Make: Volume 48 – Fab Factory

Presenting the Ultimate Guide to Desktop Fabrication. With 39 machines tested and reviewed, this issue will help you find your next 3D printer, CNC, or vinyl cutter. In this issue, you’ll:

  • Find great things to make on a CNC router or laser cutter
  • Learn all about the cool materials you can use in a 3d printer
  • See some fantastic endmills to use in your CNC machining projects
  • Build your own DIY clock, drip coffee stand, and mechanical iris

ON THE COVER: Lulzbot’s Taz 5 melted our minds with its high scores, great documentation, and open specs.

Table of Contents

COLUMNS

Reader Input

Thoughts, tips, and musings from readers like you.Page 08

Beautiful Obsessives

Make:’s new Editor-in-Chief Rafe Needleman talks about the delightfully obsessive qualities of master Makers.Page 10

PROJECTS

6 Awesome Things to 3D Print

Start your printers — these projects are amazing and the 3D files are free.Page 12

TechFab Fusion

Anouk Wipprecht’s 21st-century fashion melds technology with a healthy dose of physicality.Page 13

11 Rad Things to CNC

Fire up a CNC router or laser cutter to make these impressive, freely shared projects.Page 14

Supersized 7-Segment Clock

3D print this desktop LED clock with jumbo digits that glow from within.Page 16

CNC Drip Coffee Stand

Use a robo-router to build this handsome pourover station for brewing your custom cuppa. Page 20

CNC Mechanical Iris

Create this beautiful, eye-opening portal with your CNC or laser cutter.Page 22

REVIEWS

FILAMENT PRINTER REVIEWS

Taz 5 28; Printrbot Play 30; Ultimaker 2 Extended, Ultimaker 2 Go 32; LulzBot Mini 34; Zortrax M200 36; 3D Idea Builder 37; Printrbot Simple 38; Bukito 39; Da Vinci 1.0 Jr. 40; Rostock Max v2 41; Up Box, Afinia H800 42; Fusion3 F306 43; PowerSpec Ultra 44; Polar3D 45; IdeaPrinter F100 45; BeeInSchool 46; M3D Micro 46Page see above

RESIN PRINTER REVIEWS

Form 2 49; Nobel 1.0 50; Titan 1 51 LittleRP 52Page see above

CNC REVIEWS

Crawlbot 60; Nomad 883 62; Shapeoko 3 64; X-Carve 66; ShopBot Desktop 68; Printrbot CNC 69; Othermill 70; Carvey 71Page see above

VINYL CUTTER REVIEWS

Silhouette Cameo 77; Silhouette Portrait 78; MH871-MK2 78Page see above

SPECIAL SECTION

Fab Factory

Everything you need to know about desktop manufacturing.Page 24

How We Tested

Scientific comparison of nine different test designs lets us rank the capabilities of 19 FDM-type 3D printers.Page 27

Fabulous Filaments

Why use regular PLA or ABS when so many exotic alternatives abound?Page 47

The Rise of Resin

With new machines and new materials, light-curing SLA-type 3D printers come of age. Page 48

CNC and 3DP Software Glossary

Making sense of all the fabrication acronyms.Page 54

A RepRap Family Tree

Get to know the original open-source desktop 3D printers that started it all.Page 56

Laser Cutters

Here’s how to get started with the hottest tool for Makers.Page 73

Buying Your First Laser Cutter

These three entry-level options will have you beaming.Page 74

Ones to Watch

These sleek machines are poised to change 3D printing.Page 79

Fab Factory Shootout: The Results

From educational favorites to portable powerhouses, these are the notable machines from our tests and reviews.Page 81

TOOLBOX

2015 Holiday Gift Guide

The best tools and toys for the ones you love.Page 90