MakerBot Industries

February has arrived and, with it, Thing-A-Day!  My goal for Thing-A-Day this year is to create a digital object every single day this month.  I’ll be using my design program of choice, OpenSCAD.  If you haven’t tried out OpenSCAD yet, this is the perfect excuse.  I’ve already put together several OpenSCAD tutorials that will take you from this:

Hollow Calibration Cube by Starno

to this:

OpenSCAD Pirate Ship by MakerBlock

in no time!¹

Before you cringe at the prospect of taking on OpenSCAD, let me point out that the above pirate ship was designed entirely with just cubes and cylinders.

Recently I had need of a way to mount an Arduino to a project box.  Unfortunately, I hadn’t finished the rest of the project yet, so I didn’t know where the Arduino would end up or how it would be mounted exactly.  I ended up knocking out a simple friction fit holder.  While there are no mounting or screw holes in it, I figured I could always just drill them later if needs be.  Since my project is still need a lot of work be elevated to a “work-in-progress” status, for the time being this mount is being held in place by my second-favorite DIY tool… duct tape.

1. Admittedly, that pirate ship took a while. [↩]

MakerBot is excited to have been named among The Best of CES 2012! These honors, granted during the official awards program of the Consumer Electronics Show, recognize the most impressive products appearing at the event. The MakerBot Replicator was given the award for The Best of CES 2012 in the Emerging Tech category.

Watch the full awards ceremony video, and skip to 4:45 to see Bre accept the award on the CNET stage on behalf of MakerBot Industries.

TOM Tentative Sound Damper by Bluemetal

One of the most interesting lessons I’ve learned from Thingiverse is the importance of sharing.  Take, for instance, Bluemetal’s “TOM Tentative Sound Damper.”  Although the design didn’t have the hoped-for impact, reducing operational noise, there were two very important side-effects.

First, it looks AWESOME.  Whether or not it works, the springloaded feet and just cool.  Secondly, Bluemetal’s designs prompted MakerBot’s own Nick Starno to share a handy little hardware tweak.  Nick suggests:

I was able to eliminate a lot of noise by cutting some of the rubber tube that comes with the ABP into <1mm “washers” and compress them between the rods and rod covers. 6 total, one for a single end of each rod, and the difference in sound is quite significant.

If it wasn’t for Bluemetal’s post, Nick wouldn’t have posted that comment, and we might never have known about this quick trick!

TOM Sound Damper by Bluemetal

Inspired by thingiverse.com/thing:14802 and trying to find ways to reduce the noise on my TOM, I decided to create this TOM shock absorber in the hope it would help. After all the testing was done, there was actually some reduction on the loudness of the Y stage due to less contact with the desktop where the printer is sitting :) A way to test the potential reduction is to raise the printer away from the desktop and see if it makes less noise. If it does then the dampers will help a bit. The TOM seems now ready to start moving about and with the top up like in my case is starting to resemble a wood and plastic WALL-E. :) If you have the backside spool holder ( thingiverse.com/thing:7105 ) installed you will need to move it elsewhere as one of the back feet colides with it. The SketchUp file is included for others to tweak with it.

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A broken lock and me without my MakerBot

As you may not know, I don’t actually work at the BotCave/MakerBot Headquarters in Brooklyn.¹  Today for my day job I had to go to a bunch of meetings in a building that was filled with meeting rooms.  I had left a bunch of my work, backpack, and some other stuff in one particular meeting room while I went to go make some copies.  When I came back I discovered that the door had locked behind me because something inside the mechanism was broken. ²  Although I was able to get into the room eventually, I needed to be in and out of several meeting rooms and it became a pain to find someone to let me back in.

Now, if I only had my trusty MakerBot with me, I could have just ripped out a quick doorstop, propped the door open, or perhaps over-engineered a little plate that would fit inside the door jamb to prevent the door from locking.  Or, I could even have put the call out to Thingiverse for someone to design a brand new door handle and lock.

How would a MakerBot have changed your day today?

1. In fact, it was a condition of my employment… [↩]
2. Photo courtesy of Auntie P [↩]

"It's a Through-Hole Christmas, Charlie Brown!

As we close out 2011, we are offering big close-out discounts on well known kits from Sparkfun, Adafruit, Jimmie P. Rodgers, Evil Mad Science and more! We’ve cut prices 20-50% off list; these items are awesome gifts for for all your DIY stocking stuffers. From Multimeter kits to musical instruments, we have great soldering projects or the pièce de résistance for holiday mischief!

Check out the MakerBot Store’s Accessories section for the complete selection! These items are shipping same-day for hyper-fast delivery time. You aren’t too late to save money and still stuff the gift boxes of your loved ones, or favorite geek next door!

Naturally, we suggest overdoing it on the LED themed holiday party decor. Start with these holiday classics.

Sparkfun’s It’s a Through Hole Christmas, Charlie Brown
Evil Mad Science LED Menorah
Jimmie P. Rodgers Open Heart

If you’re an educator, there’s still room left to sign up for the Advanced 3-D Modeling workshops on 12/03/11 and 12/10/11.

