MakerBot minifigs
Spotted in the MAKE Flickr pool, by user tmo-photo, these 200% scale Lego minifigs printed on a MakerBot.
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!
Webcam + CNC robot = high resolution scanner
Tormach wants to sell you an upgrade package for your Mach3-compatible CNC robot that includes a 1.3M USB microscope with 220X optical magnification, a mounting bracket, and all the necessary software to turn your CNC equipment into a scanner. The cool part is they’ve also produced a video showing how to hack together a slightly-less-powerful system using a $20 pen cam and some free software that will let you make 2000 dpi scans limited only by the size of your CNC bed envelope. The “killer app” for this equipment is automatic reverse-engineering of parts, but you could also use it to easily scan maps, posters, artwork, or other oversize stuff. [via Hacked Gadgets]
MakerBot Cyclops 3D scanner
MakerBot Industries’ autumn of innovation continues (their Automated Build Flatform made a lot of fans happy) with this neat 3D scanner framework: The Cyclops is a three-dimensional scanner mount made fit for a pico projector, a webcam, and an optional iphone/ipod. Using a method called Structured Light 3D scanning, common and available components that fit […]
3D printing commercial aircraft parts
Joris Peels, of i.materialise, sent us a link to this video of him demo’ing the strength and flame-retardant qualities of Ultem 9085, a 3D printing material made for use in aircraft parts. He melts the piece, eventually, but he really has to work at it. One of the biggest problems with 3D printing materials is […]
Announcing the Automated Build Platform for MakerBot!
Moments ago, MakerBot Industries announced their latest product, the Automated Build Platform. This is a heated conveyor belt platform that spits out the object that you’ve printed and starts on another one, turning your MakerBot from a single-print 3D prototyper to a 3D batch-printer. Nifty! In the video, Bre shows off a batch-printed twisted torus […]
Help brainstorm next steps for MakerBot
Help MakerBot understand what the community wants by sharing your ideas on the MakerBot Idea Torrent. Anyone can view the ideas. You’ll need to register on SourceForge to vote on ideas or to submit new ones. This will help guide research and development at MakerBot and keep track of who comes up with the best […]
Open source laser adds 3D print capability
Bart Dring’s open source laser cutter now prints in plastic thanks to a RepRap extruder. He’s also working on a knife cutter. Interested in participating? PDF/DXF files are on the project page or Bart’s also selling starter kits.