Fans of the 3D modelling app Tinkercad are turning their frowns upside-down with the big announcement that the company is back in action, and we’re certainly getting excited… because Tinkercad has been acquired by Autodesk.

What exactly does this mean? Well, not only is it great to see Tinkercad back in action; but with the might of this industry juggernaut behind it, Tinkercad looks to be locked into a secure future as elements are slated to filter through into the innovative suite of 123D apps and more.

Tinkercad’s revolutionary Gen6 geometry kernel played a significant role in sealing the deal with Autodesk. The strength of this browser-based solid modelling utility has already proven to be a hit within the Ponoko community. One of the notable success stories of the Ponoko API, Tinkercad makes generating SVG outputs that are ready for laser cutting or 3D printing so easy, it is literally child’s play.

With Autocad at the helm, the Tinkercad free account now has unlimited designs and full import/export functionality, making it that much more appealing to new makers and educators.

“..we have supercharged the free plan. You can now create unlimited designs, all import and export functionality is enabled and ShapeScripts are turned on for free accounts.”

Click through to see the full press release from Tinkercad.  

Tinkercad has found a new home at Autodesk

I am happy to announce that we have just signed a deal where Autodesk will purchase the Tinkercad site and core technologies. This is a great day for all Tinkercad users, Autodesk is a very enthusiastic and capable steward. There are two main impacts of this deal: the site is fully operational and Autodesk has some very exciting plans for Tinkercad.

The shutdown plan has been rolled back and effective immediately new users are again able to sign up for the site. Even better, at the request of Autodesk, we have supercharged the free plan. You can now create unlimited designs, all import and export functionality is enabled and ShapeScripts are turned on for free accounts. We have automatically upgraded all existing free accounts to this new powerful plan. This account will be offered for a limited time only so make sure you sign up as soon as possible.

Before signing the deal the we spent a lot of time talking to Autodesk engineers and product people about their vision for Tinkercad. We were impressed by the deep insight the Autodesk team had into the Tinkercad interface and the underlying technology. There is also a strong alignment on topics like furthering education and the vision of making design more accessible. But most of all we are very excited about the roadmap Autodesk has drafted for Tinkercad.

As our team continues working on Airstone I’m pleased to see Tinkercad find a safe and welcoming home. I can speak for everyone when I say that we are looking forward to using Tinkercad for a long time to come.

Yours sincerely,

Kai Backman
Founder & CEO

Tinkercad

Posted in 3D Printing, App Gateway, CNC Routing, Guy Blashki, Laser Cutting, Software, Tools + Apps by Guy Blashki | No Comments

We know that a lot of you have a need for speed.

So we’re testing 48 hr turnaround on laser cutting orders at Ponoko New Zealand *only*.

48 hr turnaround means we will make, package, and send off your order within 48 hours. Shipping timeframes will remain the same.

Now listen up ’cause there’s a certain way we gotta do this.

When you place your order, put “48hr” in the ***special shipping instructions***.

This is a trial so if we drown in orders or run out of your material, we’ll need to call it off for a bit and regroup. Otherwise, trial closes down on May 31st. First-come, first-serve.

Questions? Email service|at|ponoko|dot|com

Posted in Ponoko News by Ponoko Team | No Comments

The Mataerial 3D printer uses a 2-part thermosetting resin instead of the thermoplastics commonly used in extrusion-based 3D printers. This approach allows the machine to print a line directly into the air with only a single point of contact with a surface. The surface doesn’t need to be horizontal or even; the material will even adhere to a vertical surface.

Besides the fact that this allows unusually airy and voluminous structures to be made, it also represents a fundamentally different way to 3D print. Other printers gradually builds up 2D layers of material to create a 3D shape. Using the Mataerial, there are no layers. None. The Mataerial instead directly prints a 3D curve into space.

Petr Novikov and Saša Jokic from Barcelona’s Institute for Advanced Architecture of Catalonia created the Material printer during a collaborative research at Joris Laarman Lab.

Correction: An earlier version of this post incorrectly specified that the device was made during an internship. The Mataerial printer was the result of a collaboration.

Via dezeen

Taylor Gilbert is a proponent of creative technology including Arduino, Processing, and repurposed hardware. Follow him @taylor_gilbert

Posted in 3D Printing, Taylor Gilbert, Technology by Taylor Gilbert | 1 Comment

Hey, Sam here collecting the post from The Laser Cutter.

