Get the 411 on CNC
Learn to design for CNC routing and find out what results to expect in our upcoming training session: the basics of designing for CNC routing.
Join Dan on Friday at 2pm Pacific for a live, 30 online training session followed by a 15 minute Q+A.
Can’t make the date?
Check our Online Training calendar for upcoming sessions!
Get in on the extrusion action & learn how to 3D print!
Learn how to use your Personal Factory to create 3D printed stuff.
Ponoko 3DP guru Rich presents live, online training sessions to teach you the basics of digital making with 3D printing.
The training is live so you can ask any 3D printing questions you have.
The next sessions is TOMORROW, Wednesday June 1 at 3pm Pacific time.
REGISTER NOW folks!
Winners of the Spring Time design challenge
We received some excellent entries to last month’s Spring Time design challenge. Old school customers and Ponoko newbies used their Personal Factory to 3D print and lasercut some super cool spring themed designs.
A 3D printed egg-shaped salt shaker and pepper grinder (with a surprise) took first place. A kid-friendly DIY basket design scored second. And a charming bunny broach scored third. Take a closer look at each of our winners after the jump!
You’ve heard Dave talk about Star Trek replicators and the future of products. Now we get a little personal and hear what Dave likes to do, where he likes to go, and who he admires.
• Where are you from, and where do you live now?
Originally I was from a place called Dunedin… which some refer, lovingly, to as the Edinburgh of the South, but I only ever remember as being cold and dark. Now I split my time between Wellington NZ and Oakland CA, USA.
• What do you do at Ponoko?
I do a lot of talking, a lot of software development and a lot of ‘moving stuff out of the way’ for others.
• If you weren’t doing this, what else do you think you’d do?
Something just like this… it’s kinda what I’m wired to do and be.
• Tell us:
– someone you admire: Sir Richard Taylor, the head of Weta Workshops for teaching me that business is a game that has a whole range of measures of success.
– some place you like going: I go to a small farm just north of a town called Masterton. I get to dial down the speed a little while and watch the weather play out across the valley.
– something you love to do: As a single activity, I love writing software. It needs to be software that allows people to express themselves in new ways.
As a complete activity, I really love doing what I do at Ponoko. I get a lot from watching people bring their ideas to fruition, both customers and the people I work with.
Game on! Wireless CNC thanks to PS3 Sixaxis
If you’re anything like Darrell, you enjoy getting hands-on when it comes to playing with your EMC2 CNC machine.
The following clip shows how he used a simple program called QtsixA to enable a PS3 Sixaxis controller to wirelessly manipulate his CNC machine.
To make a super easy and cheap wireless control pendant for your EMC2 machine, all you need to do is install QtsixA and set up your controller as a mouse and keyboard.
Beyond the novelty of becoming one step closer to a merging of man and machine, this application has real practical value because it elevates a rather modest CNC unit into a versatile, finely controlled tool. What does this mean? The affordable version now boasts features that would otherwise only be available in high-end (and high-cost) devices. (more…)
The Laser Cutter Roundup — a weekly dose of laser-cut love: #30
Hey, Sam here. I’m back collecting this week’s posts from The Laser Cutter
Above a deer made from laser cut kraft board type from Josh Fletcher.
After the jump, fishes and lizards, a raccoon, an organ, and some spheres… (more…)
Totally non-scientific “drop & hear” test
Ponoko customer Jon posted this short and sweet video of putting our range of 3D printed material samples to the “totally non-scientific drop & hear test”.
Listen to the sounds of 3D printed durable plastic, superfine plastic, rainbow ceramic, stainless steel, and gold plated stainless steel.
They may just be clinks, but it gives you an idea of the weight of each material. Jon notes, “I’m amazed just how solid the printed steel feels.”
Wanna clink some of your own 3D printed material samples?
You can pick up a sample pack or buy them individually at the Sample Shop!
Vote on your favorite app ideas or choose one to develop.
Do you have a great idea for a new Making app? Submit it! Our Making app idea forum provides an opportunity for anyone with an idea to ask for it to be made.
Even if you don’t have an idea, you can vote on idea other people have submitted. The more votes an idea for an app gets the more likely a developer is to make it. This forum is also a great resource for developers to find out what kinds of apps are in demand right now.
Here are some of the new ideas in the forum:
4. Jigsaw puzzles from my photograph
5. 3D printing with specific detail
For more information about our new App Gateway, read our earlier post about it.
We know 3D printing has some advantages over larger volumes of manufacturing, such as plastic injection molding. You can completely encapsulate objects and not worry about undercuts, part lines or tolerances.
What if you want to use your 3D print to cast a mold to make many more from? It is possible to produce small runs of plastic products reasonably cheaply with silicone molds – this is common practice for prosthetics and props in the film industry, where dozens or hundreds of objects may be necessary.
I’m going to show you a simple plastic part line example – that you can apply to your 3D prints – if you ever need to do small scale plastic molding.
(more…)
Interactive model of a 3D printer for teaching purposes
How would you go about explaining the magic of 3d printing to the little ones?
Here is a simple working model that allows students to collaborate together, with each pair of hands controlling a different part of the machine. This way, they learn about the various components that make up a 3d printer while in direct physical control of each element.
Making no illusions about the shortcomings of its output, Ben Krasnow chooses instead to focus on how the additive process works at the most basic level.
It gets the idea across… and makes the technology quite a bit more approachable.
Click through for a brief video where Ben explains what it’s all about. (more…)
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