From Ideation to Creation
If you’ve ever wondered just where Ponoko came from, when it started, and how it happened — check out yesterday’s interview with co-founder David ten Have on Read Write Web.
From Ideation to Creation: Ponoko’s Sci-fi “Making System” is part of a new product innovation series on RWW (a mega popular tech blog) by founder and co-editor Richard MacManus. A peak behind the scenes of entrepreneurship, this interview gets Dave talking about the initial vision — “we wanted to… keep the products as digital components for as long as possible, then turn them into atoms right at the point of consumption” — to company development philosophy, current growth, and future goals.
CLICK HERE to read the full interview!
Posted in Interviews, Thoughts + Opinions, Ponoko News by Kristen Turner | Comments are off for this post
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cotton schmotton
On-demand digital textile printers Spoonflower announced today the addition of silk to their printable fabrics! Crepe de chine, to be specific.
Crepe de chine is a 100% silk with a slightly bumpy texture. (It’s not the ultra shiny stuff; that’s silk charmeuse.) The addition of crepe de chine silk makes six fabric choices including quilting cotton, organic sateen, organic knit, upholstery twill, linen-cotton blend canvas, and cotton lawn.
And don’t forget, you can sell your original silk textiles in the Spoonflower shop.
Posted in Digital Fabric Printing, Fashion + Textiles, Kristen Turner, Materials by Kristen Turner | Comments are off for this post
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There can be no such thing as a boring design class when it lets you make with Ponoko.
Recently we profiled Nadia Arbach, a jeweller inspired by London’s Victoria and Albert Museum. V&A is also home to Digital and Design Studios, where Nadia teaches a class in Laser Cut jewellery. Her experience with Ponoko enabled her to design a course that utilised the Ponoko making system.
What was the brief?
Students had two days to use a P1 piece of either acrylic, wood, or felt to design as many pieces of jewellery as they could fit on the template. The inspiration for the jewellery was a trip to the V&A’s Medieval & Renaissance galleries.
necklace: Andy Mason
Tell us a little about the students.
There were 11 students, ranging in age from about 25 to about 70. Some of them were design students, others were interested in making things but didn’t have any formal design training. Most people came on the course because laser-cutting was a new option for them, and they wanted to learn how to design things, so that they could make them in a way that was completely different to their usual way of making.
How was the course structured?
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Posted in Design, Interviews, Thoughts + Opinions, Jewellery, Laser Cutting, Maker Stories, Yana Skaler by yana | Comments are off for this post
Make your own stuff using: Laser Cutting
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Ancient and Modern Techniques Working Together
The installation Fabricated Harvest emerged through a collaboration between American designers John Adams and Ricki Dwyer.
Traditional woven basketry is combined with a laser-cut geometric structure, following an inspiration taken from the Akan (a tribe in Ghana) word Sankofa. Translating as “go back and fetch it”, this work represents the need to understand and value the past in order to be prepared for the future.
It is good to be reminded to look back every now and then, and take a moment to appreciate the artistry of traditional crafts and handmade techniques.
Using 21st century manufacturing technology to give new meanings to historic designs or motifs often produces interesting and inspiring outcomes, as we have seen in many jewellery items here on Ponoko.
When designers translate this influence into larger scales, the outcomes become even more diverse – and Fabricated Harvest is a clear example of this. Other forays into furniture that reference the past include Imogen Luddy’s Cross Stitch Table and (one of my personal favourites) Gareth Neal’s Stratiated furniture.
What do you see, when you look back? Is the past a part of your digitally manufactured future?
More from John Adams at Substratum Design.
Via NotCot
Posted in Art, Digital Fabrication, Guy Blashki, Laser Cutting by Guy Blashki | Comments are off for this post
Make your own stuff using: 3D Printing, Laser Cutting, CNC Routing
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Lasercut reinterpretations of classic forms.
Jewelry and product designer Fabian Seibert uses lasercut and powdercoated steel to create many of his award-winning pieces. They use the mostly 2D format of the steel sheet to simplify and reinterpret classic forms of decoration such as pearls, roses, and lace. In addition to these lasercut pieces, his portfolio includes both usable and conceptual pieces using a variety of techniques.
