Bathtoy by Request!

After explaining Thing-A-Day to my daughter, I asked her what she would like me to design for her for day 2. Answer: A sailboat for the bathtub.

Tool for a Working Artist!

Last night, my wife needed a circle template for an art project she was doing. This took about 15 minutes to make in total, from design to finished product. And that is why 3D printing is awesome.

Jewelry (and Tool for Future Jewelry)!

This design is intended to be an envelope to be boolean used (intersection) with other textured designs, we’ll see….

Tool for Learning About Clocks!

I figured this tool might be useful for the MakerBot Clock Makers project and for educators and students looking to explore basic gear mechanics.  (I am spending time each day designing new attachments for it.)

Keep checking back to see what other Thing-A-Day participants are sharing on Thingiverse — and get out there and make some stuff.

A few notable things about February:

• Always the shortest month (even during Leap Year).
• Often too cold to play outside much (well, maybe not this year).
• Contains Valentine’s Day, a day focused on sharing the things you love with those you love.
• Washington’s and Lincoln’s birthdays, actual and observed.
• Time for the annual Thing-A-Day challenge!

If you have never participated in Thing-A-Day before, here’s the quick summary: this is an opportunity to join a vocal crowd of Makers who are seizing the day, each day for a month, as an opportunity to make something new and then share it (or evidence of it) as part of their community posting effort. Several of us at MakerBot are planning to participate on our own time with a wide range of tools — and encourage you all to not only consider signing up and sticking with the challenge, but also posting your creations to Thingiverse for all of our community to savor.

A few tips. Aim … um … simple. Like 45min from idea-to-thing kind of simple. And push a bit ahead towards the next day whenever a little extra time falls your way. Oh, and take those things that you have to do anyway and twist them into opportunities to share something that, frankly, people really will appreciate anyway.

Inspire all of us and help populate Thingiverse with new and exciting things that have never been shared there before!

And don’t forget, the Thingiverse tag you should use for your posts is: “thing-a-day”

The Atlantic just posted a piece pointing to MakerBot and Thingiverse as a trend setter that tech innovation giants such as Apple should be following closely — and threaded throughout the piece is an excellent profile of Thingiverse maker Brendan Dawes that really does a good job of giving a glimpse of how many of us are using MakerBots in our everyday lives:

I asked Dawes if the MakerBot had changed him; if it had altered his perspective in some unexpected way. “What’s exciting to me is the opportunity to look at industrial design –a very difficult, very sophisticated craft– with fresh eyes. I’m able to approach these problems from crazy angles, because I haven’t spent twenty years immersed in the culture of industrial design,” he said.

“That and it’s sort of magical to have this thing sitting at home, this thing that makes physical objects out of nothing,” he said. “It’s just amazing.” (link)

Check out the entire article here.

It thus gives me all the more pleasure to share this brilliant, largely 3d-printed solution to one of mankind’s oldest and most challenging culinary problems: the drying of fresh, hand-made pasta.

At one time or another, our less culinarily-oriented partners have all walked in on a horror scene of kitchen chairs festooned with eggy, yellow strands, fresh from our well-loved Marcato Atlas.  If only we had known we were just a few dowels and 3d-printed connectors away from a workable pasta-drying solution!  Think of the pasta-related arguments we would have been spared…

Thank you fma for your thoughtful design!

Pasta dryer by fma

This is a pasta dryer, inspired from ones you can buy. But this one is printable!

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We created Thingiverse to be the digital design sharing utopia of our dreams. Thingiverse.com integrates with open licenses that encourages Thingiverse users to let others copy and change their work so that others can stand on their shoulders and create the products of tomorrow and the solutions for the next generation. Every day I look on Thingiverse and say “Wow!” when I see the new things that have been shared. People who upload designs to Thingiverse are my heroes.

Things, and digital designs for things, are very different than other types of media. Copyright doesn’t work the same way on things as it does with music, movies, and books. If you’re into exploring the intellectual property landscape of things, you need to read “It will be awesome if they don’t screw it up” by Michael Weinberg.

