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

Make sure you join TLC’s Facebook page.

Above is a Chinese Chess Board travel set with laser cut board from Christoher Disdero.

After the jump, a contest, a pattern, icons, and coupe…

Above, You Fab is back for its second year asking for laser cut entries of paper-made items for play, communication, or surprise! Read more at Loftwork.com.

Above is a laser cut steel pattern from Vince Ready.

Above is a laser cut coupe from Tim Anderson.

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

Processing, an open source programming language and environment, has been used extensively by millions of artists, designers, experimenters, and makers since its development in 2001. It made sophisticated programming accessible both in terms of ease of use and cost (free). Recently, Processing 2.0, the first full new version, was released to the public.

The Processing 2.0 release focuses on faster graphics, new infrastructure for working with data, and enhanced video playback and capture. It also expands the potential of the programming environment. The new Modes feature allows other programming systems, such as JavaScript and Android, to be easily used from within the development environment. The new Contributions Manager makes it simple to distribute and install extensions developed by the community. The P2D and P3D renderers are now built using modern OpenGL, and programs can now utilize custom GLSL shaders.

The video is a documentary about creative coding and the community who uses Processing.

Via Processing.org

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

Posted in Open Source, Programming, Taylor Gilbert by Taylor Gilbert | No Comments

Lincoln Kamm spent 12 years in the animation industry before breaking out and producing his own works. He has since met with notable success with six-figure sales and is now helping others learn how they too can do the same.

In an upcoming publication The Neo-Artist, Lincoln expands on his college lecture series and consulting experience. The book is a treasure-trove of knowledge that aims to teach creative people about the latest in high-tech hardware and software for turning ideas into real physical objects.

Topics covered include 3D printing and laser cutting, designing custom electronics, clothing and more. Most importantly, The Neo-Artist will also show how to make other aspects of the available technologies work for you to help market and sell your work. It’s perfect for makers who are just starting out and will still have plenty to offer those who have been in business for years, guiding them to the next level and beyond.

So if you are a creative person who’s into technology, be sure to take part in The Neo-Artist Kickstarter campaign and make a pledge to secure yourself a copy of the book. It’s time to leave the rat race behind.

The Neo Artist via Kickstarter

Posted in 3D Printing, Digital Fabrication, Downloadable, Guy Blashki, Laser Cutting, Maker Movement, Selling + Business Tips, Technology, Various How-To by Guy Blashki | No Comments

Jay Thomson wears a bow tie to work every day. “[People] get a kick out of seeing them, and they often will strike up a conversation with me about my tie. They’re always amazed when they find out I make many of the ties I wear,” Jay writes on his website Lavaguy.com

He wanted to wear a different tie every day, but between his day job of managing the gift store at The Barnes Foundation museum, painting beautiful abstractions, and designing fabric patterns, he was having a hard time finding the hours it took to make a single tie.

So Jay decided to find a way to streamline the bow tie making process. He designed 7 different tie shapes and used Ponoko’s laser cutting service to create acrylic templates (shown in action in the photo above).

His bow tie template file is available to download for $2.50 at the Ponoko Showroom. Once you buy the file, you can click ‘Make’ to have Ponoko laser cut the design for about $60 (not including shipping).

Although he was familiar with Photoshop, Jay had to teach himself Illustrator in order to design stuff for Ponoko. Learning new software takes time, but the pay-off went far beyond laser cut bow tie templates. “Now I also use Illustrator for designing my bow-tie templates and the fabric, wallpaper and gift wrap I sell on Spoonflower,” he says.

He was also able to design cut-and-sew patterns with seven different bow ties printed on one yard of fabric. “I currently have 11 collections of bow tie designs on Spoonflower (each collection has 7 different designs), and I also continue to make my own bow ties from silk remnants and vintage upholstery fabrics,” he tells me.

When I asked him if he had plans to start a small business around his bow ties, he says he’d rather just do the fun stuff. “I really want to spend my creative energy making up new patterns and designs, and share them with other DIY crafters instead of spending most of my free time sewing bow ties to sell,” he says, “plus I’m too busy for all that inventory-keeping, packing and mailing.”

