I want to clue you guys into one MakerBot all-star you should know about, Mike Moceri, or Moceri on Thingiverse. Mike is easily the new go-to expert on using Kinect and ReconstructMe to scan and make models of people on a MakerBot. He has posted a couple dozen busts of people who visited him at various events in the Chicago area, and shared his expertise on how to host that type of event.

He’s a key member Tonight Mike’s going to be over at the Zhou B. Art Center in Chicago participating in an event called Facemask, which is tagged the “Eight Annual National Self Portrait Exhibit.” The exhibit is expected to draw over 800 people for the opening night. More detail:

Facemask explores the hidden personality behind our social media face. Such personality here described as our “other”. This exhibition will take place in the main gallery of the Zhou B Art Center and it is the theme of this year’s 8th Annual National Self Portrait Exhibition.The main gallery of the Zhou B. Art Center will become a national laboratory for the exploration and visual representation of the “self”. The exhibition will include works ranging from representational, non-representational and conceptual ideas of the self. It will feature works in a variety of media. The Zhou B. Art Center is home to 33 Contemporary Gallery and it is located at 1029 W. 35th Street, Chicago, IL 60609. Opening night is from 7-10pm.

Mike will be joined by several members of the ChiMUG (Chicago MakerBot User Group), including, Met MakerBot Hackathon participant Tom Burtonwood, the uber-creative MakerBotter TheNewHobbyist, and the digital artist Patrick Lichty. The team will be scanning visitors and making their likenesses on Mike’s Thing-O-Matic.

And they’ll be livestreaming it! Check out all the action here and on Mike’s twitter account @MoceriMike.

Have fun, guys!

Thank you to all the fascinating MakerBot Operators who stopped by our booth at Maker Faire this weekend, especially those who were able to make it into our Family Portrait!

MakerBot Family Portrait: Maker Faire Bay Area 2012

A mere two days from now — 50 hours, to be precise — we will host the second big MUGNY (MakerBot User Group, New York) event of the year. We have been invited by Parsons School for Design, part of The New School in New York City. Check below for important details on how to be a part of this event.

For fans of 3D design, creativity, awesome things, learning, and making (did I leave anyone out?) this is going to be a blast. At the last MUGNY, we featured some MakerBot staff members and various short tutorials. This month, we will have two rock star designers from our community: PrettySmallThings and Cushwa.

PrettySmallThings, occasionally known as Kacie Hultgren, is a scenic designer, among other preoccupations. She uses her MakerBot to print scale models of detailed furniture and sets for Broadway productions, and you’ll see she has nearly 30 beautiful, original designs on Thingiverse. This is a rare opportunity to hear a specialized artist speak in person about her trade. Awesome!

Tom Cushwa, or Cushwa on Thingiverse, is similarly specialized. He creates 3D models for film and television, and has lately become fanatical about making his digital designs tangible with a MakerBot. His Owl Statue has been downloaded over 1,200 times; WHOA.

This event is open to the public and not one to miss. Check this address carefully, since Parsons does have buildings in different spots of the city. Join us on Thursday for enlightening talks and a chance to meet other MakerBot operators.

Where:

The New School
Parsons School of Design
“Masters in Design & Technology Thesis Show”
6 E 16th Street
12th Floor, Room 1200

When:

6:30pm – 8:00pm
MakerBot will provide light snacks and refreshments.

From April 13th – 15th the MakerBot Events Team traveled to Chicago to attend C2E2 and bring The Replicator to our community.  C2E2 – Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo ran Friday through Sunday and we showcased The Replicator to more than 35,000 Comic Book and Sci-Fi Fans, Artists, Gamers and Industry.

One of our community members Phroon stopped by our booth with a MakerBotted C2E2 badge holder!  So we began printing these for the crowds immediately.  Check out Nick sporting his safety orange holder.

Anthony Daniels AKA C3PO became a MakerBot fan at C2E2 and visited the booth a couple of times.  Rather than talking about Star Wars or revealing who he was (we heard his voice as our first clue) he talked with great enthusiasm about The Replicator and told stories of being a Maker himself.  (His favorite tool: his glue gun. He had multiple burn scars to prove it.)

There were endless numbers of attendees visiting the booth dressed as Superheroes, Villains and Video Game Characters.  They all loved the MakerBot.  And those who created their own costumes or costumes for others left with ideas for how 3D printing could help them take these practices even further.

Even the Mario Bros. powered up at the MakerBot Booth!

We had the Xbox Kinect on hand to scan some of our favorite characters.  “I pity the fool who don’t MakerBot!” – Mr. T

After the doors closed on the first day of C2E2 we ventured out to Chicago’s premier Hackerspace, Pumping Station: One.  They have a Tardis!  Also, this is the hackerspace that created the Power Racing Series.

All eyes were on The Replicator!

Another visit that proved to be amazing was with Tom and Holly at the What It Is Gallery.  Their exhibit “Improbable Objects” featured 3D-printed work from MakerBot Artists Micah Ganske and Marius Watz, among others.