Make sure you join TLC’s Facebook page.

Above is a laser cut wood Sweet Dreams plaque from Cicily Siller.

After the jump, a book, a good day, a shine, Bretton Park, and a mobile…

Above is a laser cut and etched bamboo book with a living hinge from East Hawaii Techworks.

Above is a laser cut and etched Simple Visa Card from Kaezarrex.

Above is a laser etched book from Verity Lewis.

Above a laser cut steel collaborative installation between Gordon Young and Why Not Associates via  Tracy Wilson.

Above is a laser cut acrylic mobile by After Many Years from A Spectacular Life.

Posted in Laser Cutting, Sam Tanis by Sam | 1 Comment

Kevin Taylor was the ‘T’ in T&C Lures, a small business started by two guys who loved to fish in the San Diego bay. His partner (the ‘C’ in T&C) was taking a CNC machining class and “just wanted the challenge” of creating his own lures. Their first product, the swimgrub shown below, made the rounds at fishing forums and quickly became very popular.

But after just a few months of starting the company, C moved on and Kevin was left to carry on design and production. He would either have to pay a lot of money to a product development agency or learn to do it himself. So he decided to dive in and learn.

After some initial research on CAD and rapid prototyping, he came across SketchUp 3D design software and Ponoko’s 3D printing service.

Rather than make CNC machined masters for molding the lures and bait, Kevin decided to try 3D printed models. Below are images of his SketchUp designs as well as a model he produced with Rhino.

When he got his 3D printed masters, printed with our superfine plastic in white, he then made a silicone mold which he used to cast the final bait.

But unfortunately, the molds had lines in them due to the inherent layering process 3D printing. “I make my prototype molds out of rtv silicone, and it picks up every single detail on the master,” he explains, and adds that “the fish don’t care about cosmetics, but the consumers do.”

Kevin also wasn’t comfortable with the idea of selling something he had created on his own under the T&C label, and in November of last year, he decided to close T&C Lures.

A new company is in the works, and Kevin will be revisiting his 3D printed bait models. “I caught plenty of fish with them, so I know they work,” he says. “I just have to get the cosmetic part taken care of make them attractive to buyers.”

Kevin’s idea for eliminating the lines in his molds: “What I would have to do is take the 3d print and put a few coats of epoxy around the entire part; this will hide the lines and give it the smooth shiny finish Im looking for.”

Best of luck to Kevin on round two of the indie bait and lure business. I think this sounds perfect for a Kickstarter project.

Posted in 3D Printing, Functional Art + Objects, Maker Stories by Kristen Turner | 3 Comments

There are a lot of options for CNC mills right now (and I mean a lot), but it’s rare to see one with the precision necessary to mill a custom circuit board. Finding one at a reasonable cost is simply unheard of.

The Othermill from Otherfab fills that need nicely. With it you can quickly and easily mill any circuit board your heart desires. Now all of your projects can have circuits seamlessly integrated into the design. Since it is compatible with any 1/8″ bit (like a dremel), it can also be used for a variety of other applications from jewelry to precisely machined mechanical parts.

Currently raising funds on Kickstarter, the Othermill started at $1000 for early adopters.

Via Arduino Blog

Taylor Gilbert is a proponent of creative technology including Arduino, Processing, and repurposed hardware. Follow him @taylor_gilbert

Posted in CNC Routing, Electronics + Robotics, Hardware, Taylor Gilbert by Taylor Gilbert | 1 Comment

A chance encounter made possible by the informational maelstrom otherwise know as Reddit has resulted in this dynamic reconstruction of a lightning strike.

The animated image above is a render produced in Blender, and you can see how it all came together in a brief but informative post over on Richard Wheeler’s Calculated Images blog. In short, two separate photographers happened to snap pictures of the same bolt of lightning from slightly different positions. Richard then took these pictures and applied them in a similar manner to the way a stereoscopic image is resolved.  

The images aren’t exact, but the two views of the strike are close enough to approximate a set of volumetric data. The outcome may not be an example of true scientific precision, however as an artistic experiment it certainly is a flash of brilliance.