The Pirate Bay announcement of a new category for digital designs is interesting because it’s another place where people can share digital designs for real things. As a technology, torrents are particularly great for super mega giant files because they distribute the downloading load and I’m curious to see what kinds of things will begin to show up in that category. Because The Pirate Bay takes a bold, no-holds-barred approach to sharing, I’m sure there will be controversies as companies and people who long for the proprietary days of the 20th century come to terms with the raw power of contemporary sharing technology. Cue squeaking of the world’s tiniest violin.

In the contemporary age of sharing, those who share will be the leaders of tomorrow. The sharers will be the ones who will emerge in the 21st century as winners in the rapidly changing innovative landscape. I’ve consistently advised individuals and companies to push their comfort level and share more. If you have a company that feels threatened by the idea of someone sharing digital designs for your products, I suggest you join the sharing community and share those design files yourself on Thingiverse.com.

If you are in the Greater Los Angeles Area, stop by the Affordable Art Fair this weekend to catch Keith and myself as we introduce the brand new MakerBot Replicator to the West Coast!¹ The remaining hours are today until 8pm and tomorrow (Sunday) from 11am until 6pm.

We have been running “Keith It!”² versions of 3D scans of people like Laurie Anderson, Bre Pettis, Keith Ozar, Phill Niblock, and others, as well as a few other favorites such as a (newly revised v18!) Barrel of Octopi, giant chess pieces, cows, work by Micah Ganske, and others.

We have been visiting with AAF neighbors and presenters such as ArtStar.com, the filmmaker Morgan Spurlock, and the LA-based Toy Art Gallery. We are even making 3D printed versions of vinyl art toys by awesome Art Toy heroes Luke Chueh and Dave Bondi for the Toy Art Gallery staff, work the gallery hasn’t yet had the opportunity to produce.

Quite a few MakerBot Operators such as Miles Lightwood (TeamTeamUSA), Theron Trowbridge and the crew at CRASHspace, and MakerBot’s Taylor Goodman (based in LA) have spent a lot of time with us at the booth, sharing things for us to print and generally introducing us to the wonderful design and DIY community here. We are hoping that Cliff who designed Chess Set I (that we are making giant) and other Thingiverse superstars will stop in also.

At night, we have been running all over town, introducing the machine to CRASHspace, UCLA’s engineering students, galleries and museums, and other hackerspaces. We have also been printing “Keith it!” busts of a cleaned up Beethoven model at night and placing them on the Thomas Organ in the lobby of The Standard – Downtown. To date, these custom 3D printed sculptures have been either stolen or disposed of by the hotel staff within a couple of hours of appearing. But we have photos to document.

Check out our photo gallery below!

Thank you to all of us who have visited so far — can’t wait to meet more of you!

1. Wanna visit for free? drop a request to griffin at makerbot dot com by 11am on Sunday and he’ll see about adding you to the list with a comp’d ticket!
2. The software engineers working on revisions of ReplicatorG for our new machines created a button called “Keith It” to created maximum-sized objects to suit the new three-times-Thing-O-Matic build volume by Keith’s request. This name will only persist if you request it…

What lands will your astronauts traveling to? Take some pictures of your MakerBot Astronauts in the wild and show us what kinds of adventures they’ve been having!

Checking out a flamingo.

Riding an escalator.

Testing out Aridion tech.

Hanging with some MimoBots.

Chillin with Dennis Rodman.

Gambling.

Cuddling with Paro, the therapeutic robot.

Enjoying some chips and guac.

Drawing with SketRobo.

On a plane to Brooklyn.

As a special treat for CES this year, MakerBot posed a set of provocative questions:

Remember the playsets, dollhouses, action figures, army figurines, and plastic ponies you played with so passionately in your youth? Dreaming up secret worlds — or creating narratives with friends, neighbors, classmates, and siblings?

Well, what if you could produce these tools of imagination with the push of a button? And what if you could roll up your sleeves and invent your own characters, furnishings, and buildings — and share them not only with your children, nieces, nephews, neighbors, or friends, but also, and instantly, with the rest of the world?

