With the addition of the Unicorn to your arsenal of Makerbot toolheads, tons of new and fun possibilities open up. Maybe you’re thinking: How exactly, do I draw something with the Unicorn? Can I draw a Unicorn?

Yes! You can. Here’s how:

You’ll first need a .dxf file and the Scribbles.py script. The scripts can be downloaded from github (just click download source to get everything). The .dxf can be generated in a number of ways, including by vectorizing an image, but we’re going to go the simple route and just wip up something in Q-Cad. Go ahead and save the .dxf in the Scribbles Scripts folder that you downloaded.

Open the terminal/command prompt and navigate to the same folder (Scribbles Scripts). This is most easily accomplished by typing “cd ” and then dragging the folder icon into the terminal window.

Now you’ll want to run the scribbles.py script. Just type “python scribbles.py unicorn-logo.dxf > unicorn-logo.gcode” and press enter. A gcode file will pop into existence.

Open (or copy and paste) the gcode file into ReplicatorG. Make sure you’re using version 19 or later and have the most up-to-date firmware loaded onto your extruder controller. Install your drawing implement in the Unicorn and your paper or post-it on the build platform. Position the tip so it’s about 1mm above the platform in the lower left hand corner.

Press build and gaze upon the mysterious Unicorn as it springs to life.

Having recently been contacted by someone interested in testing a few samples of makerbot-made braille, I polished up my previous design and shipped a few pieces off earlier this week. Now, the results are in…. and it seems to be a resounding YES!

He writes: “I am enormously impressed. With my fingernail I can feel where the filaments laid down. With my fingertips though, the dots are correct sized, smooth feeling and comfortable to read. I really think this is professional quality stuff.”

I’ll be talking with him about where to take it from here and about what implications/possibilities this may have (and I’ll be sure to keep you in the loop).

Check it out on Thingiverse for the details.

We’ve been printing tons of pulleys recently and have started to notice that little delays, like waiting for the test extrusion, really start to add up.

Some very quick GCode modifications can seriously up the production capabilities of your MakerBot. All of the sudden pulleys that would take 20 minutes pop out in 15. Checkout the write up on the wiki and start pushing your bot to the production extremes!

In ReplicatorG 005 support was added for controlling multiple MakerBots from the same computer. On Windows and Linux it just involves opening more instances of ReplicatorG and assigning them to their respective serial ports but on a Mac it’s a little bit trickier.

The other day Adam showed me this cool trick for running ReplicatorG from the source in terminal and today I documented it on the ReplicatorG wiki. I’ve been using this trick the past few days to pump out pulleys for batch 5. It’s an awesome feeling to be surrounded by lots of MakerBots all humming away as they print out tons of parts for you. Yay for MakerBot threesomes!

Yesterday we spent the entire day showing off the MakerBot at the CEA Lineshow. We met some great people and have gotten awesome press (Huge thanks to Gizmodo, Engadget, Make, Dvice and Hackaday) while doing what MakerBot does best: cranking out awesome objects!

Read about how Bre wowed the judges at the startup competition in the NYTech Meetup Blog.

Bre’s MakerBot Coin is definitely my pick for first print. It’s easy, fast, and perfect to show off to your friends.

Zach’s 608 idler pulleys are again a quick build and will definitely help you prove to the skeptics out there that the MakerBot can and does print useful parts.

For your third print you should definitely test the limits of your machine. It took a lot of tuning and fiddling before my MakerBot could print Wizard23′s Screwable Jewellery Boxes but once they came out flawlessly I knew my MakerBot was ready to take on any challenge. Now go out there and start printing and be sure to upload your pictures to the MakerBot Flikr pool!