Although in this instance, the lightning has only been reconstructed virtually… the next step will surely be for someone to send the data to a 3D printer and give this bolt from the heavens a lasting physical presence.

via Calculated Images

Posted in 3D Printing, Art, Guy Blashki by Guy Blashki | No Comments

Using a single wire placed in the soil, Botanicus Interacticus transforms a living plant into a sophisticated interface. Unlike earlier methods that only identify contact, Botanicus Interacticus uses Touché sensing technology to allow for a range of precise and engaging interactions.

Botanicus Interacticus enables us to use gestures as sliding the fingers on the stem of the orchid, detecting touch and grasp locations of a bamboo, tracking proximity between a human and a plant, and estimating the amount of touch contact leading to a rich amount of interaction possibilities.

Botanicus Interacticus is being developed at Disney Research by Ivan Poupyrev in collaboration with Philipp Schoessler, Jonas Loh/Studio NAND, and Munehiko Sato. Be sure to watch the two videos after the jump to learn about the project.

Via The Method Case

Taylor Gilbert is a proponent of creative technology including Arduino, Processing, and repurposed hardware. Follow him @taylor_gilbert

Posted in Electronics + Robotics, Functional Art + Objects, Taylor Gilbert, Technology by Taylor Gilbert | No Comments

This is the story of Otherfab. I doubt you’ve heard of us, but I think our story is a good one.

Four months ago, we were working on the future of this country: digital design and computer-controlled manufacturing tools for the STEM education of our children.

So many people in government had worked very hard to carve out the funding for a truly radical program to put shop class back into high schools with a focus on integrating modern technology. It was the first time I had worked so closely with a government organization, and I was blown away by how much they cared about our mission. Maybe that says more about me then them, but either way, it made me happy.

We were about to begin deploying our program into 1000 high schools when the sequester hit. For a small company like us, a sequester-induced delay and complete financial uncertainty of several months was crippling. We had very little buffer and a young team that absolutely could not be furloughed.

But here’s where it gets good.

Instead of wasting the results of what was a year and a half of development, we decided to keep moving forward – without government funding. We did have to shrink our team and work extra consulting gigs on the side, but we were able to weather those months and focus on a short term goal that might lead us to where we wanted to go.

We took the high-school student-friendly software we had made and the lessons we had learned from the people in our pilot program, and we built a machine to do the number one thing requested at TechShops and FabLabs around the world: high quality, precision, CNC circuit board fabrication.

Three days ago, we launched a Kickstarterfor the Machine and blasted through our goal in less than 24 hours. What?

And then the amount of contributions doubled! With no major media coverage, we raised $110k in three days.

This was literally the first bright spot that our team had had in months. But all we needed was a little spark of positive support – followed by a round of beers – and then we got back to work.

One of the drawbacks to meeting your kickstarter goal so quickly is refocusing the public attention on a new set of goals. When we crossed $50k, we started working on gathering support for our big picture goals (“stretch” goals, as they are referred to on kickstarter). We posted them to the very top of our page. These are goals that, when reached, give benefit to everyone. This is what we posted:

************
JOB CREATION: At $100,000, a job gets created! We can hire another machinist, and we can manufacture your machines faster.

SOFTWARE FEATURES: At $250,000, (first we jump up and down, and then..) we hire a third software engineer. This means the first release of Othercam has even more features and is able to do things (DXF importing, etc) currently planned for future versions.

DOUBLE PRODUCTION: At $500,000, we add a second production line in a larger manufacturing space with more staff. This has the long term effect of establishing our US manufacturing facility, far ahead of schedule.

THE DREAM: $1 million. We get back to our mission of “shop class for the 21st century, ahead of schedule.” We began our work as part of a government funded push to revive high school shop class, with a modern twist: tools for digital design and CNC manufacturing. If we reach this goal, we will be able to allocate the time and the staff to create the resources for teaching these skills to the next generation.
**********

We have gotten an incredible amount of positive feedback.

Even though we met our first kickstarter goal, people care about our mission, and they want to support us. Even if they don’t have a use for our machine, they want our dream to come true. (My midwife even contributed!) It makes me believe that our dream is shared by a lot of other people.

We are doing so much more than just building machines.

We are bootstrapping our way back into the education space by forming a profitable company and finding creative ways of funding the generation of STEM-focused, core standards-aligned curriculum for our software and machines.