Handcrafted dollhouses are nothing new to the serious Maker, but MakerBot is taking steps to make this practice easier and more widely adopted than ever before. For the rest of January, MakerBot and a squadron of Makers will be introducing the MakerBot Playsets to the Thingiverse: 1:18 scale dollhouses as full of imagination and mischief as craft, modeling techniques, and cleverness.

MakerBot’s own design superstar Michael “Skimbal” Curry, creator of such Thingiverse megahits as the Turtle Shell Racers and Gothic Cathedral playset, starts the ball rolling by architecting a pair of MakerBot Playset buildings. Introducing two new Thingiverse superstars: Cushwa and PrettySmallThings are doing a tremendous job furnishing these playsets with their imaginations.¹

So without further ado, straight from the soundstage backlot of Annelise’s Replicator music video, The Right Heart, we present you with the MakerBot Fairytale Castle Playset and the Damsels!

The MakerBot Fairytale Castle Playset and Damsels

MakerBot Fairytale Castle Playset by MakerBotWorkshop

Long Long ago in a land far away, there was a little castle surrounded by an industrious town. The townspeople loved their little castle and wanted it to be perfect. But the little castle was empty. Its owner had left long ago, taking all the fine things with him and locking them away. The Townspeople resolved to re-furnish there castle. They learned to craft and create. Making chest and chairs, tables and beds, gadgets and gizmo's, they filled the castle with things that reflected themselves and their experiences. They created so many things that at the end of each day it looked like little castle couldn't hold any more. But the castle had a secret. Every night, it grew. Sprouting new towers, chambers, and cellars. The town's people would awaken and rejoice, ready for another day of crafting and creating. The town was proud of its magical castle, and everyone wanted to fill it with the best that they could offer. But wasn't a magical castle, it was a MakerBot Castle. Each night the daring Damsels deftly deployed their wondrous Replicator, creating new rooms to extend the structure. Floor by floor they built up into the sky. Until one day the little castle had become the tallest and grandest in all the Thingiverse. And the small town around the castle had grown into a great city, filled with the incredible things and spectacular ideas. The Makers, Crafters, and Hackers had learned from furnishing the castle. They had perfected their crafts and honed their skills. When they looked out on the world from the tallest tower, and saw that it too was a place they could rebuild. And they spread across the land, sharing their knowledge and teaching others how to improve the world around them.Created by Thingiverse user Skimbal, designer of the Turtle Shell Racers, MakerBot Botmobile and the Gothic Cathedral Playset.

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MakerBot Damsels by MakerBotWorkshop

The daring MakerBot Damsels are in no manner of distress -- they deftly define their own world of wondrous wizardry. Making, Creating, and Crafting, they dexterously develop designs for castles, creatures, and contraptions. Deploying Cupcakes, Thing-O-Matics, and Replicators, dozens of Damsels distribute production precisely for punctual perfection. Dastardly deed doers and nefarious ninja gnomes beware, the Damsels don’t take kindly to klepto capers and would-be kidnappers.Created by Thingiverse user Skimbal, designer of the Turtle Shell Racers, MakerBot Botmobile and the Gothic Cathedral Playset.

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Pour imagination from the Thingiverse into your playsets!

Utah Teapot by phooky

This is an STL file decribing a Utah Teapot, based on data created by Martin Newell. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Utah_teapot This is a pretty poor model for printing; it's been refined by Unfold since:thingiverse.com/thing:918

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Tea cup by MakerBlock

This is just a small tea cup sized to go with the Utah Teapot thing posted by phooky. thingiverse.com/thing:821 I have included the Sketchup file in case anyone wants to play with the design. The walls are extremely thin, so make sure you have good Skeinforge settings. FYI, the reason for the funky handle is to make it more printable. :) More about this design and other things at my site MakerBlock.com Tea cup post: makerblock.com/2010/02/tea-cups/

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Mushroom - style lamp by Saminvent

This was my first 3d model posted on Thingiverse. It should be able to be made on a makerbot/reprap style machine as it doesn't need any support material(it has no bad overhangs). Any problems with this build then please email me. As soon as I have my 3D printer up and running I will post pictures. Print the lamp upside down.It will look lit up with an LED printed in PLA. It currently fits in a makerbot build area however you can scale it how you want.

