Anything they want.

There was a phenomenal event over the weekend hosted by DIYAbility which showed what a great tool The Replicator can be for people with disabilities that cause limited mobility and hand control. Especially now that we only sell fully assembled and tested machines, anyone can start making things almost right away.

The workshop’s goal was to expose some teens to personal creation technology using a MakerBot Replicator. John writes,

As more people with disabilities have access to computers through operating system accessibility features, joysticks, head mice and eye gaze, whatever the technology is used to gain access, 3D printing is also an option for them to explore their creativity, make custom devices and perhaps find interests that become sustainable careers.

So awesome. And we have to give a big shoutout to our friends at Tinkercad, whose design program is perfect for introducing people to the world of 3D design. DIYAbility led workshop participants through some of the Tinkercad lessons to give these kids their first 3D models. These are some rad teens with great patience, and we’re happy to read about their fun with MakerBot.

It’s also great to read that the hosts of the event found it easy to learn on The Replicator right along with the kids.

3D printing was new to the group, even to myself but it was simple to make small objects and learn about this process – one more cool trick that personal computers can perform.

Matthew Compeau and Biying Miao are architects and entrepreneurs who use The Replicator to bring their designs to life, including the fantastic jewelry from their latest project Hot Pop Factory. We asked them why they use a MakerBot, and they whipped up a post for us to share right here on this blog.

Hot Pop Factory’s collection of 3D Printed jewelry celebrates the unique texture of 3D Printed objects. The three-piece collection was designed using Rhino3D and Grasshopper and then fabricated with our MakerBot Replicator. Coming from an architectural background – a profession in which the tools and technology for dreaming up amazing designs are progressing much faster than the budgets and construction methods needed to build them, we realized that our MakerBot provided an amazing creative outlet to scale down those ideas and bring them to life in way that wouldn’t be possible with other fabrication methods.

Since it first started shipping earlier this year, we’ve been using the Replicator non-stop. After several months of experimenting with its strengths and limitations, we’ve been able to develop a set of striking designs that show off the stratified beauty inherent to the additive manufacturing process. During this time, The Replicator completely changed the way we design. Instead of iterating our designs through sketches and rough models, The Replicator lets us produce an unlimited number of full-size prototypes that we can touch and wear at every stage of the design process. The result was a visceral understanding of how each piece is formed that allowed us to tweak every detail in order to help bring out their true beauty.

As excited as we were about The Replicator as a design tool, we are equally passionate about its role in the future of personal manufacturing. As young designers we don’t have the resources that would normally be required to bring a product like this to market. Our MakerBot has empowered us to take full ownership of the design and manufacturing process. Instead of investing tens of thousands of dollars and trying to forge relationships with suppliers and fabrications, we can manage the entire process — from design, to fabrication, to distribution — from our living room. It’s an exhilarating feeling to have so much control over a project we’re so passionate about. We hope that as our business grows, we can empower others in the same way, by providing tools that allow them to personalize each piece for custom manufacturing.

Needless to say, working on this project has already been an exciting journey. We hope that you’ll join us as the experience continues to unfold at www.HotPopFactory.com.

Kids on break from school have hit the summer doldrums. Vacations are winding down and going to the pool every day is getting a little old. So why not #make a game? Thingiverse has a bunch of cool games that you can find under Browse>>Toys & Games>>Games. There you’ll see several game sets that you can download (for free!) and make on your MakerBot. Here are five awesome games to fill your day with.

Abalone by blacki

Abalone

This is Thingiverse user blacki’s version of the game Abalone, a two-player strategy game. You move your color, one piece and one space at a time, to try to push your opponent off the board.

To make this set, you’ll need at least two colors of plastic filament (we got your back: there are 35 in the store right now). Blacki used three colors here, but that’s not totally necessary; one set of pieces can be the same color as the board.

Make the game board and the 28 marbles (two sets of 14).

Liar’s dice set, by cibomahto

Liar’s Dice

Make two of these cups and ten dice — you can use use Lunpa’s Six Sided Die – and you’ve got Thingiverse user cibomahto’s Liar’s Dice set all ready to go.

The Wikipedia page for this game explains that it’s basically poker with dice. Call your opponent’s bluff.

Peg solitaire by mread

Peg solitaire

Don’t have anyone to play a game with, or just need something to distract yourself at work?

Make this simple game by Thingiverse user mread, which includes the base and 32 pegs.

Hours of fun for pennies of plastic. Enjoy!

Travel Baseball Game by theroar

Travel Baseball

We’re more than half way through the Major League Baseball season here in the US, so it’s starting to feel like all these games…actually matter.

If you can’t get enough, play this simplified baseball game with a friend or with your little brother in the car. Here’s how:

“To play. Without showing your opponent, the pitcher and batter each select a pitch. When ready, show what you selected. If the batter guesses the pitch correctly they may spin the spinner to see if they got a hit or an out. If they guess wrong, it is a strike. 3 strikes and your out.”

Quantum Game and Board/Case, by cymon

Quantum

Cymon brings us his take on this strategy game from 1975.

The game pieces here have different markings to tell you what they can do. The goal is to be the first to claim three towers with six pieces each. Read here for more details.

Bonus! This set includes a lid, so when you’re finished, just throw the pieces in the bottom of the board and snap it shut.

Want to make your own game? The designers of a couple of these include little notes on their Thingiverse pages indicating that they used either simple boolean operations to shape the game pieces. For example, in Tinkercad, it’s super easy to put shapes next to each other, put a box around them and press “group”. If your pieces are touching, that’s a union. To subtract one thing from another just click on “hole” and then group your shapes. Tinkercad even has a whole tutorial on making a die.

Note: I know I’m leaving out the 3D printing game sensation that’s sweeping the world: Seej from the master Zheng! More on that soon. Now go get your game on.