We believe that this must be done, and we will find any way we can to make it happen. If government funding is too unpredictable for our educational initiatives, then we will rally the support of the people, firsthand. We will establish our company, build our own machines, and educate our children with the skills that are necessary to fill the jobs that we are creating in our manufacturing facility.

So yes, we have a Kickstarter campaign, and we believe that it is worthy of your support, but it is only the beginning of what we want to accomplish.

Posted in CNC Routing, Hardware by Ponoko Team | No Comments

We’ve encountered Amanda Ghassaei and her digitally fabricated records before, when she 3D printed some rockin’ tracks that were playable on a standard turntable. This time around, she has turned her talents towards exploring the potential of laser cutting to get her groove on.

The visual impact of this laser cut timber is stunning, but how does a record cut from Maple actually sound? As you’ll hear when you click through to the video after the break, we aren’t really talking hi-fidelity… however as an experimentation it is very interesting indeed.

Amanda went through a number of variations in different timbers and even an acrylic version, in an attempt to reach her goal of successfully fabricating a playable record using the laser cutter. The scientific precision and depth of her investigations has been thoroughly documented on Instructables, so that others can continue where she left off. Be sure to click through to see just how far she went to get things sounding – and looking – so good.

Instructables via Boing Boing

Posted in Functional Art + Objects, Guy Blashki, Laser Cutting, Technology by Guy Blashki | No Comments

It’s May, and that means Maker Faire Bay Area is on its way! So we’re running a perennial promo fave:

Get a FREE $50 Making Voucher with your $100 order!

To get your $50 making voucher:
1. Log in to your Ponoko account. If you don’t have one, sign up for free here.
2. Place a $100 minimum order at the Ponoko US or NZ hub.
3. Type ‘Maker Faire’ in the special shipping instructions, and we’ll email you your $50 Making Voucher.

Things you should know: Offer good for making stuff with laser cutting or 3D printing at Ponoko. Showroom or sample store purchases do not qualify. $100 minimum does not include shipping. Other coupon codes or vouchers cannot be used with this offer. Offer only good at Ponoko US and NZ. Offer totally valid for Ponoko Prime accounts! Offer ends at 8pm pacific time on May 31, 2013.

About the free Making Voucher: Promotional making voucher is good for a future order, not the initial $100 order. One promotional voucher per account. (Making Vouchers are good on making costs only.)

Posted in Ponoko News by Kristen Turner | No Comments

Sourcing high resolution models for design work (and 3D printing) can be difficult and expensive. There are a fair number of free community 3D models on the web, but many are low quality or have restrictions against commercial use.

That’s where Forme It, a new service that sells high resolution 3D models, comes in.

Forme It’s library of 3D models is broken down into three main areas: Reference, Classic, and Modern. Reference contains models of the natural world, sorted into animal, plant, and mineral. Classic is for functional designs, currently holding a variety of tableware. And Modern at present has a few patterns to texture items with.

To help people actually use the content that they buy, Forme It has started a series of long-form YouTube tutorials. The idea is show one of the available designs used in a practical way, like this tree bark scan made into a container using Blender:

The selection of designs is a bit low to start (since the service only launched today), but the animal collection is really interesting in its specificity. If you need a crow skull and a pheasant heart, now you have a place to go.

Although the models are not tested on a 3D printer ahead of time, one of the co-founders John Barlow says that the company uses Netfabb to ensure that each design is manifold and that any holes are filled.

If you’d like to see the collection for yourself, check out Forme It here: http://www.formeit.co.uk/

Posted in 3D Printing, Derek Quenneville by Derek Quenneville | 1 Comment

Andrea Garuti’s engineering skills earned him the grand prize in the GrabCAD/SolidSmack laser cut toy design competition.

His castle-under-attack toy model — complete with draw bridges, trebuchet, catapult, battleram, and a basilica — blew away all the judges.

Andrea’s inspiration came from the medieval history surrounding his home near Modena, Italy. “It’s not a strict reproduction of a real castle. I wanted to include as many medieval elements as I could,” he says.

As part of the prize, Ponoko sponsored free laser cutting for the winner. Andrea’s epic design required thirty-two P3 (about 31″x15″) size sheets. Rather than ship an entire castle battle over from the US, we worked with our friends Vectorealism, a laser cutting service based in Milan, to have Andrea’s design made closer to home.

