3D Printing & Imaging

If you’re a maker, 3d printing is an incredibly useful tool to have in your arsenal. Not only can it help bring your projects to life faster, but it can also offer unique results that would be difficult (or impossible!) to achieve with traditional methods. In these blog posts, we’ll provide you with some essential information and tips regarding 3D printing for makers—including the basics of how to get started, plus creative tutorials for spicing up your projects. Whether you’re already familiar with 3d printing or are just starting out, these resources will help take your game-making skills even further!

The Tesla Valve: One Way Flow With No Moving Parts

The Tesla Valve: One Way Flow With No Moving Parts

Here’s yet another delightful mechanical curiosity from among Nikola Tesla’s nearly 300 known patents. Shown above is the sole drawing page from US patent #1,329,559, “Valvular Conduit,” issued 1920. You may have to stare at the upper section, for a moment, to figure out what’s going on: Flow from left to right, as illustrated, is against the valve’s bias—the stream is broken up and diverted in circular paths that return to interfere with each other. Flow from right to left, however, is not so impeded.

Continue Reading Sean Michael Ragan27
How-To: Your Home in a Snow Globe

How-To: Your Home in a Snow Globe

Visual effects artist Karl Stiefvater takes us through the steps he used to build a 3D model of his home (SketchUp and its handy “Photo Match” function), apply the textures (Maya), and produce the X3D file Shapeways requires for full-color 3D printing (MeshLab). He also covers such useful, decidedly non-virtual details as how to seal the model to prevent the color from bleeding, how to treat the water to prevent algae growth, and how to assemble the snowglobe kit itself.

Continue Reading Sean Michael Ragan4
The First Citizen of My Personal Robot Nation Has Arrived

The First Citizen of My Personal Robot Nation Has Arrived

Back in November at AnDevCon II, I met Jonathan Hirshon of Horizon Communications, who hooked me up with a complimentary robot from My Robot Nation. This had nothing to do with Android; it probably came up because we had a MakerBot running in O’Reilly’s booth printing out little Androids (using casainho’s Android magnet design from Thingiverse). Enough about androids and robots. As ST:TNG’s Lt. Commander Data is so fond of reminding us, there is a difference between the two!

Continue Reading Brian Jepson10