But he’s recognized a lot of interest in his ties and knows that his custom fabric designs make them truly unique. “I’m just not sure if I can keep up with small-scale manufacturing if they turn out to be popular. Maybe I could just sell my “gently worn” bow-ties after I’ve worn them once or twice,” he muses.

On his blog, Jay explains how to use his template design to make your own tie from any fabric you want.

And if you need help learning to tie your DIY bow tie, Jay recommends the how-to video below to get you lookin’ correct.

Posted in Digital Fabric Printing, Downloadable, Fashion + Textiles, Laser Cutting, Maker Stories by Kristen Turner | 1 Comment

After a successful event in NYC this spring, Inside 3D Printing is coming to Chicago next month, July 10-11.

Keynote speakers include Illinois Congressman Bill Foster, Stratasys founder Scott Crump, and 3D Systems CEO Avi Reichental. Other speakers will discuss topics ranging from policy (3D printing and the future of Intellectual Property, the rapid manufacture of weapons) to mass adoption (desktop printers from start to finish, 3D printing adoption in retail and branding) to innovative new uses in food, fashion, architecture, and electronics.

There’s also a full day’s schedule of tutorials and an exhibition hall of the latest 3D printing products, projects, and services.

Register for the event and save 15% with code PK15!

Posted in 3D Printing, Events by Kristen Turner | No Comments

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

Make sure you join TLC’s Facebook page.

Above is a laser cut and etched signs for an herb garden from Guri Venstad.

After the jump, a lamp, a space invader, icons, and a sign…

Above is a laser cut acrylic Zepplinlight from David Gill.

Above is a laser cut Space Invader bookmark from William age 10 via Giles Booth.

Above is a laser cut icons from Laura Tarrish via Ann Martin at All Things Paper.

Above is a laser cut and CNC acrylic sign letters for International Music Academy from signsden.

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

There is a saying amongst ukulele players. It goes something along the lines of “Music self played is happiness self made.” So imagine how happy Matthew must be, as he strums away on his 3D printed ukulele!

We’ve seen an impressive folding laser cut uke before, and it was only a matter of time before someone had a serious crack at 3D printing one. Matthew (aka Koa Soprano) is no stranger to making his own musical devices, having previously tried his hand at violins and other stringed instruments.

His ukulele is something different though. Printed on a Stratasys Dimension 1200es 3D printer, it took about 37 hours for the body, neck and pegs to be produced. Allowance had to be made for the build area of the printer, which means that the headstock is a little shorter than usual. A neat dovetail was planned in to the Solidworks model so that the neck and body can be easily assembled after printing. Pegs were printed both horizontally and vertically to see which orientation produced a neater result.

Click through to see the finished instrument, as well as a few insights into pitfalls that were overcome during the printing process.

* UPDATE * video included after the break!

Above, we can see the workstation and the Stratasys printer itself. The next image shows two different neck prints. Initially, Matthew tried orienting the print vertically which resulted in a much nicer finish. However, when the part was positioned this way the frets wouldn’t print. He got around this by arranging the neck horizontally – positioned diagonally across the print bed – and the details on the fretboard printed correctly, but this time with small errors in the dovetail.

Fortunately, the print was close enough to the desired outcome for him to finish the parts off by hand and then assemble the instrument. We don’t have a clip of it in action, but if you follow the forum thread on Ukulele Underground, the word is that this 3D printed ukulele sounds just like the real deal.

via Ukulele Underground

Posted in 3D Printing, Functional Art + Objects, Guy Blashki, Maker Movement by Guy Blashki | No Comments

MIT MediaLab’s Mediated Matter group used inspiration from the cocoons of silkworms for the Silk Pavilion. Silkworm cocoons are made from one long, continuous silk thread. The pavilion uses the same approach, but with some high-tech help.

A single silk thread was placed by a Computer Numerically Controlled (CNC) system following a subdivision algorithm. A program divided the pavilion into sections with the thread, divided those sections into smaller sections, divided those again, and so on and so forth until the temporary scaffolding was covered.