The picture below of Andrea’s son standing behind the castle walls demonstrates just how big this toy is!

“I am very happy with the result,” says the castle creator. And so are we! Making *any* interlocking 3D shapes with laser cutting is very difficult because of varying material tolerances. But Andrea’s crazy good engineering skills made this work.

Check out the video below of the catapult in action!

It wasn’t entirely perfect though. “I had some problems with the the trebuchet: the friction caused a weak shot. I had to add an elastic to increase the range and slightly modify the release mechanism,” Andrea explained.

The trebuchet is pretty amazing. Take a look at this video.

I asked if Andrea had an plans for future projects. “A grandfather clock made of wood. The gears would be perfect for laser cutting,” he tells me.

Posted in Architecture, Laser Cutting, Maker Stories, Toys + Games by Kristen Turner | No Comments

When Hurricane Sandy blasted some 565 miles of coastline across NYC, seawalls and other coastal features received quite a battering. Seeking out novel approaches to repairing and redeveloping these damaged areas, the NYCEDC competition “Change the Course” has awarded a $50,000 first prize to concrete 3D printer D-Shape.

The D-Shape proposal is to scan damaged infrastructure, design and fabricate encasements and extensions to the existing surfaces and then fabricate them off-site.  

This approach boasts several noteworthy benefits that go beyond mere quality control:

“…a number of advantages, including lower costs, better quality control (thus longer life), lower labor mobilization and quicker delivery and installations.  Furthermore, there is a potential opportunity to rejuvenate the waterfront by letting artists leverage the total freedom of design to add an aesthetic touch without a significant added cost.”

The D-Shape technique may sound labor intensive, when you consider that each individual feature would need to be scanned, customised and then 3D printed, but the company claims this is still more efficient than traditional construction methods.

On top of this, and of particular interest to the powers-that-be, is the estimated cost savings of USD$2.9B.

NYCEDC via Fabbaloo

Posted in 3D Printing, Guy Blashki, Technology by Guy Blashki | No Comments

NASA recently put three nanosatellites powered by Google HTC Nexus One smartphones into orbit. Dubbed PhoneSats, they are about the size of a coffee mug. The satellites are intended to demonstrate how the rapidly decreasing cost and increasing power of off the shelf hardware and open source software can be used for a new generation of accessible, low-cost space research.

The satellites cost between $3500 and $7000, and the signals they transmitted were picked up by thousands of amateur radio operators who submitted the information packets they received to NASA. NASA then compiled the packets into images and released them back to the public (see below).

The PhoneSats were expected remain in orbit for approximately 10 days after their April 21 launch. They have since de-orbited on April 27 and have burned up upon reentry.

Via boingboing

Taylor Gilbert is a proponent of creative technology including Arduino, Processing, and repurposed hardware. Follow him @taylor_gilbert

Posted in Electronics + Robotics, Open Source, Taylor Gilbert, Technology by Taylor Gilbert | No Comments

With 3D printing gaining traction as the democratization of manufacturing, now is the time to discuss the environmental impact and envision a sustainable future for this rapidly growing industry.

To anser the question ‘Can 3D printing go green?’ Swissnex, an organization that fosters connections between Switzerland and San Francisco, is coordinating a multi-day forum on 3D printing and biomaterials.

All are welcome to attend The Ethics and Sustainability of 3D Printing conference this Thursday in San Francisco. The four hour event includes speaker presentations, panel discussions, demos, and a reception. Advanced tickets are just $10, and free for students under 25.

There will also be a hands-on workshop on Saturday for creating your own biomaterials.

On Friday, experts ranging from business leaders and venture capitalists to government funded researchers and academic scholars will convene to discuss their insights, debate future scenarios, and develop a roadmap for achieving sustainability across the 3D printing industry.

• Get tickets for the conference here.
• Get tickets for the workshop here.

Posted in 3D Printing, Events by Kristen Turner | 2 Comments

Hey, Sam here collecting the post from The Laser Cutter.

Make sure you join TLC’s Facebook page.

Above is a laser cut  business card from b-type design.

After the jump, a stormtrooper helmet, desires, madness, and a plotter…

Above is a laser cut cardboard Stormtrooper Helmet from Aaron Muszalski.

Above is a limited edition laser cut paper Desires from Kev Munday.

Above is a laser cut architectural model from CSondi.

