MakerBot Industries

A pink toothbrush case with a handle

A little while ago my daughter asked me to help her make a very specific kind of toothbrush case – a pink one with a bulbous end and a handle.  She and I worked together on the design until we arrived at something that was acceptable to my patron as well as possible in a mere 3 dimensions.

She was very happy with the final result.  I was actually a little disappointed that they turned out so well with the first print.  When printing things with my daughter, I like having a version that is sub-optimal in some way that we wouldn’t have realized before holding a printed version of our digital designs.  Having an initially defective result gives her¹ a way to look at an object and start thinking about how it could be improved.  In retrospect, I should have added a small hole to each end to allow for drainage. ²

Then again, there’s also something to be said for thoughtful design and careful planning culminating in a successful initial result.  It may not surprise me that she parlayed this success into her next request – a way to make her flip-top toothpaste tube easier to open.

1. Well, both of us, really [↩]
2. However, these can always be added with a drill or drill bit later. [↩]

Tune in at 7:30pm ET: 4:30pm PT to see the live interview with Bre Pettis from the Engadget CES stage!

The Stretchy Bracelet by emmet and the Chunky Bracelet by tinkerbelle were featured in the Las Vegas Fashionware show at the Fashion Show Mall in Las Vegas this week!

Read the rest of this entry »

Tech Radar: The 10 Best Gadgets and tech at CES 2012

MarketplaceTechReport: CES 2012: MakerBot brings 3-D printing down to scale

Revision3: Robot to Make ANYTHING You Want! MakerBot Industries at CES 2012

PC World: New MakerBot Prints Cool Stuff; We’ve got Photos

Styloko: The Replicator: 3D Printing at Home

Business Insider: Why I got to CES

TechCrunch: Bre Pettis of MakerBot: “The Future is Already Here”

MashableTech: MakerBot Debuts Bigger, Better 3D Printer at CES

AFP: LG TV named best gadget, Microsoft bows out in style

3D World: 3D printing machines for home users launch at CES

Slashdot: Geek Tool: Slashdot Video of Award Winning 3D Printer from CES

CNet: MakerBot builds the future, layer by layer

Gizmag: MakerBot unveils its new 3D printer, The Replicator

If you’re desperately trying to browse the store or arrange a Replicator order, you might have noticed that things are a little slow…well, it looks like we’re getting Slashdotted like it was 1999!  We’re bringing a few more servers on-line to help deal with the load, but in the meantime, check out this Slashdot-produced video where Bre breaks down the features of our newest machine.

TechCrunch: Gadget Podcast

BBC: CES 2012: 3D Printer Makers’ Rival Visions of Future

PopSci: MakerBot Replicator Prints a Plastic Bust of Stephen Colbert

LiveScience: MakerBot Replicator Prints Bigger, More Colorful Objects

Consumer Search: The neatest ‘Thing’ at CES

Gizmodo: Best Use of New MakerBot: Terrifying Lego Space Zombies

DVice: ‘Replicator’ 3D printer does two colors, makes Thing-O-Matic weep

Woot!: CES 2012: The Replicator Prints the Future, One Drop of Plastic at a Time

GizmoWatch: MakerBot Replicator Showcased at 2012 CES

PC Advisor: MakerBot Replicator 3D-Prints Everything, Except ‘Coffe, Black’

Core 77: 3D Printing: MakerBot Industries’ New Dual-Extrusion Replicator

Thingiverse Rendering of Fancy Toothbrush Case

When my daughter said she wanted a very specific toothbrush case, I was really only too happy to help out.  While integrating someone into the design process who has a shorter attention span than myself¹ does make things more challenging, there are some benefits.  If you ever have the chance to design with a child, you’ll probably notice a lot of “feature creep.”  The good news is that since their idea of what they’re looking for is so flexible, as long as you make a good faith effort and are trying they’ll be pretty happy with the results.  And, since much of initial designing efforts consists of just putting big chunks of objects into the approximately correct place, there’s no harm in having your muse walk off and talk to a cat for a while.

There are certainly opportunities for education as well.  We had to measure the diameter and height of her toothbrush with calipers, with her reading off the numbers to me.  She had to think about how the final object would look and how she would use it.  Her initial explanation had no opening to put the toothbrush in or take it out.  After discussing the options, she settled on a style involving two-halves as shown above.

Designing with OpenSCAD is shockingly kid friendly.  While SketchUp was good for quickly sketching out an idea, it was not very easy to revise it.  With OpenSCAD all I have to do is change a few parameters and the entire design can morph into something new.  My daughter was able to select her favorite handle width and height by comparing just a few options in very quick succession.

Once the design had been approved, it was ready to print.

…to be continued

1. Oooh!!  Shiny!! [↩]

MakerBot Industries is excited to have been presented with Popular Mechanics’ Achievement Award yesterday at CES! Awards were given to companies with innovative products, and MakerBot shares the honor with the likes of Sony, Samsung, Roku and more!

It’s been one day since the official launch of The Replicator! Some lucky people have even met the new machine in person at CES (Come say hello, in South hall 4, Booth 36839)! Check out the links below for coverage straight from the CES floor.

SPIKE TV: MakerBot Makes Your Ideas Come True

Gizmodo: Hands On With MakerBot’s Bigger, Better, Two Color 3D Printer

The Atlantic: The Wonderful World of Thingiverse

 New York Times: MakerBot Introduces Larger, Two Color 3-D Printer

Make: MakerBot Replicator Announced

Gizmodo Australia: MakerBot’s Replicator Prints Larger 3D Creations In Two Spectacular Colors

The Verge: MakerBot Replicator first hands-on (update: video)

Geeky Gadgets: MakerBot Replicator 3D Printer Launched

PCWorld: MakerBot Replicator 3D-Prints Everything Except ‘Coffe, Black’

Wired: The MakerBot Replicator (TM)

Hack a Day: Print Huge Stuff With the MakerBot Replicator

Fabbaloo: MakerBot Announces the Replicator

Geek.com: MakerBot announces latest model that is capable of two color 3D printin

Halloo.com: How a MakerBot Replicator Can Make Your Small Business

LiveScience.com: MakerBot Replicator Prints Bigger, More Colorful Objects

A few days ago my daughter began to ask me about toothbrush holders.  Toothbrush holders are the kinds of things to which adults rarely give much thought.  99.9% of the time they just sit in a drawer waiting for that 0.1% of the time when you go on a trip and it gets tossed into your travel case.

But, to a 5-year-old, a toothbrush holder is a thing of magic, beauty, and ceremony.  Its appearance heralds adventure – since it is only brought out when they’re about to go on some exciting trip.  So, I suppose, it shouldn’t be all that surprising that she wanted one of her own.  However, there were specifications…

The toothbrush holder must have a bulbous end.  The toothbrush holder must have a handle.  And, above all else, the toothbrush holder must be pink.  PINK!

I pointed out that there was no reason for a toothbrush holder to have a bulbous end or for it to have a handle.  toWhile she understood there was no reason for such things to be, she understood equally well that there were no particular reasons for them not-to-be either.

With the issue resolved, she drew the above schematics.  The most amusing part of this for me is that it never occurred to her that she couldn’t have such an impossible toothbrush holder.  From the moment the idea of a bespoke toothbrush holder popped into her head, she knew full well that her father need only be properly instructed in the design for the toothbrush that he might, in turn, so instruct the household robot.

And with that, we embarked upon the adventure of the toothbrush case.

…to be continued