Next stop Washington DC!  We’ll be bringing The MakerBot Replicator to our Nation’s Capitol for the USA Science & Engineering Festival.  This is the largest celebration of science in the U.S. and will feature over 3,000 fun, interactive exhibits, more than 100 stage shows and 33 Author Presentations.  The USA Science & Engineering Festival will be held at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C. on April 28-29, 2012.  Hours are 10am-6pm on Saturday and 10am-4pm on Sunday.

Find out if the MakerBot Events Team is heading to your way; sign up to receive the MakerBot Newsletter!

Thank you to all of you who joined us for the April 3rd, standing-room-only MUGNY event. Great start to MUGNY’s 2012 season!

MUGNY might be the “flagship” MUG given its proximity to MakerBot HQ, but this particular event was something of a special case. I assembled a heavy-hitter list of MakerBot colleagues to each deliver a short talk on frequently requested topics. Future MUGNY editions will focus on show-and-tell directed by community members, along with a sprinkling of A-list superstar keynotes.¹

I am following (cue the TV mad scientist hand-rubbing) a secret plan: the plan to generate a number of great talks and tech demos that can be later transposed into full-out tutorials on MakerBot.com to share with our community — so that all of the MUGs can benefit. Those physically able to visit weren’t the only ones attending — despite our same-day notice, we had at least seventy-five visitors via the event’s livestream, chatting with MakerBot blogger Andrew while following the proceedings. And this is just a piece of the MUG-to-MUG exchange that will become possible as more MUGs come online and swap activities with each other. So keep your eyes on this space — I’ll be blogging about these tutorials as we post them. I encourage MUGs to give these tutorials a try at their own events.

Across the planet, dozens and dozens of MUGs have been forming to bring MakerBot Operators together regularly to share prints, models, stories, and (frequently) pizza. Are you on the hunt for fellow MakerBot Operators to meet with in your area? Or maybe you have a group and you’d like to tell us about it? In either case, drop us a message to mug at makerbot dot com and I’ll be happy to follow up with you.

Wanna check out the run down for the night? Click the “read more” link below for the Techniques Swap summary!

Read the rest of this entry »

1. I have lined up some really outstanding contributors for the upcoming season! [↩]

Easter is right around the corner, which means the New York MakerBot User Group April meeting is even righter around the cornerer! If you haven’t already, you’re going to want to reserve your spot. Here are a couple of things on tap for the evening.

There will be talks from several MakerBot team members, including MakerBot TV producer Annelise Jeske, who will describe the joys of collaborating on creative projects like the stop motion music video she did with musician Bryan Scary (below). You’ll also see a sneak preview from Annelise on a project she’s working on right now!

Liz Arum, our education evangelist, will give a talk with Tony Sherwood, our web developer, to demonstrate how to create a food-safe silicone mold from a positive printed on a MakerBot. If you don’t know where this is headed, maybe this picture will help.

Come one, come all! MakerBot Operators, Thingiverse Makers, and anyone curious about the rapidly exploding (extruding) world of 3D printing. On April 3, 2012, MakerBot Industries will host a special gathering of MUGNY, its flagship MakerBot User Group group here in New York City, at Tekserve in Manhattan. (Make sure you RSVP quickly. Seating is limited.)

Across the known universe, MakerBot Operators have been assembling in small gatherings (MakerBot User Groups, or MUGs) to swap tips and stories, tune each other’s bots, and generally plot the overturning of all things dull and uninteresting in the world of science, art, architecture, and design.

Several members of MakerBot’s staff will be on hand to share updates from the BotCave including a sneak preview of a unreleased video from MakerBotTV from Annelise, an opportunity to participate in MakerBot’s Maker Faire Bay Area project from Skimbal, a brief silicone mold-making demo from Liz, and more.

The highlight of the night will be an opportunity for the MUGNY community to head to the podium with printed objects and Thingiverse postings of projects created for our “MakerBot vs the Easter Bunny” challenge below.

MakerBot vs the Easter Bunny Challenge

The “MakerBot vs The Easter Bunny” Challenge picks up on the craft-spirit surrounding Easter egg hunts, Easter baskets, and chocolate Easter bunnies — as seen in the Easter-related items created for Thingiverse every year — and stirs into this mixture the Stanford Bunny and its mashup tradition. Participants will be encouraged to create interesting mashups or new designs in honor of this holiday and bring prints and images to the event to share with the community. Your invention might be a fearsome concoction that will encourage the Easter Bunny to keep its distance — or it might just become the center of some family’s best Easter egg hunt ever! We’ll take your picture along with your creation, and share you with other MUGs of the world.

Location:

Tekserve Seminar Room
119 West 23rd Street
New York, NY 10011

Time:

Tuesday, April 3rd, 2012 from 6:00pm-8:00pm (ET)

Read the rest of this entry »

If you are in the Seattle area, check out this invite from the Seattle MakerBot Users Group!

On Saturday, October 15th, the Seattle MakerBot Users Group in collaboration with StudentRND invite you to a family friendly gathering to share the fun and excitement of the 3D printing community! Members of the Seattle MakerBot Users Group will be bringing MakerBots and Mendels as well as knowledge and some expertise on how to use them.

