from parents about how it worked, the kids all seemed to know…

Credit: Caroline Poe Photography

If the kids who grew up with early generations of personal computers grew up and revolutionized the Web, what will the kids who grow up with 3D printers do?

Thanks, Gregg (and his colleague Brooks!), for spending the day with some awesome kids! It is amazing to see people from our community out there spreading the fun and freedom that go along with MakerBotting.

The video below shows a little more about what the day entailed. It almost makes it seem like kids invented The Replicator, but hopefully they were at least inspired to hack away on it!