Above is a cardboard plotter from Niklas Roy is not laser cut, but it could be – see the video here.

Posted in Laser Cutting, Sam Tanis by Sam | No Comments

Blender has long supported the .STL file format used to export for 3D print and it is very welcome news that there will be additional support within the software to help modelers. As a popular, free and open source 3D modeling software package, these new features will greatly help save users’ time in finding issues with their models.

Posted in 3D Printing, David McGahan, Software by David McGahan | 1 Comment

Art/tech nonprofit CODAME is “exploring the dimensions of 3D printing” — all 4 of them. What’s the fourth dimension of 3D printing? You’ll have to find out from CODAME featured artist and speaker Stefano Corazza.

CODAME 3D PRINTING will be at Adobe Systems in SOMA San Francisco on Wednesday, May 1 from 6-9pm. Tickets are donation only, but $10 is recommended.

There will be performance art, live music, 3D printing show & tell, plus talks on 3D printing as applied to Business, Gaming, Manufacturing, Biology, and Art. Check out the full featured speaker/artist profiles here, including Ponoko CMO Kristen Turner (yep, talkin’ about myself in 3rd person).

So come to CODAME 3D Printing! It’s a lot of bang for your donated buck. Donate bucks ie get tickets here.

Can’t make it to this event? CODAME has an extensive calendar of events lined up for their 2013 program — everything from data visualization and hacking to fundraising and a full-on festival.

Posted in 3D Printing, Events, Ponoko News by Kristen Turner | Comments are off for this post

The MIT Hobby Shop was founded 75 years ago by a group of students who wanted to make things, who wanted to bring their ideas into the real world. The Shop has changed considerably over the years, but it still relies heavily on peer-to-peer teaching and an interdepartmental approach.

In the 1937-38 academic year, Vannevar Bush, then Vice President of MIT, granted a group of 16 MIT students permission to use a room in the basement of building 2. With equipment they found around the Institute they set up a wood and metal shop in the 16-foot by 22-foot area. The club members chose the name “Hobby Shop” based on their belief in the philosophy that the well rounded individual pursued interests outside their profession – hobbies.

Read more about the history of the Hobby Shop on their site.

Via MAKE

Taylor Gilbert is a proponent of creative technology including Arduino, Processing, and repurposed hardware. Follow him @taylor_gilbert

Posted in Maker Movement, Taylor Gilbert by Taylor Gilbert | Comments are off for this post

Hey, Sam here collecting the post from The Laser Cutter.

Make sure you join TLC’s Facebook page.

Above is a laser cut acrylic bumble bee necklace from Richardson & Richardson.

After the jump, a diving helmet, a frogs on a plate, a table, and a business card…

Above is a Diving helmet made from laser cut cardboard from Aaron Muszalski.

Above are 3D printed frogs of various thicknesses on a laser cut acrylic plate from Creative Tools.

Above is a an example of Radiolaria  – a new app from Nervous System that creates a cell structure – here Baltic birch was CNC cut and inlaid with laser cut acrylic to make a table.

Above is a laser cut business card from Aaron Taylor-Waldman.

Posted in Laser Cutting, Sam Tanis by Sam | Comments are off for this post

Ponoko is teaching it’s first in-depth design workshop: Adobe Illustrator for Laser Cutting!

When: Monday, May 6th 6-9pm
Where: PARISOMA 169 11th St, San Francisco

We’ll guide you step-by-step to create your own laser cut design. No experience necessary! All you need is a design sketch, a laptop, and Illustrator (free trial available).

What you’ll learn:
• How to go from a sketch to creating a design in Adobe Illustrator
• How to format your design file specifically for laser cutting
• How and where to make your actual laser cut design

What you’ll get:
• 3 hours of instruction including 1.5 hours of individualized assistance
• FREE *laser cutting & shipping* from Ponoko (materials are little bit extra)

Register now:
• Space is limited to 20 people so everyone get’s the help they need.
• Tickets are $50. Reserve your spot soon!

Posted in Events, Ponoko News by Kristen Turner | Comments are off for this post

Join powerhouse 3D printing companies, professionals, industry leaders, and hobbyists to discuss the 3D printing revolution at Inside 3D Printing.