This is a great opportunity to meet others who are interested and active in 3D printing. Come and find some local experts with whom to ‘talk shop’, and share the excitement of this up and coming technology!

We’ll also order pizza and split the cost depending on how many people show up.

When:
October 15th 2011
4:00pm-8:00pm (if you’re bringing a bot feel free to email [email protected] with any questions)

Where:
StudentRND
1405 132nd Ave NE, Suite 3
Bellevue WA 98005

Seattle Makerbot Users Group

• http://groups.google.com/group/seattlemakerbot

StudentRND

• http://studentrnd.org/
• http://facebook.com/StudentRND
• http://twitter.com/StudentRND

Get scanned by MakerBot Artist-in-Residence Kyle McDonald at the 3rd Ward MakerBot Make-A-Thon

MakerBot User Group New York – it’s time to meetup!

The 3rd Ward MakerBot Make-A-Thon is your chance to meet other MakerBot users, print awesome 3D objects and even a 3D portrait of yourself.

MakerBot Artist-in-Residence Kyle McDonald will be presenting his work turning the Xbox Kinect into a 3D Scanner. He will scan you in his 3D Photo Booth, then print you using the MakerBot.

Learn more about Kyle McDonald’s Xbox Kinect hack in this 3rd Ward blog post.

Bring your MakerBots and your favorite objects for a MakerBot user show and tell.

Giveaways! There will be giveaways, including LEDs!

MakerBot User Group New York

The MakerBot Thing-O-Matic is our favorite thing. It makes us so happy to see them go out into the world and make things for you. It comes as a kit and you put it together and it makes you things! Why is it so awesome? Here is our top ten list!

#10. MakerBot Stepstruder MK6 toolhead

MakerBot Stepstruder MK6 Toolhead

The MakerBot Stepstruder™ MK6 is the latest and greatest in MakerBot extrusion technology — and is included standard in every Thing-O-Matic.

You have more control over printing than ever before –  print hollow and fast for prototyping, partially filled, or print solid for heavy-duty parts for usable mechanical prototypes.

And keep your eyes open for the incredible MK6 prints appearing on Thingiverse such as the grouping here and here!

#9. Ninja Customer Support Team

MakerBot Customer Support Team: Isaac, Ethan, Matt

Have questions before you buy? Puzzling over your build? Ready to take your prints to the next level? Ask us!

Our favorite model? The Ninja Fridge Shuriken.

#8. Kid tested, Operator Approved: Detailed, Step-By-Step Assembly Instructions

Putting together a user-assembled kit with as many moving parts as  MakerBot takes some patience. Thankfully, we have an actively-maintained wiki to guide you through the process. Have an additional question about the instructions? Fire a question off to support and we’ll add pictures and text to help you (and everybody) out!

#7. Completely Open Source, with Multiple Toolheads and Modular Design

MakerBot Unicorn Pen Plotter

MakerBots are Open Hardware products, with available source files and plenty of resources to extend, expand, and reinvent your bot any direction your dreams take you. Purchase a Unicorn Pen Plotter and Frostruder MK2 to sketch, etch, or even make food sculptures! And there are even more community-designed case mods and toolheads on Thingiverse.

#6. Epic Choice of Colors and Materials!

A few of our range of MakerBot ABS and PLA Plastics!

We’ve spent a lot of time working to find the best and coolest materials for printing your designs.  Check out our selection and let our research work for you. We release new materials and colors regularly!

#5. Heated Build Platform and Automated Build Platform options ship standard in kit

You decide — do you want a non-motorized Heated Build Platform for the ultimate in adhesion and ABS shrinkage prevention?  Or do you want to use your Thing-O-Matic as a high-volume desktop fabricator with the Automated Build Platform?  It’s all in the box.

#4. An Endless supply of objects to print from Thingiverse.com

Thingiverse.com

New to 3D printing? Check out Thingiverse to see what MakerBot Operators the world over are designing — then print their models yourself! Many modellers on Thingiverse are MakerBot owners, so their files are already set to print!

Already have designs? Put them up and get feedback and props from the community.

#3. Our MakerBot User Groups are fun

MakerBot User Group: Bioengineering Design & Prototype Studio, Arizona State University (Tempe, AZ)

User Groups as far away as New Zealand have been meeting up and bringing their MakerBots together.

#2. Print off SD card … and via the MakerBot Gen4 Interface Board Kit!

MakerBot Gen4 Interface Board Kit

Prep your models on your computer, copy them to an SD card, trigger your print, and then unplug your computer!

Have a Gen4 Interface Board? Scroll through print models on your SD card right from the sexy control interface hanging off the side of your bot. (No computer necessary!)

And the number one reason to love your Thing-O-Matic….

#1. Make Anything!

MakerBot Operator Schuyler Loves His Thing-O-Matic

Your imagination is the limit with this machine and there is no more satisfying experience than watching something you designed or downloaded materialize before your very eyes.