For more lasercut jewelry, check out these 100 lasecut jewelry designers or look through the lasercutting category.
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Posted in Digital Fabrication, Jewellery, Laser Cutting, Taylor Gilbert by Taylor Gilbert | Comments are off for this post
Make your own stuff using: 3D Printing, Laser Cutting, CNC Routing
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And you thought there was a lot to see in our Materials Catalog…
For the tinkering type, the wonderful world of Japan’s Akihabara neighbourhood may be as close to techno-dreamland as you’re going to get.
This tightly packed collection of electronics and hardware outlets remains a distant fantasy for most of us, but thanks to Akiba and Patrick from Toyko Hackerspace, we now have an insider’s glimpse into this unique cacophony of technology.
Whenever you have a design idea, you can just come here and buy everything and make it in the same day.
That sounds just like Ponoko!
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Posted in Digital Fabrication, Electronics + Robotics, Guy Blashki, Mass Customization, Technology by Guy Blashki | Comments are off for this post
Make your own stuff using: 3D Printing, Laser Cutting, CNC Routing
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Amazing spheres made entirely from paper using tabs.
This incredible sphere, dubbed the Elastica Light, is one of many from flickr user Prof. YM, a professor of architecture in Japan. They are made entirely out paper using tabs to hold the pieces together. After the jump there are several examples which include images of the individual pieces to give you an idea of how they are made.
To furthur our goal of helping you make amazing products, this post will be the first in a continuing series focusing on the challenge of transforming 2D material into 3D objects. Since laser cutters can only cut flat sheets of material (well, there is an exception), many people have trouble pushing into the third dimension.
This series will include instructions, helpful tips, and inspirational examples of projects that have been particularly sucessful at making the transition from 2D to 3D.
And now the pictures!
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Posted in Design, Furniture + Lighting, Taylor Gilbert by Taylor Gilbert | Comments are off for this post
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Attention ‘Digital Makers’
We are looking for a person to join our Ponoko Oakland, CA team as a ‘Digital Maker’ to manage our customer order fulfillment process.
This means managing customer design files, material suppliers and laser cutters to make, package and ship customer designs, around the world.
This role is best suited to someone who has experience using design software, and ideally they have created objects using digital manufacturing technologies.
For more information about joining the ‘personal factory movement’ please send an email to Dan at ponoko dot com.
Posted in Ponoko News by mjdimond | Comments are off for this post
find what you need amongst 1,500 items
Search is always a key thing online. When Ponoko teamed up with SparkFun to provide electronic hardware in the materials catalog, it meant that you could now build an entire product – inside and out – right here at Ponoko.
So how do you go about finding exactly what you want amongst over 1,500 hardware items?
Every page on Ponoko (other than the blog) has a Google Site Search feature awaiting your pleasure at the top right-hand corner.
So let’s say you are after an Arcade Joystick for your retro gaming cabinet. Simply type arcade joystick into the Site Search, and you’ll be shown a list of matching components.
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Posted in Electronics + Robotics, Guy Blashki, Materials, Materials Catalog, Tutorials + Making Help, Various How-To by Guy Blashki | Comments are off for this post
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Drumroll please . . .
Makerbot has just announced the release of their new and improved 3D printer, the Thing-O-Matic. This printer will replace the CupCake as their flagship product (you can get the CupCake at a discount until they run out). The Thing-O-Matic claims to be fully automatic, extremely reliable, and easier to use with higher quality prints. Sounds pretty impressive!
From reading the press release on their blog, it looks like this printer is designed to need little to no intervention by the user once it’s set up. It’s still sold as a kit like all the Makerbots have been, but once assembled it appears to be plug-and-play. This, along with improved printing resolution, puts it a little bit closer to printers like the UP! 3D printer we recently reviewed, while staying a whole lot cheaper.
CLICK HERE for the Makerbot blog post with all the details.
CLICK HERE to purchase the Thing-O-Matic for $1,225.
Posted in 3D Printing, Digital Fabrication, Hardware, Mass Customization, Taylor Gilbert, Technology by Taylor Gilbert | Comments are off for this post
Make your own stuff using: 3D Printing, Laser Cutting, CNC Routing
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