File under: one of those times when various people’s talents spontaneously merge to create something really nice
Subfolder: but only because the tools have been democratized to the point that any willing hobbyist can get at them
3D printing is a part of almost everything we do here at MakerBot, but it is not the only thing. With so many maker mentalities around, other genres are bound to be explored. Two of my colleagues here at MakerBot HQ recently combined forces on a nice project that brought 3D printing on a MakerBot in contact with textiles and fashion design.
One of our talented young team members, Tatyana, had an idea for a MakerBot dress. Why not? The logo could certainly make for a nice print. That’s precisely what one of our other staff members thought. Tony worked up a vector image of the logo in Photoshop, transferred it to a grid pattern in Illustrator, and decided to try his hand at printing the textiles. This step of the process was made possible by our friends at Gowanus Print Lab, the same studio where the MakerBot gift bags came to life. As this was Tony’s first go at screening a repeating pattern, there were naturally some small slipups.
Again, combining talents came in handy. Carina Cid of BlackRabbitNYC did an expert job of cutting the fabric into a dress that highlights the print in the right way.
Enter accessories. Carina thought up some jewelry options, but materializing them required another set of skills. Tony 3D modeled the pieces to make them printable on a MakerBot and then let ‘er rip. The finished necklace hangs perfectly above the dress, don’t you think?
As Tatyana and Tony are between them neither model nor photographer, they employed two more friends in the project. Those credits go to model Paige Morgan and MakerBot TV’s own Annelise Jeske.
If you’re anything like me, you’ve probably found yourself mesmerized on more than one occasion by a time lapse of a MakerBot print. I’ve put up a number of these videos on YouTube over the past few months and people go crazy for them. Well it’s now literally as easy as 1,2,3 for anyone with an iPhone to make their own MakerBot time lapses.
MakerBot’s R&D all-stars have been printing up a PLA storm on our MakerBot Replicators and getting impressive results! Last night we did an overnight time-lapse of this skull and it turned out beautifully!
You’ve heard about Michael Curry’s Rocket Playset and the MakerBot Astronauts who live there. So you must know that these astronauts love adventure – over their lifetimes they will be traveling to the farthest reaches of Thingiverse to discover the unknown. Follow along on their adventures or take them on adventures of your own.
What lands will your astronauts traveling to? Take some pictures of your MakerBot Astronauts in the wild and show us what kinds of adventures they’ve been having!
As a special treat for CES this year, MakerBot posed a set of provocative questions:
Remember the playsets, dollhouses, action figures, army figurines, and plastic ponies you played with so passionately in your youth? Dreaming up secret worlds — or creating narratives with friends, neighbors, classmates, and siblings?
Well, what if you could produce these tools of imagination with the push of a button? And what if you could roll up your sleeves and invent your own characters, furnishings, and buildings — and share them not only with your children, nieces, nephews, neighbors, or friends, but also, and instantly, with the rest of the world?
Handcrafted dollhouses are nothing new to the serious Maker, but MakerBot is taking steps to make this practice easier and more widely adopted than ever before. For the rest of January, MakerBot and a squadron of Makers will be introducing the MakerBot Playsets to the Thingiverse: 1:18 scale dollhouses as full of imagination and mischief as craft, modeling techniques, and cleverness.
MakerBot’s own design superstar Michael “Skimbal” Curry, creator of such Thingiverse megahits as the Turtle Shell Racers and Gothic Cathedral playset, starts the ball rolling by architecting a pair of MakerBot Playset buildings. Introducing two new Thingiverse superstars: Cushwa and PrettySmallThings are doing a tremendous job furnishing these playsets with their imaginations.1
Long Long ago in a land far away, there was a little castle surrounded by an industrious town. The townspeople loved their little castle and wanted it to be perfect. But the little castle was empty. Its owner had left long ago, taking all the fine things with him and locking them away.
The Townspeople resolved to re-furnish there castle. They learned to craft and create. Making chest and chairs, tables and beds, gadgets and gizmo's, they filled the castle with things that reflected themselves and their experiences. They created so many things that at the end of each day it looked like little castle couldn't hold any more.
But the castle had a secret. Every night, it grew. Sprouting new towers, chambers, and cellars. The town's people would awaken and rejoice, ready for another day of crafting and creating. The town was proud of its magical castle, and everyone wanted to fill it with the best that they could offer.
But wasn't a magical castle, it was a MakerBot Castle.
Each night the daring Damsels deftly deployed their wondrous Replicator, creating new rooms to extend the structure. Floor by floor they built up into the sky. Until one day the little castle had become the tallest and grandest in all the Thingiverse.
