Get your glow on!
We’ve just added 2 Fluorescent acrylic colors to the US catalog. These colors absorb light through the surface of the material and emit it from the edge for a unique, 80’s inspired look. Check them out:
The photos really don’t do these colors justice so make sure to grab a sample and find out how these colors really glow.
See what people have made from these materials in the past: (more…)
Put your money where your mouth is for some Furniture Designed By You
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SketchChair is an awesome idea. Not only is it a free, open-source software tool that enables almost anyone to realize their dreams of becoming a furniture designer; now the call is out to take SketchChair to the next phase.
The push is on with a Kickstarter campaign where customizable open-source furniture is just the start.
The goal for this project is not just to complete the software and release the source code, but also to build an online community of people creating, sharing and editing designs.
Some pretty solid thinking has gone into this, including a few nice ways to reward people who pledge their support. More modest contributors of $25 will become the proud owners of SketchChair Minis, while higher level pledgers receive full-size customised designs and even the opportunity to collaborate with Greg and the Diatom guys on their very own modern masterpiece.
Find out all about it at Kickstarter, and if you like the way these guys are democratising design, pledge your support before crunch day on May 11.
Yippee! Material samples are here!
You wanted it; you got it. One of our most requested features is now live.
The new Personal Factory material sample store has opened its virtual doors.
And we’re celebrating with a killer pre-order launch deal.
Pre-order your samples by March 31 and get FREE digital making rewards!
• Spend $25 get a $10 Ponoko gift voucher*
• Spend $50 get a $25 Ponoko gift voucher*
• Spend $100 get a $50 Ponoko gift voucher*
We’ve got a rainbow of felt and acrylics, beautiful natural woods and leathers, five 3D printed materials and more!
Samples start at just $2.50 each. Value packs start at $12.50.
Shipping is $5 flat-rate anywhere in the US. International shipping is $15.
So get over to the new material sample store and start filling up those Easter baskets (aka shopping carts).
Note: Personal Factory material sample store features all materials from
the Ponoko US materials catalog except for 2D metals.
* For redeeming Ponoko gift vouchers, special conditions apply.
Entries due 13 April 2011
Ponoko is asking you to think Spring with our latest design challenge.
Design any spring-themed product for digital making with your Personal Factory, and you could win a deluxe Egg-Bot Kit from Evil Mad Science (just in time for some robotically decorated Easter eggs) + free making from Ponoko.
Your spring time design can use any digital making method available through Personal Factory: 3D printing, laser cutting, or a combination of the the two.
You can even use electronics in your design.
When CNCing gets you down, try 3D printing
Taylor Alexander is no stranger to 3D making. His job involves running a CNC machine shop, where he can make pretty much anything he wants, provided he has the time and energy to program the equipment and machine the parts – something that can take all night or even multiple nights. At the end of last year Taylor had a light bulb moment when he realised that this Ponoko platform thingy he kept reading about in Sparkfun! had a US hub which would conveniently service his San Jose location.
With Ponoko 3D printing Taylor can take design shortcuts that aren’t a possibility with machined parts. The time saving is made even greater when the only other task to be done is uploading, ordering and waiting for the part to arrive, so no more depressing “late nights spent getting dirty running the CNC machines”.
One of the pleasant surprises Taylor came across when his first order arrived, was the quality of the print. He’d tried 3D printing in college seven years ago and found the process pretty neat, albeit expensive. However, time certainly advances technology, and Taylor was amazed by the improvement in the fabrication result.
More from Taylor after the jump:
best thing ever
The Egg-Bot from Evil Mad Science decorates eggs — or any spherical object like light bulbs, Christmas ornaments, even little pumpkins.
I fell in love with this little CNC miracle when Guy announced that the Egg-Bot was up for pre-order back in September.
Then I got to see it in action on the Martha Stewart Show.