Inside 3D Printing is April 22-23 in New York City, and Ponoko fans will save 15% off gold conference passes with promo code: P15

You’ll hear keynote presentations by leaders in the field: Avi Reichental, President and CEO of 3D Systems; Peter Weijmarshausen, CEO and Co-Founder of Shapeways; and Terry Wohlers, Principal Consultant and President of Wohlers Associates, Inc.

Featured Session:
How Professional Investors Are Playing the 3D Printing Boom
A panel of venture capitalists, including professionals from T. Rowe Price Associates, Lux Capital, RRE Ventures, and Piper Jaffray, will explore where investors are placing their bets. You’ll learn what types of startups VCs are interested in funding and where to invest your own money in this emerging industry.

View the full program here.

You’ll be able to meet with professionals from 3D Systems, Autodesk, MakerBot, Mcor Technologies, Stratasys, Leonardo, NRI, sculpteo, ZoomRP, GoMeasure3D, Solidoodle, and Ponoko’s own director of manufacturing, Dan Emery.

Register here and save 15% with promo code P15.

Posted in 3D Printing, Events by Kristen Turner | Comments are off for this post

Beat Feet was concieved, designed, and prototyped in four days by a team participating in MIT Media Labs Design Innovation workshop at PESIT Bangalore. The project uses a sensor attached to the bottom of a shoe to control the tempo of MIDI drum affects. The idea is to allow musicians to add and control a background rhythm while continuing to play their instrument (presumably not a drum).

“We designed a system which will allow musicians, guitarists and keyboardists to set the beats according to the music they play, without getting up from their place or even without lifting their hands off the instrument . . . we wrote a code on Arduino to calculate the [number] of taps by a musician and depending on the number of taps, we define a bar.”

Via Arduino Blog

Taylor Gilbert is a proponent of creative technology including Arduino, Processing, and repurposed hardware. Follow him @taylor_gilbert

Posted in Electronics + Robotics, Hardware, Taylor Gilbert by Taylor Gilbert | Comments are off for this post

Hey, Sam here collecting the post from The Laser Cutter.

Make sure you join TLC’s Facebook page.

Above is a laser cut paper fractals from Queen’s University.

After the jump, a pug, a butterfly, and Blade Runner neon…

Above is a laser cut acrylic pug necklace from Zap! Creatives.

Above is a laser cut place cards from Julia King.

Above is a laser cut acrylic sign from the film Blade Runner from Laserbeam (where you can read more about it).

Posted in Laser Cutting, Sam Tanis by Sam | Comments are off for this post

The first event celebrating maker culture in New Zealand will be held at the national museum Te Papa o Tongarewa on April 27th from 10am to 6pm.

There will be over 50 Exhibitors, installations and competitions across eight zones. Special guests and makerspaces will be showcasing their creations including a 3D printer petting zoo, flying machines, robot wars and much more.

If you’re in Wellington on the 27th, come and check out the event.

Posted in David McGahan, Events, Maker Movement by David McGahan | Comments are off for this post

As 3D printing has grown in accessibility, the demand for simple content creation tools has grown as well. With the success of their recent IndieGoGo campaign, Toronto-based company Matterform has tapped into that demand via 3D scanning.

Photon, the home 3D scanner that Matterform has campaigned to produce, aims to make importing physical objects into the digital world as simple as placing an item on a turntable. Once in place, an object is set rotating while lasers map out its surface. The object is then saved as a file that can be edited or 3D printed at will.

Since I live in Toronto, I was able to check out Matterform’s studio last week and see the Photon first-hand.

Adam & Drew (creators of the Photon) showed me around the place and set up the scanner. The space was filled with tools, parts from earlier revisions of the Photon, and a variety of figures & sculptures. I was asked to sign an NDA with regard to some features still in development, but was free to take some photos and choose some objects to be 3D scanned.

Here’s an Action Log figure on the turntable:

And what it looks like on the computer:

My impression of the prototype is quite favourable. There were a some hiccups, as one would expect with a prototype. For example, the revision of the turntable that I saw was a bit wobbly, and was not quite operating at full speed yet. But overall the unit behaved as advertised, and really does look great.

The only bit that I didn’t get to see was what the scanning software will eventually look like. In my opinion, that will be huge in ensuring the Photon’s success. For example, if you’re familiar with developments in home 3D printing, you know that the difference between the user interfaces of ReplicatorG and MakerWare represent a vast gulf of usability for the layperson.

