LittleBits, Backyard Brains, MakerBot at TED
At the TED2012 Conference with Ayah Bdeir of littleBits, Gregory Gage of Backyard Brains, and Bre Pettis of MakerBot Industries
Digital Fabrication
Digital fabrication tools have revolutionized the way designers, engineers, and artisans express their creativity. With the right resources, you can learn to use these powerful instruments in no time! Whether it’s 3D printing or laser cutting that interests you, these articles will provide useful tutorials and inspiration for makers of all levels. Discover how digital fabrication can open up new possibilities so that your craftsmanship is truly extraordinary!
Laser Slicing Using 3D-Printer Files
NYC Resistor’s Trammell Hudson is playing around with creating 3D images out of sliced .STLs from Thingiverse. Love it! While uploading a model to thingiverse, I noticed an ultra cute Cthulhu and had to print it immediately on the Makerbot at NYC Resistor. Then I had an idea that the same process that generates the […]
Now That’s an Enclosure
I imagine Instructables user hellboy started out looking for a subtle, understated case design to show off his single-digit Nixie tube clock called CYCLOPS. Something well-crafted but minimal, and very modern, that would highlight the function of the device while tastefully eschewing decoration for its own sake. And then he thought: Screw that. You only […]
Sketch and Print in 3D from Android
Folks over at House4Hack in Johannesburg are developing an app, called Paint3D, that will allow you to sketch and print directly to a 3D printer from your Android device. Their app allows you to create an extruded polygon mesh that’s then converted to GCode, stored on an SD card, and fed to the printer. Their goal is to create an easy to use 3D tool that does everything from the Android device.
Alex and the Pockets, Dispatch #3
Our favorite “3D printrepreneurs,” Alex and Bilal, continue their technocarnie roadshow and share with MAKE what they’re learning about selling custom 3D printed do-dads to the masses.
Make: Projects – Custom-Shaped Frameless Eyeglasses
Here is a process that would not have occurred to me. Make: Projects user Kiers knew enough about the machines used by eyeglass lens makers to know that they use a “dummy lens” template as a pattern to cut the outer profile of a lens. He found an accommodating online optician willing to use a […]
Building a Robotic Bee With MEMS 3D Printing
Basically, microscale 3D printing the same way a popup book creates a three-dimensional shape. The Harvard Monolithic Bee is a millimeter-scale flapping wing robotic insect produced using Printed Circuit MEMS (PC-MEMS) techniques. This video describes the manufacturing process, including pop-up book inspired assembly. [via Ponoko]