MakerBot Industries

toothpaste on ceramic tile by CatarinaMota

There are so many awesome projects involving makerbots being tweeted about.  Check them out!

catlx: Joel’s Processing script to generate paths for #makerbot+microscope RT @i_ilinx Path_Maker 0.1 released ! http://bit.ly/bLy2cg

hugepedlar: My fermenter tap is leaking, so I printed a god damn PLUG for it on my makerbot. How awesome is that?

suiseikobo: 皿ネジを使って平らに作成したホットステージに、カプトンを貼った0.1mm厚のステンレス板を載せてプリ ント。その後ステンレス板を曲げてモデルを簡単に取り外せるライフハック。いかがですか？ http://yfrog.com/3u31fkj #CupcakeCNC

michaeluna: Makerbot 3-D printer, Eyebeam Gallery NYC http://twitpic.com/208jun

local_guru: Custom Cookie Cutters for the Makerbot: http://bit.ly/8YykQd

uxfeeds: Better Living With MakerBot – Episode 1: Kitchen Lamp: This is a short documentation of fixing my kitchen lamp with my MakerBot. http://url4.eu/50zv8

pscht My #Makerbot really enjoyed making his little friend MiniBot http://twitpic.com/1nf23m Totally awesome machine @bre #fb

BrentCrosby Brass nozzle, Torlon cap, steel washer, assembled. MakerBot Extruder Concept http://yfrog.com/5naw4j

sajego My @makerbot extrusion coils make good cat toys

timriot i am delighted by the “Weird Dino” and “Big Dino” parts in the Makerbot Plastistruder: http://twitpic.com/1n0yov

nickstarno Troubles calibrating skeinforge? Check out my documented process on the Makerbot wiki, or add your own! http://bit.ly/cY0G9P

Bookmore @makerbot Just got in touch with a Cupcake operator not too far from Paris thanks to your map ! Capital idea, that map

Are you on the Makerbot Global Map?  If you own a bot, add yourself now! Keep those Tweets-a-Twitterin, peeps!

MakerBot fans and operators tweet their experiences:

• fernandovalle; Just finished building #makerbot 1251. What a joy it is to use. http://twitpic.com/1m5h16
• sajego Did you see the ‘thing’ I made gramma on the @makerbot? It looks kind of like a poodle but it has 6 legs. http://flic.kr/p/7Z18SL
• zaffi New @diydays video is up…check out @bre talk about the unique http://makerbot.com #diydays http://www.vimeo.com/11529171 cc: @lanceweiler
• beagleboard RT @beagleboardorg: Beagleboard based interface to makerbot stepper controller http://goo.gl/fb/pIvrj #beagleboard
• connors934 Another great night @thesprouts.org. big thanks to will langford and jimmieprodgers for help with my @makerbot. Extruding is exciting!
• robots_dreams Photo-op with Bre Pettis, Makerbot Ind. inside tour, then hanging out with the NYCRESISTOR folks. Totally mind blowing! (@ NYC Resistor)

Keep twittering your makerbot action shots and experiences!!

Props to the Makerboters who brought their machines to the Boston area mini Maker Faire.  Notable attendees were former makerbot intern Will and a seriously modded MakerBot with Z rod Wobble Arresters, Really Strong Filament Drive,  and a heated build platform.

From Robots Dreams:

Michael Overstreet posted two videos featuring a Sumobot chassis created using the Makerbot 3D printer, and the results look really professional. For a complex, relatively large, part taken right out of the Makerbot, Michael’s chassis is surprisingly good, even without any additional clean-up, sanding, or other finishing processes.

And the Makerbot cranking out the Sumobot chassis:

via Makerbot Turns Out Clean Robot Parts Video – ROBOTS DREAMS.

Could the Makerbot one day print human organs?

NPR interviewed one of the developers of the first commercial 3D Bio-printer, the “NovoGen” .  Really fascinating stuff!

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=124674635

The Cupcake CNC was presented at an open-source themed talk at the Gottesman Libraries @ Teachers College, Columbia University.

Very Special Thanks to Skye MacLeod from http://aftered.tv for producing this video the New Blankets for organizing the event.

Just a friendly reminder from Makerbot Industries that plastic filament and water don’t mix well.  We subjected some plastic samples some very humid conditions, i.e. submerging them in water for 48 hours.  Then the samples were used in a plastruder, and checked against a control group.  Turns out, the drenched plastic’s performance was awful, the extruded filament being more brittle and even “popping” during prints.

Turns out, the RepRap folks already know all about it:

Do not remove the coil from its packaging until you need it. The filament picks up atmospheric moisture in humid conditions, which forms bubbles of steam as the molten plastic extrudes.

-from VikOlliver at reprap.org

So now as an added precaution, Makerbot is now shipping all of our plastic in sealed bags with a silica gel packet to keep away humidity.  Happy Printing!