MakerBot Industries

Hey it’s Friday!  In light of that, we’ve whipped up another addition of Robot Hospital, which we hope you’ll enjoy.  We’ve got a new product announcement (new Nema 17 motors), a report from the Blip festival, where we’ll be demoing bots tonight and tomorrow, and the final installment of Matt’s squirrel modeling tutorial.

Thing-o-matic modified backplane to accomodate rear-mounted electronics by usiegj00

I realize full well that there are very practical reasons for wanting external electronics on a 3D printer.  That’s one of the cool things about the MakerBot Cupcake CNC.  It’s a snap to just jump right in, disconnect some wires, swap out circuit boards, and generally just hack and tinker away.

With an automated build platform, MK5 extruder¹ , MK6 plus heater upgrade kit, safety cutoff switch, Twotimes Z-rider, and Twotimes Mendel inspired XY lowrider carriage you can upgrade your Cupcake to near-Thing-O-Matic abilities.

Seeing usiegjoo’s modification of their Thing-O-Matic gave me a good chuckle.  Ever since seeing Charles Pax’s Muffin CNC, I wanted to perform a similar hack to put the electronics inside my Cupcake.  So, despite knowing all of the practical benefits to external electronics, I couldn’t help but think of this an almost…  downgrade for the Thing-O-Matic. ²  Since the release of the Thing-O-Matic the trend has been very much the reverse – with people working to upgrade their Cupcakes to near-Thing-O-Matic levels of functionality.

Thing-o-matic modified backplane to accomodate rear-mounted electronics by usiegj00

The ATX power cable and supply cables needed a notch in the lower back of the case along. This is added to this backplane as well as side-channels for easier cable routing. This is based off of thingiverse.com/thing:4973

This thing brought to you by

1. Apparently the truly adventurous can try their hand at the completely unofficial and unsupported wiki entries on the StepStruder MK6 with Gen 4 electronics. [↩]
2. That said, it’s not a downgrade.  It’s really more of an alternate configuration. [↩]

In this episode Keith takes us on an awesome tour of RobotFest 2011 at the National Electronics Museum, Ethan pushes the extreme limits of acrylic T-Slot construction, and Matt traps and traces a massive squirrel- Check it out!

The Mendel inspired x and y carriage lowrider by twotimes

Just how good is Twotimes’ XY lowrider? ¹  Well, take a listen for yourself.  MakerBot operator RealBaxsie uploaded videos of his Cupcake in operation before and after the installation of this must-have printable upgrade.

Printing with a Cupcake CNC before installation

Printing with a Cupcake CNC with an XY lowrider installed

Mendel inspired x and y carriage lowrider by twotimes

Here is my take on merging the lowrider and the mendel inspired y carriage for the cupcake. link to bearings:vxb.com/page/bearings/PROD/3mm/623ZZ10-1 I went with smaller bearings than the Mendel because it allowed me to do everything with M3 screws and it allowed me to drop the height a bit. This design is shorter than the standard platform by 10mm, I was pushing for more, but the bearings killed the height gains. It does mean that you can gain back about half of the height that you loose by putting in the automatic build platform. Also, the y rails have been separated to 70mms so hopefully that means that the platform is a bit more stable. I attached the solidworks file for people who want to play (WARNING - the file is messy and I was bad and made all of my parts in one part file). If you would like any other formats like .igs, .step and the like, just shout. Should have all of the holes teardropped later today. - Truncated teardrop holes are up, that's a pain. Update: The stl files from solidworks would not slice in Rep G, I have no idea why, if you know please tell me. I reuploaded all of the stl files and tested them in Rep G 19 they seem to work but I will not have a chance to print until Monday. I have all of the parts, now on to the debug... so you do not have to... The updated files are in the zip file, I got rid of the first generation of parts. Things were moved around a bit and these are the updates after printing round one and putting it into the makerbot. I should have all of the gen 2 parts printed and through debug tomorrow. Update 2 - I got the bearings in and other that a few "What the hell was I thinking..." moments that were easily repaired with an X-acto knife, everything went great. I'm in the process of printing the gen 3 parts and everything should be cool now. I'll post pictures and video once the final draft is printed. Update 3 - In process of using gen 3 platform to print gen 4 platform. Once I have printed and assembled it, I will upload files. I think that will be it for variations. Update 4 - Gen 5 files are out and I can now say you can download them and print! Update 5 - Instructions are up. Update 6 - I just uploaded the gen 7 version - I have not had a chance to print it yet, I was getting annoyed with the slight curve in my heat spreader and decided to rip it apart and lap it until it was flat. This update addresses: Adding nut pockets on all adjusting screws for bearing tension to make adjusting easier (do not have to hold nut in place) Back X bearings cluster has been reworked so the is less interference with the X pulley. Back X bearing adjustment screw head has been nested into the plastic to have less interference with X belt. Interference between Y belt attachment nuts and plastic bodies has been addressed X belt attachment point has been lowered. First shot at integrating endstops have been added. I think that that is about it. I will shout when the directions have been updated, everything should be the same except the endstop part. If you have already printed this and do not want to reprint, reprint parts 09 and 16, those have to do with X belt and pulley issues. (and they are small) I just sent out the third package of nuts, washers, and screws. If anyone else wants them, just message me. Gaffertape kindly updated the files so if you are using the older repG and skeinforge, use the resaved gen 7 files. Update: Finally updated for mechanical endstops, instructions still need to be updated though.

