MakerBot will be participating in the SIGGRAPH Studio again this year, Sunday August 5th through Thursday August 9th, in downtown Los Angeles. Each year since 1974, tens of thousands of amazing artists, designers, and computer graphics professionals head to the annual SIGGRAPH (short for Special Interest Group on GRAPHics and Interactive Techniques) conference and expo to catch demos and talks featuring the bleeding edge of computer graphics and interactive technology.

The Studio is a section of the event where attendees can roll up their sleeves and take a test drive of the best tools in the biz. MakerBot will be bringing a sizable eight Replicator BotFarm and most of our newest colors with us to the event which will mean that a lot of visitors will get a chance to print out loads of items from Thingiverse as well as original work.

What’s new this year: the BotFarm will be partially staffed by the outstanding MakerBot Operators from the Greater Los Angeles Area, including Theron, TeamTeamUSA, and a few volunteers from CRASHspace and art toy professional Dave Bondi. Wanna help us out? Drop a message to “griffin at makerbot dot com” by Saturday at midnight with your cell number, a message about your level of MakerBot experience, your availability for the Studio, and your favorite object from Thingiverse. The SIGGRAPH Studio BotFarm Wants You!

Speaking of friends getting together at the booth, the staff who went last year were deeply impressed with the level of talent from visitors to the booth — including the modeler who shared a picture-perfect Yoda Bust that MakerBot Operators print frequently all over the world. What will be the next Thingiverse hit to come out of our SIGGRAPH Studio BotFarm? Bring your files with you and we’ll check your work out!

Here’s where to find us!

iPhone dock created in Shapesmith and printed on Thing-O-Matic

How can I model the thing I want to print?

As the population of 3D printer operators continues to grow, answering that question will become more important than ever. Combining parametric modeling and a clean UI, browser-based Shapesmith hopes to provide an open source answer.

The developer, MakerBot operator, and Thingizen Benjamin Nortier tells us all about it.

Q: Who are you and what is Shapesmith?

I’m a software developer with an Engineering background and I’m also a 3D printing enthusiast. Shapesmith is a browser-based 3D modeling tool that I’ve been working on, and am very excited about. It is aimed at users who want to create high-quality parametric models for 3D printing, but who don’t want to spend thousands of dollars on expensive 3D CAD software.

I wanted to design an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) after being inspired by DIY Drones. I realised that it would be very attractive to 3D print aeroplane parts and I was using tools like Blender and Sketchup to design some airfoils or wings.

Because I had worked on a 3D CAD tool for electromagnetic simulation earlier in my career, I was very dissatisfied by the free design tools that were available. This dissatisfaction was reinforced when I bought a MakerBot Thing-O-Matic and started to design some models. So I decided to try and make something better.

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