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cube farm - messy book case by tc_fea

This is modeled after my own messy book case at work. One of these days I will go thru it again and get rid of obsolete manuals and clutter.

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Design Armchair by Emmet_Brown

This is a design armchair I created with the software solidThinking. This is the first model I designed with it, following a tutorial.

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Princess Heart Crown by syvwlch

For those of us with a Princess in our lives, and the need to be forgiven for the state of the living-room-slash-mad-scientist-laboratory and the ABS fumes... the ability to print a crown made of hearts can go a long way to securing continued forbearance. ;-) Thank you MakeALot for the original of which this is just a quick hack.

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Cow by JonMonaghan

Moo.

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Miniature Queen Anne Chair by PrettySmallThings

This is a miniature Queen Anne style chair, designed for use in scale models and dollhouses. The files below are provided in 1/2" = 1'-0" scale, also known as 1:24. My design goals were: Maintain delicate proportions, but balance the need for durability. Print without support Good looking resolution, with little cleanup needed This does print at 50% (1/4" scale or 1:48) but is very fragile. I imagine that printing at 200% (1" scale or 1:12, typical dollhouse scale) would require support, and I have not tested it.

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MIrror by cushwa

Sort of a fancy mirror. Suitable for Kings or Queens

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Medieval table. by cushwa

Hefty sort of table. Suitable for Kings and Queens for those spur of the moment banquets.

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Medieval chair by cushwa

Medieval type chair. Suitable for the commoners and riff-raff that one must sometimes have at a impromptu Medieval banquet.

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fire place by cushwa

This is a big old fire place with a fire going inside it. Sort a like a fire place you might find in a medieval (note the correct spelling) castle. This will keep you warm on those cold winter nights in that drafty castle!

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Canopy Bed by cushwa

Canopy bed suitable for Kings and Queens.

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dresser by cushwa

Medieval sort of dresser. Suitable for Kings and Queens.

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suit of armor by cushwa

Suit of Armor. Suitable for knights in castles

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Vanity table and stool by cushwa

Vanity table and stool. Suitable for princesses.

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Anvil by MNinventer

Anvil

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Frog Prince by cushwa

Frog Prince originally from Grimms fairy tales. A classic fairy tale character that no castle should be without.

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claw footed tub. by cushwa

Not really from the Middle ages but still good for an "up to date" Medieval castle. Nothing feels better than soaking in a hot tub after a good jousting match.

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Treasure Chest by cushwa

All-purpose Treasure Chest. Suitable for a Medieval castle or a pirate ship. filled with massive treasure.

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Candelabra Update 1 by cushwa

Candelabra, suitable for Medieval castle or anywhere a little candle light is needed Updated files with corrections based on feedback from PrettySmallThings

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Miniature Queen Anne Sofa Tables by PrettySmallThings

A collection of 1:24 sofa tables to match the rest of the parlor set. Two sizes, with a demi lune thrown in for good measure. Two styles, one exemplifying typical Queen Anne S-curves, and another with faux drawers. These are scale reproductions of furniture with 36"x12" and 48"x18" footprints. Building a Makerbot Playset? Scale the tables up by a factor of 1.5 to get them into 1:18 scale.

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Miniature Queen Anne Chaise Lounge by PrettySmallThings

A 1:24 scale Chaise for lounging, to match the rest of the parlor set. *This is a Thing in Progress: I edited the leg fitting since printing this the first time. I don't expect any issues, but I haven't actually printed the update myself yet. Building a Makerbot Playset? Scale the chaise up by a factor of 1.5 to get it into 1:18 scale.

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Barrel by MNinventer

Barrel

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Miniature Queen Anne Dining Tables by PrettySmallThings

Dining tables to match your favorite miniature chairs. Check out the rest of the 1:24 scale furniture pieces in my Queen Anne collection. The tables are scale reproductions of dining tables with the following footprints: 60"x36" - seats 6 48"x36" - seats 4 36"x36" - seats 4 30"x30" - seats 2

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Miniature Queen Anne Wingback Chair by PrettySmallThings

A 1:24 wingback chair to add more seating to your parlor set. Building a Makerbot Playset? Scale the chair up by a factor of 1.5 to get them into 1:18 scale.

