MakerBot Industries

WNYC has included MakerBot’s New Museum window in their list of top Holiday Window Displays, Off the Beaten Path.  If you haven’t made it by the New Museum yet, there’s still time to see the Dalek Snowmen, X-Wing Reindeer and Cylon-Santa for yourself — the window display will be up through the end of the year!

MakerBot Industries collaborated with The New Museum Store to construct a very different kind of holiday window display than you’d find at Macy’s. A sci-fi fanatic’s fantasy, the window display is a science-fiction-meets-holiday-window mashup. Little green elves in Star Trek-like outfits fight with lightsabers while automaton snowmen resembling the Daleks out of Dr. Who scan the horizon. Another pair of elves circle a gigantic stack of presents (shaped like the silhouette of the New Museum) on the back of a train powered by an Iron Man-inspired arc reactor, pushing a DeLorean time machine. 3D-printed gifts burst from a New Museum-edition MakerBot Thing-O-Matic right into the back of a Cylon-Santa’s sleigh, pulled by X-Wing reindeer.

The printed elements from the New Museum window will be documented at our MakerBot Workshop page and available for free download at the beginning of December from MakerBot’s online community website, Thingiverse.com, where users can post digital design files, document their designs, and collaborate on open source hardware. MakerBot Operators can download and print their own sci-fi holiday scene!

Visitors to New York wishing to see the window should head over to the New Museum at 235 Bowery this holiday season to check it out.

I have some good news and some bad news…

The bad news is that Episode 12 marks the end of Season 1 for MakerBot TV. The good news is that Season 2 will be back (and better than ever!) sometime in early January. In the meantime, don’t miss this epic season finale in which R.Maker hosts the Thingy Awards and we get a sneak peek into the MakerBotted window display of the New Museum!

Thank you Thingiverse users: emmet, Zydac, sconine, WilliamAAdams and ErikJDurwoodII.

Just a reminder that there are only 12 days left to enter the New Museum MakerBot challenge!

Ever wished you had a device or object that doesn’t really exist? Ever used something like a bottle opener or door handle and thought you can make it better? Now is your chance, you can win a Thing-O-Matic and be featured in the New Museum Store! Now is your chance to show off your skills as a designer!

Have a look at some of the best submissions, and then get to work — only 12 days left!

Showcasing the endless possibilities of the Thing-O-Matic, the New Museum MakerBot Challenge is open to the entire creative community. Embodying the New Museum’s mission of “New Art, New Ideas,” this interactive and experiential Challenge aims to push the concept of the “derivative,” by improving on or personalizing established design conventions. From the banal toothbrush to complex bicycle gears, how can 3D printing help to develop the world around us?

Prizes

The winning design will be printed on a MakerBot Thing-O-Matic on display in the New Museum’s window. The winning designer will receive a New Museum Deluxe membership ($400 value), a MakerBot Thing-O-Matic® Kit ($1299 value), and a special invitation to the New Museum MakerBot Challenge launch party.

Five runner-ups will have their designs printed by MakerBot and sent to them.

How to enter

- If you are not already registered, sign up for an account at Thingiverse.com

- Upload your 3D files, and tag them with NewMuseumChallenge by October 31st, 2011

- In the description, write a statement about your design. What is the design a derivative of? How does it improve on or challenge existing design conventions?

Rules

- Designs may be one single part or multiple parts that are each smaller than 4 x 4 x 4 ¾ in (100 x 100 x 120 mm) and printable on a MakerBot Thing-O-Matic.

- Different parts can be made in white, yellow, orange, red, UV reactive red, UV reactive nuclear green, camping green, blue, black, and glow-in-the-dark.

- The design may require multiple builds, however no more than three builds are allowed.

- Designs may include other parts like screws or LEDs but keep in mind the jurors will be looking for designs that utilize 3D printing’s ability to empower everyone to download, print and use the design.

Who’s in the jury?

A team from both MakerBot and the New Museum will select the final designs. The jurors are looking for designs that utilize the unique ability of 3D printing to personalize and improve on the world around us.

And last, here are a few existing Thingiverse items that we think belong in this challenge:

Earbud holder by arkatipe

I made this specifically because my brother wanted something that wasn't easily molded with an injection molding machine. The undercuts on the bollards and the jack port should make it impossible, if not unrealistically expensive to make that way. The picture is pretty self explanatory. Put earbuds in, wind and then push the jack end into the hole provided. EDIT: This only seems to work with the new iPod / iphone earbuds with the volume control buttons on the cord. Thanks to all those who tried with other earbuds.

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Soap Dish by TrevorLaw

The instructions for this soap dish are embedded into the part itself.

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Reddit Upvote/Downvote Button Enclosure by TheNewHobbyist

These are the files for the Reddit Upvote/Downvote Button Enclosure I built to fit a project I was working on. This is just barely big enough to fit a Teensy development board and a couple of buttons. I've included the code and better instructions on the project itself on my blog here: thenewhobbyist.com/2011/07/am-i-doing-this-right-reddit-upvote-button/ I've also included in the images for this thing my wiring diagram if you'd like to take a shot at making your own. Being able to print a project box to my exact dimensions was as expected, awesome. Here's a video of it in action:youtube.com/watch?v=yNkKHRwk3MA&feature=player_embedded New Museum Challenge Notes: The ability to 3D model and print the enclosure and buttons for this project allowed me to make design decisions that would not have been possible using conventional methods. The arrow buttons for example, are not available through any distributor I could find commercially. Additionally the enclosure itself is the exact size (down to the millimeter) to fit my electronics. I believe the conventional idea of using off the shelf parts and fitting your designs into them is coming to an end. The ability to translate my vision for this project to a physical object would not be possible without access to a 3D printer.

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Bar Hairclip - NyanCat and Slim by Bioluminescence

Iterating on the previous 'plain' hairclip (see comparison image), this new SLIM version disposes of the need of a 3rd spring, and trims down the size significantly without reducing strength or function. I personally find this version to be even more secure to wear, but feedback on how it fits on other people's hair would be very welcome indeed! This particular rainbow version, I printed using a welded-together string of several colo(u)rs of ABS - coming to a total of 79cm (31") of 3mm filament. The Nyan-Cat add-on, can be printed separately, painted, and glued on with hot glue. Nyancat YouTube video: youtube.com/watch?v=QH2-TGUlwu4

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MEG-i-PHONE!!!!!!! by zgbot

i modified the original by making the cone snap in and out as well as chopping off the hard corners. print it with exterior support this is still a work in progress, it works but i can make it better the large cone i printed failed half way through so i glued it to another cone i had to make a super mega phone cone. the straight one with the small cone is pretty damn loud i drilled out the hole so its not the correct size for slip in fit. this is a video of the sound differenceflickr.com/photos/zgbot/5516445973/

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