This workshop is aimed at teachers who already have some experience using a MakerBot in a classroom, teaching 3-D modeling, or have attended one of our intro workshops. We will be taking a computational approach to creating 3-D Models, focusing on OpenSCAD and Processing. Why such an analytical approach? The MakerBot has the potential to not only inspire students to be designers, but also inspire a deep interest in Mathematics and Generative Art. Whether it is incorporating geometry, algebra, trigonometry, or even calculus, using these computational modeling tools in conjunction with a MakerBot can make analytical topics more hands-on and engaging.

The first part of the workshop will focus on programming CSG (Constructive Solid Geometry) using OpenSCAD. The rest of the workshop will focus on polygonal and subdivision surface modeling using Processing. In addition to going through code examples, we will explain the advantages/disadvantages of each approach, and discuss the relevant academic and commercial applications.

Please bring a laptop computer to the workshop.

RSVP link for December 3th, 10AM-2PM:  http://www.eventbrite.com/event/2324444476

RSVP link for December 10th, 10AM-2PM: http://www.eventbrite.com/event/2538599018

Dear MakerBot TV Fans:

As you know, I’m taking some time off from production right now to prepare for the second season of MakerBot TV. In this upcoming season one of my primary goals is going to be focusing more on YOU – the makerbotting community. I want to show the world who you are and what you’re MakerBotting and why being a part of the MakerBotting community is such an awesome thing. And what I need at this point is your stories. Maybe you proposed to your wife with a MakerBotted ring, or maybe you and your son sit down every Sunday to pick out new toys to print from Thingiverse, or maybe you’re a young modeler who’s hoping to MakerBot something that will one day save the world. Whatever your story is – I want to hear it!

Email me at annelise@makerbot.com and tell me how you use your MakerBot.

Thanks in advance, looking forward to another awesome season!

Rubberize!

In case you haven’t heard the amazing news, the MakerBot store now carries Sugru – a moldable clay-like rubber that air-cures into a durable, flexible, grippy, waterproof and insulating rubber. ^1 2  Frankly, it is difficult for me to think of things that wouldn’t be improved by adding Sugru.  One of the features of Sugru I’m particularly interested in is it’s ability to bond tightly to printed ABS parts.  This seems like a really cool way to quickly assemble something out of smaller printed parts.

So, I ask you gentle reader – where are all of the Sugru-things on Thingiverse?  Here are some ideas to get you started:

• Cell phone and GPS holders and charging stands that won’t scratch the delicate casings of our favorite electronics
• Rubberized lens cap covers that are gentle near optics
• Tires and bumpers for your Botmobile
• Nosepads for your printed glasses
• Or, a rubber baby buggy bumper?

1. Photo courtesy of L. Marie [↩]
2. Rubber eyes, get it? [↩]

Mystery Tag Hunt!

I had an idea for a little game, building on my recent call to action for people to tag things on Thingiverse.  Here’s how it works:

• I’ll pick something on Thingiverse and think up an appropriate tag for it. ¹
• To participate, all you have to do is find things on Thingiverse which would fit the tag I’ve suggested, tag that Thing, leave a comment that includes the phrase “taghunt” on that Thing.
• Later, I’ll check back on the mystery Thing.  The winner is the person who tags it and leaves the first “taghunt” comment.

The very first Mystery Tag Hunt tag is…  “hanger”

• Hint 1:  The mystery Thing doesn’t have any tags right now.
• Hint 2:  The mystery Thing doesn’t have the word “hanger” in the title, description, or instructions.

Good luck!

1. A tag that it does not already have. [↩]

Stackable Box Toy by Rupert

Thingiverse citizen Rupert designed these stackable box toys as a printable teaching aid.  While there are a number other teaching tools on Thingiverse, this is definitely an “under tagged” sub-group of Things.  Rupert includes a call to action:

What other teaching aids could we make with our machines? What about a Makers4Schools movement?

I think we can build on Rupert’s work.  Whether you’re ready to start designing teaching aids or just enjoy cruising Thingiverse, you can help right now.  Design and upload your own teaching aid and tag it with “Makers4Schools“.  Or, if you’re not ready to start uploading something right now, why not check out Thingiverse and find a few teaching aids you could tag with “Makers4Schools“?

In just a few minutes you could make Thingiverse a richer place for everyone by contributing or finding teaching aids!

Stackable Box Toy by Rupert

A set of stackable and nestable boxes decorated with shapes and letters. WARNING: Objects smaller than 45mm are unsuitable for children under 3! WARNING: Check the material you are using to print is safe for children! WARNING: Ensure no loose parts or sharp edges once the part is printed! The boxes nest neatly inside one another and securely on top of each other in purpose made slots. Each box is cubic and 5mm bigger than the last. The sides are decorated with the alphabet, geometric shapes, Makerbot and RepRap logos, and the message I-LOVE-REPRAP-MAKERBOT. This design is loosely based on the Montessori pink tower. What other teaching aids could we make with our machines? What about a Makers4Schools movement?

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