CNC Homes

Behrokh Khoshnevis, a professor from the University of Southern California and CEO of ContourCrafting, recently presented a TED talk about how giant CNC machines could 3D print homes quickly, cost-effectively, and efficiently.  One of the most amazing implications of such a CNC system – extruding the infrastructure for a home – is that much of the most dangerous work involved in construction could be completely eliminated.

Just as with printing smaller plastic objects on a 3D printer, once you start using a CNC machine like a MakerBot to create an object – the complexity of the infrastructure becomes almost irrelevant.  While it might be much more work for humans to construct a circular, curvy, or angular building – such complexities are reduced to a mere toolpath when handed off to a giant printer.

Hat tip to Techpp.com for the link!

Massimo Banzi, one of the open source heroes from Arduino, gives a great rundown of projects and technologies using Arduino boards in the TED Talk below. Watch for a nice shout out to the MakerBot community at the very beginning, and Massimo’s really simple explanation of why open source rules:

You don’t need anybody’s permission to create something great.

We’ve got a great thing happening on Twitter right now. For anyone interested in attending the TEDxNYED conference, we’re giving away two tickets ($100 value) to the best two answers to the question,

How will 3D printing change the world?

Here’s some info on the event.

TEDxNYED is independently organized by New York educators. At TEDxNYED, live speakers and TED Talk videos combine to spark deep discussion and connections. TEDxNYED presenters are invited to share their insights and inspire conversations about the future of education. Attendees of the conference participate via networking sessions where they educate one another and, in the spirit of TED, help spread these ideas.

TEDxNYED is operating under license from TED, organizers of the immensely popular TED Conference, an annual event where some of the world’s leading thinkers and doers are invited to share what they are most passionate about. In the spirit of “ideas worth spreading,” TED has created TEDx, a program of local, organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience.

We’ll pick two winners from all the submissions and give each of them a ticket to attend the TEDx event in New York City.

Where Museum of the Moving Image
36-01 35 Avenue (at 37 Street)
Astoria, NY 11106

When April 28, 2012

In order to participate in our giveaway, you have to drop us a tweet. Tell us how 3D printing will change the world in 140 characters or less. Mention us with @makerbot and be sure to hashtag #3DPrinting so we can find your tweet and put you in the running.

UPDATE: These tweets are being accepted until 11:59 p.m. EDT on Monday, April 23. Right around the corner, so share your thoughts with us now!

Bre talks to BoingBoing about the community-created clock he demoed at TED 2012. 

Earlier this week, Bre and 24 of his fellow-TED-Fellows inspired and delighted attendees of the TED Conference 2012, where the world’s boldest and brightest gathered in Long Beach, California. “This year–there’s a spirit of solutions in the air,” wrote Forbes’ Steven Rosenbaum, who listed Bre’s talk on the power of collaborative innovation as one of four ‘earthshaking’ moments from this year’s event.

“We may really be printing out everything we need in the future,” gushed Mariella Moon of Tecca. Moon’s list of 11 Radical Ideas Worth Spreading From Ted 2012 also includes autonomous flying robots, electronic toy kits, a brain recording kit, and a ‘clip from TED2023′  imagined by Ridley Scott in the much-anticipated Prometheus.

Finally, GOOD: education asks, If Schools Kill Creativity, Can Toys Bring it Back to Life? Heck yeah! Here at MakerBot, we’re firm believers in the learning power of play-time. Give a kid a Replicator, and she can make the stuff of her imagination come to life. She can learn science, mechanics, and problem-solving while creating awesome toys of her own invention. Most importantly, she can discover  that nothing is impossible – all she needs is her mind, her MakerBot, and a little help from her friends.