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!

Experimental reciprocating laser cutter with low-power diode

Experimental reciprocating laser cutter with low-power diode

Interesting concept from Peter over at the RepRap: Builders blog, who has successfully made some cuts in a CD case using an experimental 1W laser cutter with a Z-axis control that allows the laser diode itself to reciprocate up and down, kinda like a saber saw. This action moves the beam’s focus, where it cuts most effectively, up and down through the material at each point along the cutting path. I have wondered about dynamically-variable-focal-length CNC lasers before, and although I’m probably in over my head, here, it seems like there should be some way to do it optically without having to physically move the whole laser head up and down. Everyone’s a critic! Nice work here, Peter. [via Hack a Day]

Continue Reading Sean Michael Ragan
Bike seat bottle opener

Bike seat bottle opener

Get your own copy of this 3D printed bike saddle-mountable bottle opener by Shapeways user Pick: The Road Popper is a bike-mounted bottle opener that we developed for our own use and decided afterward to share. We designed it to fasten discreetly to the rails on the underside of the saddle to help keep your […]

Continue Reading Becky Stern4
Make and Mend: MakerBot DishWasher Repair

Make and Mend: MakerBot DishWasher Repair

The spray arm on Daryll Strauss’ Frigidaire dishwasher ceased to function properly one day, so rather than call in for a repair technician to come fix his ailing appliance, he decided to attempt to fix it himself. He tried ordering a replacement, but ended up receiving the wrong part. That’s when he decided to fabricate his own replacement on a MakerBot.

Continue Reading Adam Flaherty6
CNC jigsaw puzzle parquet floor

CNC jigsaw puzzle parquet floor

My pal Angus Hines cut these interlocking wooden puzzle pieces from finish-grade oak plywood using his ShopBot, and installed them in a hallway of his Carrollton, Virginia home. The finish is Varathane High Traffic polyurethane. There are more pictures in this Flickr set. If you’re interested in the idea, feel free to contact Angus directly. I’m sure he’d be glad to cut you some puzzle flooring or other custom parquetry at his usual bargain prices. [Thanks, Angus!]

Continue Reading Sean Michael Ragan6