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Miniature Mantel by PrettySmallThings

A traditional fireplace mantel for your 1:24 model. This model is the mantel only, so print up a firebox of your own design, or use traditional model building methods to finish the piece.

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1. We will be introducing new Thingiverse superstars over the next few weeks.

Thingiverse has just been re-launched and is even more awesome! Thingiverse is a powerful sharing platform for digital designs where all the content is free and the future is bright.

Back before Thingiverse.com, people were able to download music, movies, and even books, but there was no place to share and download things. Then Thingiverse, a universe of things, was created in 2008 and digital design has never been the same.

Thingiverse users share their digital designs for real things and become superstars to the other users on Thingiverse. Every day, Thingiverse has new things community members have shared. It’s truly amazing. There are thousands of things on Thingiverse, and millions of people visit the site to be inspired by the creativity of Thingiverse users.

And today, there’s a new and improved Thingiverse!

• It’s easier than ever to share your digital designs and be a superstar
• A new front page giving top billing to the latest featured Thing
• A new look and better organization for Thing pages and User profiles
• Simplified Thing editing – it’s all in one place
• Improved search and navigation make it easier to find what you’re looking for
• On the backend, we’ve improved the architecture so everything works smoother.
• Refined features for attribution and derivatives

• A thing can now have multiple ancestors – bring on the mashups!
• “I Made a Derivative” button makes it clearer what to do when you make a derivative of another Thing
• Post those beautiful photos of your prints with the “I Made One!” button
• The backend of the site has improved to make sharing easier.

Check out the new Thingiverse now! Don’t let your creativite work suffocate with loneliness on your hardrive. Get your designs off your computer and up on Thingiverse. Share your designs today!

Juice Box Weirdos by gwygonik

These “Juice Box Weirdos” by gwygonik (aka Gregg Wygonik) are one of my new all time favorite things on Thingiverse.  From the description of his inspiration, multiple variations on his own ideas – including some blanks so you can expand on them, with suggestions on how you could take his ideas even further, to the more full explanations in his own blog, this is what Thingiverse is about.  I don’t think we even have any juice boxes in my home, but I’m sure as heck going to go buy some now. ¹

Recently, while looking for how to best make a salsa-jar snow globe, I saw that a lot of people were turning juice boxes into boats and other cute objects by using stickers or paper. And I thought: “Wait a minute! What if I printed pieces for juice boxes? What if you could mix and match the pieces too?!”

I would be totally remiss if I didn’t mention Gregg’s blog detailing his adventures with his family and MakerBot 3D printer.  Gregg, if you’re reading this, I’ve followed you on Twitter and added your blog to my “must read” RSS feed.

Juice Box Weirdos by gwygonik

Recently, while looking for how to best make a salsa-jar snow globe, I saw that a lot of people were turning juice boxes into boats and other cute objects by using stickers or paper. And I thought: "Wait a minute! What if I printed pieces for juice boxes? What if you could mix and match the pieces too?!" Surprisingly, I was unable to find a commercial product that did this. This seems like a gold-mine to some mass-produced toy company (which is why I was going to set the license to non-commercial, but decided that if folks wanted to make and sell on Shapeways or similar, feel free :-) I was going to title these "juice box heroes", but there is a musical band by that name (apparently doing children-friendly versions of classic songs). Given that I made an owl with goggles on, "weirdos" is more appropriate. More info and pictures at my blog: myplasticfuture.com/one-for-the-kids-and-kids-at-heart These are more for sparking imagination than being "things" on their own. Which is why I've included a plain, basic end-cap for YOU to make your own things on: pirate ships, aircraft carriers, cats, alligators, dinosaurs, mars rovers, you name it! I have included all the SketchUp files to use as a launching point.

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1. For, um, my kid.