MakerBot Industries

Michael Curry's display at Detroit Maker Faire 2011

It’s little wonder that Michael Curry, of the Cowtown Computer Congress, was the recipient of an Awesome Award at this year’s Detroit Maker Faire for showing off his Mario Cart racing cars (with remotes!), Christmas Lego men, Bathtub U-Boat, and a Portal sentry turret.

Thanks to Jon Speicher for the photo!

We recently had the honor of scanning the amazing Laurie Anderson.  If you’re not familiar with her work, it’s mesmerizing stuff and you should really run out and get a few copies of her newest album, Homeland, as well as her 1982 classic Big Science.

Laurie is also a long-time maker; she’s made a number of experimental musical instruments over the years, including the famous tape-bow violin. Her work has always pushed the limits of technology, especially when it comes to manipulating the human voice, something she’s mastered to great dramatic effect.

It’s a real honor to host her likeness on Thingiverse; I plan to print out her bust and set it right next to my audio workstation as a source of inspiration.  I suspect I won’t be the only one to do so.

Laurie Anderson by Friends

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laurie_anderson

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Are you a teacher or educator interested in bringing a MakerBot into the classroom? During this 4 hour session you will be introduced to 3-D printing with the MakerBot Thing-o-Matic. We’ll walk you step-by-step through the process of creating a 3-D computer model and preparing it for printing with the MakerBot. You will be given an overview of various 3-D modelling software tools that are available for free online. In addition, you will be shown a set of lesson plans that you can use with your students over the course of a semester. No prior knowledge of 3-D modelling or 3-D printing is required. Please bring a laptop computer to the workshop.

When: Saturday, August 6th, 2011, 12PM – 4PM
Where: Bot Farm, 314 Dean Street, Brooklyn
Cost: Free! (You must also email a brief statement describing your work with young people).

Only 15 slots are available, so sign up as soon as possible! You can register
via Eventbrite.

A budding roboticist writes to share that she was spotted on the red carpet at the recent Robot Film Festival, sporting a MakerBotted bracelet!

This year, Robot Film Festival, next year…Tonys?  Grammys? Oscars?  Will Joan Rivers be asking the glitterati  “whose Thingiverse item are you wearing?”

Anybody else making fashion statements with their MakerBots?  Share your stories in the comments.

Beautiful Chunky Bracelet by tinkerbelle

Simple. Elegant. Parametric Faceted bracelet that any lady would love. Looks like a nut. Guess that makes her arm the bolt. =) The must have accessory of the year! As seen on CES 2012 runway, MAKE magazine, and Robot Film Festival red carpet. My first 3D printed project! Here's the OpenSCAD and STL files. Collaborative project with thingiverse.com/beatbots

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We’re very pleased to lend our new workshop space to the Impossible Girl this Thursday evening.  I’m afraid that her entire audience has already been pre-booked through a very clever Kickstarter campaign, and thus you cannot attend in person.  However, there will be a live stream of the concert, which will start at around 7:30pm.

Read more about Kim’s awesome project after the break! Read the rest of this entry »

Bathtub U-Boat by Skimbal

Michael Curry, also known as Skimbal on Thingiverse, was recently interviewed by NPR regarding his incredible designs on display at Maker Faire Kansas City.  Michael discusses how his MakerBot 3D printer has been a creative outlet and even how it has also helped his career in this down economy.  If you haven’t seen Michael’s work yet, you definitely need to take a look at his “Designed Things” page on Thingiverse.  His designs are usually large multi-print pieces, incredibly intricate, and seem to always push the boundaries of what’s possible with a single 3D printer at your disposal.

Check out the link for the full audio interview along with some photographs from the event!

A father-and-sons team of MakerBot Operators have just put together their first bot — and completed their first print. Jeremy, Ishan, and Akash sent in the video they made of this experience to the Customer Support team.

Watching the video this morning reminded me of my first day interning at MakerBot, watching an idler pulley print on a production CupCake with a MK4 toolhead. Pure magic. I particularly enjoy how this team keeps busy during the entire print, experimenting with spool holders and doing their best to keep their fingers out of the machine, despite overwhelming curiosity.

Congrats to Jeremy, Ishan and Akash!

This past weekend we celebrated Space Month under a star field and the glowing LED strips of a gathering of MakerBots busy printing Rockets, Astronauts, UFOs and Aliens in 3D. There was even 3D Zoetrope animated with MakerBot printed characters. In our Mission Control room attendees grabbed a space helmet for a fake moon landing and puppeteered in a MakerBot printed puppet show. Take a look at a few great pics from the event!

At MakerBot, we’re huge fans of the designer brand Nooka. They make awesome accessories and they use a MakerBot to make cool things like this giant icosahedron for their lookbook!

Join us for our second 3rd Ward MakerBot Make-A-Thon, where you’ll get to see our tiny space factories in action, meet MakerBot Operators from the entire region, and talk to members of the MakerBot team.

In this installment, we’re celebrating Space Month. We’ll be printing Rockets, Astronauts, UFOs and Aliens in 3D. There will even be a space-themed 3D-printed object Zoetrope, giving a 21st century-spin on a centuries-old device.

Wear a space costume and get a printed space shuttle. Plus, grab a helmet and show your friends you landed on the moon in our photo booth. And there will be prize giveaways from MakerBot, NOOKA, Apress and O’Reilly Media!

Click here for photos from 3rd Ward’s first MakerBot Make-A-Thon.

MakerBot Make-A-Thon 2 // MakerBots in Space
Saturday, July 16, 2-6pm
195 Morgan Ave,
Brooklyn, NY 11237
FREE admission RSVPs are required at 3rdward.com/rsvp