And the small town around the castle had grown into a great city, filled with the incredible things and spectacular ideas. The Makers, Crafters, and Hackers had learned from furnishing the castle. They had perfected their crafts and honed their skills. When they looked out on the world from the tallest tower, and saw that it too was a place they could rebuild. And they spread across the land, sharing their knowledge and teaching others how to improve the world around them.Created by Thingiverse user Skimbal, designer of the Turtle Shell Racers, MakerBot Botmobile and the Gothic Cathedral Playset.
The daring MakerBot Damsels are in no manner of distress -- they deftly define their own world of wondrous wizardry. Making, Creating, and Crafting, they dexterously develop designs for castles, creatures, and contraptions.
Deploying Cupcakes, Thing-O-Matics, and Replicators, dozens of Damsels distribute production precisely for punctual perfection.
Dastardly deed doers and nefarious ninja gnomes beware, the Damsels don’t take kindly to klepto capers and would-be kidnappers.Created by Thingiverse user Skimbal, designer of the Turtle Shell Racers, MakerBot Botmobile and the Gothic Cathedral Playset.
One of the most interesting challenges faced in 3D printing is creating facsimiles of real-world objects, things that have not been designed according to design rules that make them easier to print. Animal skulls, and in particular dinosaur skulls, are a great example: full of complex organic shapes, extreme overhangs and bridges, and thin shells. I’ve been learning a lot about printing these, and thought I could share what I have learned.
Three reptilian skulls
I was inspired by the dinosaur skull posted on Thingiverse and set out to look for more. The Digimorph project at the University of Texas has some dinosaurs, but the STL files are not posted. However, Artect, a company that makes 3D scanners, has posted a very nice high-resolution STL file of a Tarbosaurus skull, on their 3D model download page. It’s the first model listed on the page. I sliced it in Netfabb, and have posted the sliced files on Thingiverse.
Keep reading for some tips on how to print this object, and other complex organic shapes!
WNYC has included MakerBot’s New Museum window in their list of top Holiday Window Displays, Off the Beaten Path. If you haven’t made it by the New Museum yet, there’s still time to see the Dalek Snowmen, X-Wing Reindeer and Cylon-Santa for yourself — the window display will be up through the end of the year!
MakerBot conquers NYC with the cover of this week’s Time Out New York! Not only did MakerBot print the entire cover, complete with our mascot, R. Maker, taking on a mini version of New York City, but the Thing-O-Matic is featured as a gift For the Person Who Has Everything. We are also giving away a Thing-O-Matic to one lucky reader, to enter click here!
New Yorkers who want to see a real MakerBot in person, or even buy one, can visit these brick and mortar stores:
AC Gears
69 E. 8th Street (between Broadway and University)
Once in a while an item comes up on Thingiverse that I just have to print. Immediately. Eried‘s awesome fastening system was one of those items. Using raised knobs spaced perfectly apart, this fastening system differentiates itself from the hook and loop system we all know.
By his own admission the system is not yet perfected, but Eried’s got a great start on his design. I’ve printed some out (you should too!) and have had fun testing its strength and the sound it makes when taking two sides apart. Make sure to join the discussion to offer suggestions for improvements and naming!
This is the first iteration (third internal) of my attempt to make printable Velcro. It is pretty nice to hang things, probably this small piece will resist much more than a kilogram of weight (hanging weight) and it is very easy to remove.
3d printing revolution is just starting, I don't say this is a flawless piece but I really consider it is a very good example about a very sweet future about us modifying our brains from "search-buy-adapt" (frustration included) to "think-design-print" (self-pride included :D ).
Quick demo video: youtube.com/watch?v=BtLSMI3xVDY
Quick demo #2 (perpendicular): youtube.com/watch?v=eLehgIfjmpA
This was an object that did not exist in our 3d printing world, so I like to think this is an "upgrade" from real world to a better virtual&teleportable world ;)
It's a toy tiger. Printed on a makerbot replicator.
I started with the grande yellow cat source, but ReplicatorG couldn't render it to gcode and print, so I used rhino to clean up the model and remove the grass base that's on the model but not in the original picture.
Tail is still too thin to print…
One of our talented young team members, Tatyana, had an idea for a MakerBot dress. Why not? The logo could certainly make for a nice print. That’s precisely what one of our other staff members thought. Tony worked up a vector image of the logo in Photoshop, transferred it to a grid pattern in Illustrator, and decided to try his hand at printing the textiles. This step of the process was made possible by our friends at Gowanus Print Lab, the same studio where the MakerBot gift bags came to life. As this was Tony’s first go at screening a repeating pattern, there were naturally some small slipups.