This thing brought to you by

1. You know, besides being the most commented thing on Thingiverse… [↩]

This position is in the heart of the action of a growing start-up and demands a person who wants to work hard, has patience, technical knowledge and writing skills. You’ve got fires to put out, questions to answer, orders to process, and infrastructure to implement, all the time.

You’ll be responsible for eloquently representing a growing DIY 3D printer and technology company to it’s customers directly. Via email, on the phone, or in person. You’ll help customers solve their technical challenges, sooth their nerves, and reinforce our brand. It’s a challenge, but it’s a dynamic, fun one. The person best suited for this position is an adaptable problem solver with a mind for mechanical, electronic, and software troubleshooting challenges. You’ll put your strong interpersonal and written skills to the test.

We need you to answer emails, but you should also be proficient and comfortable with Mac, PC, and Linux operating systems, design/editing softwares, cameras, and the creative process. The office tools we use most of the time should be a no-brainer. Current MakerBot Operators preferred, but not a requirement. If you’ve had experience with DIY technology, that could be very helpful. You will be processing orders, so an interest in participating directly in a multifaceted online store is a final requirement. Full time, on-site only.

Desire to offer revolutionary technologies and change the world a plus.
Help democratize manufacturing and establish personal manufacturing as a household phrase.

Submit your cover letter, resume, and linkedin profile (preferred)

Brooklyn. Easy access to subway.

Reply to: http://newyork.craigslist.org/brk/tch/2239730862.html

No phone calls, please.

Jemima Kiss wrote a great article for The Guardian covering MakerBot.  Take a look!

Finding the ultimate Christmas present for the discerning geek has never been easy, but a small team of professional tinkerers based in New York has come up with the ultimate geek must-have – a printer that “prints” in 3D.

Rather than printing with ink on a page, 3D printers build up objects using layers of plastic. They have been available since 2003, but Brooklyn- based firm MakerBot, which started early in 2009, has developed a small printer that comes in kit form. Having to assemble the “robot” printer adds to the charm for true tinkerers, but this DIY approach also makes it far cheaper than it might be; until now, commercial 3D printers haven’t been available for much less than £25,000.

This year, 3D went mainstream, from big-budget movies to the latest 3D cameras, camcorders and TVs. MakerBot goes one better by offering three tangible dimensions, created with their Meccanoesque kits. The first model, the Cupcake CNC, sells for $649 and the newer Thing-O-Matic for $1,225.

“If you have trouble putting Ikea furniture together, get a friend to help you,” explains Bre Pettis, co-founder and chief executive of MakerBot. “But, for a tinkerer, making something that makes things is the holy grail.”

MakerBot “prints” in either ABS, the plastic that Lego is made from, or corn-based PLA – which smells like waffles when it is used. Hacker community website Thingiverse displays the witty creativity of “fabbers” (desktop-based fabricators and fans of 3D printing): from space invader earrings and keyrings to full-size lamps, built in sections. One Marty McGuire tells the story of going to buy a shower curtain for his new flat, but finding the store had run out of shower curtain rings. This is the kind of challenge the MakerBot owner lives for, and he enthusiastically set about measuring, designing and then printing out his own shower curtain rings.

