Fortunately, Jonathan, one of the attendees from Todd’s class last week, magically appeared and said that Todd had told him to install a program called MakerWare. I think that both MakerWare and ReplicatorG take an STL file and slice it so that it can be printed on the Replicator.

Jonathan mentioned that placing a piece of paper on the printing plate helps it preheat faster.

Jonathan printed some Companion Cubes from the game Portal. Then I printed a tetrahedron.

A couple of members from Unallocated Space were visiting, and they had an STL file for a speedometer. I printed the speedometer, and they were kind enough to make a donation to the space.

And that is how I went from Makerbot newbie to Makerbot “expert” in two short hours.

I hope to learn to create my own 3D models to print and learn various tips and tricks to optimize the process.

You can read more about 3D printers in Todd’s article for the Makezine blog.

Our thanks go out to Adafruit, who were kind enough to send us some hackerspace-appropriate skill badges. Come on out and see if you can earn one with your 3D printing skills or your electronics-fu.

In the alley between our spaces, we have the power tool drag racing track set up with foot pedals, and a light system.  We’ll be running the 3d printers, playing with a giant slingshot, and having a good time.  There’s food, drink, music, and a whole lot more.

We’re here now and the pizza just got here, so come on by!

On Friday at 6:00PM, The Node and The Baltimore Tool Library are both hosting open house events on Oliver St.

On Saturday, representatives from The Node will be participating in various events at Robotfest at the National Electronics Museum in Linthcum, Maryland.

We have a new batch of stickers for all of these events that we just ordered from Fat Rat Press. Fat Rat Press was easy to work with and responsive to our novice questions. They will give you a ten percent discount on your order if you mention my name when ordering stickers for your own purposes.

Here is a picture of one of The Node sticker models.

Come out at 7:00pm, Thursday, April 25th for an introduction to using a 3d printer. Node member Todd Blatt of Custom 3d Stuff will do a live 3d printing demo, show you how to operate the MakerBot Replicator to turn a 3d CAD file into a real object. Want answers to these questions and more?!  He’s got ‘em!

• How does 3d printing work, anyway?
• Do I really have to build a kit to use a 3d printer?
• How much does it cost to 3d print something?
• I heard about a 3d scanner, is it real? How do they work?
• What is the future of 3d printing?
• What type of resolution do you get from a 3d printer?
• Can you 3d print food?
• What materials can I use?
• What modeling software should I use for this project?
• Why is 3d printing such a big deal, anyway?
• Can you download things other people made?
• Can I actually print a working gun?
• I have a 3d file ready, now what?
• Do you have to be an engineer to use one of these?

Baltimore Node’s Open Hack night is open to the public for free, and other things will be going on during the workshop.  Baltimore Node members can attend this workshop at no charge, and a $3 donation is suggested for nonmembers who wish to attend the lecture.  If you plan on coming to The More You Node: 3d Printing, then please rsvp to open hack for the evening.

You can also use this opportunity to check out the Node’s new space at 403 E. Oliver Street. The grand opening party is the following night, a party put on by the Node, the Tool Library which is also having their grand opening that evening right next door.  Check out the Tool Library’s Facebook event for more details.

The internet connection is set up thanks to Believe Wireless and Maze who waited patiently and pulled many wires.

The bathroom looks beautiful thanks to numerous members involved in remodeling it.

There is still a considerable amount of cleaning to do before the big move on Saturday, March 16.  Most of the cleaning involves saw dust, but a good scrubbing would not hurt the utility sink.

The teams will be presenting their products at 6:00 at the Digital Harbor Foundation Tech Center (doors open at 5:30pm). The public is encouraged to attend. RSVP and get the address here.

Mark, our former president, read his notes carefully as he guided us through the process of revising the rules around voting and the election of new officers.

Mark was sad to receive a half eaten cookie as a reward for his dedicated leadership.

Jessica, seen on the far left in the photo above, was voted in as a new member during this meeting.

The new officers include Mike Graham as president, Hasdai Westbrook as vice president, Kevin Ladenheim as treasurer, and Wes Filardo as secretary.

Some members show great enthusiasm about the new officers.

There is a lot of work to do to clean up the new space and move out of the old space, but we hope to start having regular meetings soon.

http://baltimorehackerspace.com/

We will be meeting at 7:30 in Suite 105, 101 North Haven Street, Baltimore, MD (The North is important if you’re using GPS). There is a keypad in front of the gate, and we will need to key in “105″ then hit the green bell button so they can let us in.  There’s a parking lot right there; there should be no problem parkings. BUGSS’s number is 410-732-0929.

http://www.bugssonline.org