Workshop

The latest DIY ideas, techniques and tools for the industrial arts from metal and woodworking to CNC machining and 3D printing.

The Making of Evil Mad Scientist’s Digi-Comp II

The Making of Evil Mad Scientist’s Digi-Comp II

By Eric Weinhoffer

Eric Weinhoffer

Eric is a Mechanical Engineer with interests in machining, mass manufacturing, product design and kinetic art. While not building things, he enjoys skiing, cycling, and juggling.

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In the business of producing kits, like the new Digi-Comp II, it’s all in the details. Evil Mad Scientist leaves nothing out, especially in the two CNC cutting processes; everything from the layouts of the large playfields on the router table to the careful nesting of flip-flops in the laser are given extreme attention, to minimize machine downtime and human intervention. Their most recent blog post is a comprehensive walkthrough of the manufacturing process, from sheets of plywood to the boxed product.

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MAKE and 3D Printing

MAKE and 3D Printing

By Gareth Branwyn

Gareth Branwyn

Gareth Branwyn is a freelance writer and the former Editorial Director of Maker Media. He is the author or editor of over a dozen books on technology, DIY, and geek culture. He is currently a contributor to Boing Boing, Wink Books, and Wink Fun. His free weekly-ish maker tips newsletter can be found at garstipsandtools.com.

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Our Ultimate Guide to 3D Printing is on newsstands today! And it’s just the beginning of a new chapter for 3D printing, and for MAKE.

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Lindsay’s Technical Books Ships Last Catalog

Lindsay’s Technical Books Ships Last Catalog

By Sean Michael Ragan

Sean Michael Ragan

I am descended from 5,000 generations of tool-using primates. Also, I went to college and stuff. I am a long-time contributor to MAKE magazine and makezine.com. My work has also appeared in ReadyMade, c't – Magazin für Computertechnik, and The Wall Street Journal.

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I think I was fourteen or fifteen when I received my first Lindsay’s catalog, ordered from a print ad in the back pages of Popular Science or Popular Mechanics—I don’t recall which. “Build Lightning Bolt Generators!” it trumpeted. “Melt Metal! Rediscover Lost Technology!” I clipped along the dotted line and sent $3.00, cash, through the US mail. I’ve been a regular buyer ever since.

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Five Questions for Zach “Hoeken” Smith

Five Questions for Zach “Hoeken” Smith

By Stett Holbrook

Stett Holbrook

Stett Holbrook is editor of the Bohemian, an alternative weekly in Santa Rosa, California. He is a former senior editor at Maker Media.

He is also the co-creator of Food Forward, a documentary TV series for PBS about the innovators and pioneers changing our food system.

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Zach “Hoeken” Smith is a co-founder of MakerBot, but he left the company 18 months ago and now calls Shenzhen, China home. In addition to pursuing his own projects he’s the program director for Haxlr8r , San Francisco-based hardware start-up incubator. As part of MAKE’s coverage of the “maker pro” space, I recently interviewed Zach about his work in China.

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The Maker Movement Personified: Brook Drumm

The Maker Movement Personified: Brook Drumm

By Travis Good

Travis Good

Speaker. Maker. Writer. Traveler. Father. Husband.

MakerCon Co-Chair (MakerCon.com) Maker City San Diego Roundtable Member San Diego Maker Faire Producer (SDMakerFaire.org)

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The phenomenon we call the Maker Movement is characterized by many things, among them the ability to cheaply and quickly prototype hardware. Open hardware principles, collaborative design, and crowd funding are contributing factors, but perhaps the most empowering is access to inexpensive computer-controlled tools and software. If there’s someone who embodies what’s possible with this array of tools, it’s Printrbot founder Brook Drumm.

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