There’s an obvious bonus: buy one MakerBot and you can probably make a good batch of Christmas presents – Pettis admits he’s made bottle openers and dragons as presents. The only limitations are your imagination – plus the 12.5×12.5×12.5cm dimensions of the Thing-O-Matic and the fact that you can print in any material you want, as long as it’s plastic. If you’re short of ideas, you can choose from the 5,000 designs already uploaded by the MakerBot community.

MakerBot has sold just 3,000 machines so far but is struggling to keep up with demand. A UK supplier, Robosavvy, is now selling the Thing-O-Matic for £847. As with the realised ambition of Bill Gates, who famously said he wanted to put a computer in every home in the world, all of us will eventually own a 3D printer, says Pettis. The key is to make these machines affordable.

“We’re not engineers – we’re tinkerers,” he says, explaining that MakerBot’s background in tinkering means a preoccupation with finding parts as cheaply as possibly, so much of the DIY kit is off the shelf. “If we were engineers, this thing would cost 100 times as much. But our goal is to democratise manufacturing so anyone can have a machine that makes anything they need. We want to render consumerism useless – and that doesn’t work if the machine isn’t cheap.”

Did you say DOUBLE???

That’s about the situation in which I find myself.  I already own a 3D printer – MakerBot Cupcake #465, “Bender.“ ¹  I’ve got him all tricked out with a couple of printed upgrades, MK5 plastruder, and an automated build platform.  Well, today the last bits I need to finish my Thing-O-Matic arrived. ²  I’m very hopeful I’ll have it online and operational before the end of the weekend.  The weather forecast for the California bay area says it’s going to rain all through the weekend.  It sounds like perfect robot assembling weather to me.

However, I’ve had one nagging thought.  Assuming all goes well, I’ll have two fully functional 3D printers in my home.  I have no problem keeping one busy, but two?

What would you do with a printer that had an automated build platform and double the printing speed of a Thing-O-Matic?

1. Photo courtesy of Vincente Alfanso [↩]
2. Once operational, I intend to name my Thing-O-Matic “Flexo” [↩]

Since I started working at MakerBot Industries, the company has hired about eight more people. I started in September, so that means that every week, one or two new employees join the MakerBot team. Recently, I tagged along for one of the orientation tours. Here is what I saw:

Spools and Spools of Plastic: Some black plastic sits atop a box in the garage. This is the view from just in front of Bre’s car. It’s fun to imagine what all of those boxes filled with plastic might someday become.

Boxes o’ Parts: Each MakerBot Cupcake CNC or Thing-o-matic build kit comes with laser cut housing. This is where they live as they wait to be shipped to their new homes.

More Plastic: Plastic spools in limbo. These spools have been liberated from their oppressive boxes in the garage, but have not yet found a new home. Perhaps they will become part of a Mega Rainbow plastic pack.

Bagged Hardware: Feeding your MakerBot is a little easier with the Deluxe Filament Spindle & Box MK1 Kit. The kit keeps your plastic organized and on its spool on the bottom of your MakerBot.

Clear Plastic Cups: All of the nuts and bolts you need to assemble your Cupcake CNC are hand sorted with these pretty plastic cups. We call the finished product, which includes all the hardware you need to assemble your MakerBot, a hardware burrito.

Labeled Boxes: Each plastruder – that thing that turns your plastic into parts – is supported by metal rods that allow the plastruder to travel up and down. Some people call this the “z” direction, and hence the name – Z rod. This box stores finished Z rods.

Products Ready to Ship: Ever dreamed of using your MakerBot to frost a cake? Well, it’s perfectly possible with a Frostruder. They are currently in stock and ready to go.

Toolboxes: As MakerBot Industries rapidly expands, we have to have new tools. Charles Pax happily labels a new drawer where snips, wire cutters, and X-acto blades will live.

Packaging Material: A giant spool of packaging material used by shippers safely bundles MakerBots for their journeys into the wide, wide world.

Storage Racks: We have a very sophisticated technique for naming our shelves. We number them. We have ten so far.

Supplies for Experimentation: You never know what you will find on the shelves where the Research and Development department stores its stuff. In this case, it’s an experimental plastic.

The Vintage BMW: If you ever come to the the Botcave, you will probably get a glimpse of Bre’s 1979 BMW. It rests alongside hundreds of pounds of plastic spools in the garage. It needs a little work.

Techs at Work: A production technician lays out laser cut parts in preparation to assemble a Thing-o-matic.

Photos of cute baby animals: Puppy and kitty calendars peppered throughout the Botcave remind us what life is all about.