The awesomeness of the Egg-Bot is self-evident, but what’s even cooler is that it’s available as an open source kit — that you can use with Inkscape!
Cel-e-brate! Tess-a-late!
With over 40 awesome ideas for combining Repper repeat patterns with the digital making possibilities of Personal Factory, we had a difficult time choosing 5 winners to receive a free license to the Repper app.
So Ponoko and the team at Studio:Ludens did what we had to do…
we picked 6 winners!
1) Fabrice: We love the idea of applying patterns to board games (Wood would be gorgeous!) and eagerly look forward to photos of prototypes!
2) Kilna: Kilna’s 3 words: “Tessellated felt lingerie.”
Our 3 words: “Bring it on.”
3) Kyle: Kyle hit all our trigger points. Materials, textures, 3D printing, laser cutting. And patterned electronics for kids?! Kyle, you definitely win.
4) Mariko: Blending architectural forms with repeat patterns, plus these amazing laser cut lockets totally sold us.
5) Katherine: We love it when digital fabrication, decoration, and handwork all come together. The idea of using Repper patterns and 3D printing to create molds for make-it-yourself clay tiles? You floored us. (get it?)
Bonus 6) STU: It’s easy to get carried away with enthusiasm when you’re trying to win a contest. Or score a date. Or land a job. Or get people to like you. But Ponoko and the Ludens crew like people who keep it real.
So when we read this —
“Hi, I’m not gonna make absurd statements about how this software will change my life. But Repper looks dope and as a member of the Ponoko tribe and a designer who strives to “push design forward” I can confidently state that I will exploit Repper in every way possible for amazing results.” —
we knew a bonus extra license giveaway for best marketing statement was in order.
Congratulations to all of our winners, & thanks to everyone who entered.
And btw Repper *is* dope, so if you didn’t win, you can purchase a software license of Repper for just $39.
Lasercut scale models of the Futuna chapel commemorate its 50th anniversary
New Zealand has no lack of natural beauty, but when it comes to built environments, there is a distinct deficit of heritage value. Wellington’s Futuna chapel, hidden away in suburbia, has been described by architects as “New Zealand’s most significant building of the 20th century.” The dignified sculptural splendour of this structure betrays its underprivileged history. Futuna was born from unskilled labour, and in its fifty years of existence has been subjected to neglect, theft and disregard by those responsible for its surroundings.
In 2010, Friends of Futuna Charitable Trust approached Ponoko about creating commemorative models of the chapel to celebrate its 50th anniversary, which took place last weekend. Over several months, the plywood model and its plinth/box were prototyped and continuously refined in Inkscape. Tony Richardson – the model’s designer, specified 4mm Eurolite Poplar which is a low density, fast cutting ply. The final order was for fifty individually numbered kits to be assembled by the visitors to the chapel during the anniversary celebrations.
Think you can spark up our blog with DIY electronics love? Read on.
Ponoko is looking for someone to share their passion and knowledge of do-it-yourself electronics with our make-it-yourself audience.
We need someone who can make the idea of working with electronics easy, accessible, and fun.
We also need this person to show people how they can combine electronics with digital fabrication to create super awesome stuff.
We’re looking for someone to contribute to the Ponoko blog once a week. Contributions can be in written and/or video format.
Topics can include:
• DIY electronics tutorials for MIY products
• electronic kit walk-throughs
• robotics
• e-textiles
• prototyping
• programming
• Open Source Hardware
Pretty much anything about DIY electronics is legit as long as it can be connected (probably literally) to possibilities with digital fabrication.
(more…)
The Laser Cutter Roundup — a weekly dose of laser-cut love: #21
Hey, Sam here. I’m back collecting this week’s posts from The Laser Cutter!
Starting off this woodsy-week is this laser cut mountain-man from Christopher Bettig and cut/etched by Grovemade.
After the jump a tree, another tree, somethings that have nothing to do with trees other than they are made of paper, and an amazing event. (more…)
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