If you’d like to read more about the Photon, or see updates featuring 3D prints of scans produced by the Photon, head on over to the campaign page here: http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/photon-3d-scanner/

Disclosure: I’ve met the members of Matterform socially in the past through 3D printing meetups, my makerspace has ordered a Photon, and the company I work for during the week will likely end up producing a prototype part. I know that’s a little ridiculous, but I’m involved in a lot of stuff locally.

Posted in 3D Printing, Derek Quenneville by Derek Quenneville | Comments are off for this post

The Nama Instrument is a textile-based interface that uses a Lilypad Arduino and 5 Lilypad Accelerometers to wirelessly control custom software. The project was made by Luiz Zanotello for his BA graduation project in Design from Universidade Estadual Paulista, Brazil.

The software shown in the video demonstrations generate music and animation based on how the instrument is handled, but Zanotello proposes that input from the Nama could be used for other applications as well.

“The Instrument is a textile interface. An open hardware that has open purpose and usage, being able to be freely folded, twisted, tightened and manipulated in various contexts to generate real time digital data of its movement . . . The architecture of the Instrument can be easily adapted to new uses and contexts such as on clothing, wearable interfaces, or new kinds of interactive media.”

The video above explains how the Nama works, and the video below is a demonstration of the instrument and generative software in action. The entire project is open source, and detailed information and code is available from the site under “open source.” There is also an Instructable detailing how to make an instrument.

Via Flickr

Taylor Gilbert is a proponent of creative technology including Arduino, Processing, and repurposed hardware. Follow him @taylor_gilbert

Posted in Electronics + Robotics, Hardware, Open Source, Taylor Gilbert by Taylor Gilbert | Comments are off for this post

Hey, Sam here collecting the post from The Laser Cutter.

Make sure you join TLC’s Facebook page.

Above is a is a work by fashion designer Winde Rienstra who fuses art and architecture in her work and frequently employs a laser cutter.

After the jump, a tissue box, a collar, laptop stand and an EggLathe…

Above is a laser etched metal and wood tissue box from Trotec Laser Inc.

Above is a laser cut silver and gold collar from Lavandularosa.

Above is a laptop stand made from laser cut 3mm plywood – plans are available for download here. From Jake Howe.

Above is a laser cut corrugated plastic EggLathe from Chris Conner at How 2 Today.

Posted in Laser Cutting, Sam Tanis by Sam | Comments are off for this post

This is a great opportunity for a web developer to take ownership of Ponoko’s technology and work in a creative and challenging environment.

You’ll be the lead technologist, which means responsibility for delighting our customers with the most beautiful web experience possible.

Ponoko helps product designers to make beautiful things they can make money from. We’re one of the world’s leading companies in the online digital making industry, being the first to enable designers to both make and sell their product ideas online. We’ve featured in places like The New York Times, Forbes, Wired, Inc (cover story), Boing Boing, TechCrunch, CNet, PCWorld, MIT Technology Review, Makezine, BBC News, TV1, TV3, The NZ Herald and The Dominion Post.

We’re open to applicants in the SF Bay Area (US) and New Zealand only. Preference given to applicants in Wellington, NZ.

Key duties:
• Lead all things tech – recommend and implement software and infrastructure solutions.
• Web product software development, testing and maintenance.
• Manage suppliers of web hosting and OS services.

Key qualifications:
• Experience developing with Ruby on Rails in an agile, design and metrics led team.
• Experience developing, managing and monitoring web, application and database performance and resolving all technical problems.
• Experience managing suppliers of infrastructure and OS services.
• On-call availability.
• Ability to effectively set and manage priorities, and communicate with both technical and non-technical people.

Other qualifications we love but don’t require:
• Experience developing with PHP, Python, JavaScript, CSS, HTML5.
• Experience writing automated tests.
• You’ve made things using digital technologies like laser cutters and 3D printers.

Benefits:
• Leadership – drive the future of Ponoko and the global maker movement.
• Market salary.
• Unlimited paid time off.
• Employee rates for making your own stuff.

Flexible hours:
This role is full time, but may be part time for the right person.

To apply:
Send your resume to derek-at-ponoko.com.

Posted in Job openings, Ponoko News by Ponoko Team | Comments are off for this post