After the CNC was finished, real, living silworms were placed around the bottom edge of the dome and left alone to finish the pavilion, filling in the remaining small holes and binding together the CNC-placed thread. Once the silkworms completed their job, the scaffolding was removed. The result is a pavilion made entirely from silk.

Via Core77

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

Posted in 3D Printing, Architecture, Taylor Gilbert by Taylor Gilbert | No Comments

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

Make sure you join TLC’s Facebook page.

Above is a laser cut Ballista Kit from via BogasSG.

After the jump, a mustache, a skirt, sculptures, and a screen…

Above is a laser cut glasses with an animated mustache via Steamboat Ed.

Above is a laser cut skirt hem via Maria Hayhow.

Above is a laser cut and painted steel sculpture by Ray Smith via Mark Coster.

Above are laser cut wooden sculptures from Anima Kitty.

Above are laser cut wood door panel from Mortise & Tenon.

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

Sculptural geometric forms take on a delicious twist with a sweet approach to 3D printing from The Sugar Lab.

It all started when husband and wife team Kyle and Liz von Hasseln wanted to make a sweet gift for a friend’s birthday. Without an oven and therefore unable to bake a cake, the duo applied their architectural skills and set out to 3D print one. What resulted was a simple cupcake with “Chelsea” (the friend’s name) printed in sugar across the top. Excited by the experimentation process, Kyle and Liz have refined the sugar printing technique to produce some stunning – and possibly quite delicious – sculptural forms.

The process uses alternating strands of sugar with layers of a water and alcohol solution that seals and solidifies the sugar.    

“If you’ve ever made frosting and left the mixing bowl in the sink overnight, you know that moistened sugar gets quite hard. That’s the underlying concept of 3D printing with sugar.”

What makes this really exciting is the potential to shake things up not only with the decorative elements of sugary desserts, but also how this technique effects the structure of the food. Current collaborations with cake artists are generating elaborate sugar tiers and cake stands, and the goal is to go one step further where unique qualities of the 3D printed sugar will begin to define the form of the food itself.

The Sugar Lab via Co.Design

Posted in 3D Printing, Art, Functional Art + Objects, Guy Blashki, Materials by Guy Blashki | No Comments

If you live in the Northeast USA, you probably know that the 17 year cicadas with soon emerge from the ground to serenade you with their surprisingly annoying mating calls. If are not lucky enough *cough* to live in the path of what has been called “swarmageddon”, the video will catch you up on the basics.

Radiolab, a podcast and public radio show, has put together an easy-to-follow set of instructions on how to build a soil thermometer with an Arduino and some basic parts. They even have the code ready for use. The cicadas emerge when the soil 8″ below the surface reaches 64º F (18º C). After the building the kit and measuring the soil temperature where you live, upload the result and your location on their site to help track the great emergence.

Via Hack a Day

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

Posted in Electronics + Robotics, Hardware by Taylor Gilbert | No Comments

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

Make sure you join TLC’s Facebook page.

Above is a laser cut wood clock from Etch Work.

After the jump, hands, spinners, dogs, bookends, and a Star of David…

Above are laser cut hands from Yusan Kang via Toronto Laser Services.

Above are laser cut metal wind spinner from Windspinnersplus via Scott Gardner 1064.

Above is a laser cut and etched plywood terrier brooch from Forever Foxed.

Above are laser cut and heat formed acrylic bookends from Andrew Harmon.

Above is a Laser cut metal wall ornament, MAGEN DAVID, designed by Tolonensis Creation via Cesare deLorentis.

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

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 | 1 Comment

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 | 3 Comments

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 | 2 Comments

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 | Comments are off for this post

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 | Comments are off for this post

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 | Comments are off for this post

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 | Comments are off for this post

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 | Comments are off for this post

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 | Comments are off for this post

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 | Comments are off for this post

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 | Comments are off for this post

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 | Comments are off for this post

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 | Comments are off for this post

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 | Comments are off for this post

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 | 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  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 | Comments are off for this post

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 | Comments are off for this post