Win $40k for designing an open source filament extruder
The cost of filament is a thorn in the side of many DIY 3D printing setups. But thanks to Inventables, the Kauffman Foundation and Maker Faire, prices of around $50/kg are soon to be a thing of the past.
The challenge has been set: Design an open source machine capable of making plastic resin pellets fit for use in a low cost 3D printer.
The first person or team who uploads a successful solution will be declared the winner, taking out more than just glory and DIY adoration. Prizes include a very handy $40,000 thanks to the Kauffman Foundation, as well as a Desktop Fabrication Lab consisting of a 3D printer, Laser Cutter and Shapeoko CNC mill.
Nice.
If you think you’ve got what it takes, here are the criteria:
The first team/person to build an open source filament extruder for less than $250 in components can take ABS or PLA resin pellets, mix them with colorant, and extrude a 1.75mm +/- .01mm filament that can be used in a 3D printer is declared the winner.
Further details are available at Desktop Factory 2012.
via 3Ders
Posted in 3D Printing, Contests + Competitions, Guy Blashki, Hardware, Maker Movement, Open Source, Technology by Guy Blashki |
Make your own stuff using: 3D Printing
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New meaning to the term “you sunk my battleship!”
Combine a favourite childhood boardgame with shot glasses, scale the game pieces up with a 3D printer and what do you get? 3D printed battleshots drinking game. For non-drinkers and minors 3D files for pegs are also provided so you can play a scaled up version of the traditional game. Thingiverse user xaqfu has created the full set of ships based on the classic game to download and 3D print, although as the files are .stl they are also suitable for CNC milling. (more…)
Posted in 3D Printing, David McGahan, Inventions by David McGahan |
Make your own stuff using: 3D Printing
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HMA printed parts on the fly
Robots are often designed with very specific tasks in mind. But what happens when you want a robot to be adaptable? Taking on the daunting task of coming up with a robot that can rise to whatever challenges it encounters, a team over at the Bio-Inspired Robotics Laboratory (ETH Zurich) have been making progress that could have serious implications in the world of digital manufacturing.
Utilizing Hot Melt Adhesive (the same HMA that we’ve all burnt our fingers with when using a handyman glue gun), their robot is able to create tools from scratch. It then makes use of these new devices to successfully complete tasks that it was otherwise unable to perform.
The following video gives an indication of where things are currently at. Although the process is similar to 3D printing, the team are quick to point out why they have chosen HMA rather than the usual thermoplastic materials. It all comes down to adaptability. A traditional 3D printed tool needs to be grasped/held/attached in some way. With HMA, the printed tool can be glued to the robot itself, and actually becomes a part of the machine. No need for graspers or fixing mechanisms. (more…)
Posted in 3D Printing, Electronics + Robotics, Guy Blashki, Inventions, Technology by Guy Blashki |
Make your own stuff using: 3D Printing
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Aren’t they pretty?
We are super duper excited about expanding the color options of one of our most popular materials. Introducing…
3 NEW COLORS of our Glazed Ceramic for 3D printing
Now you can make bowls, cups, mugs, plates, figurines etc etc in beautiful Periwinkle, Peach, and Teal.
Like our Glazed Ceramic in White, each of these new colored ceramics come out of a ZCorp 3D printer, are food safe and thermal resistant, and start at just $0.20/cm2 (surface area) for Ponoko free accounts.
Check ‘em out:
Glazed Ceramic in Periwinkle!
(more…)
Posted in 3D Printing, Materials Catalog, Ponoko News by Ponoko Team |
Make your own stuff using: 3D Printing
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Incredible procedurally generated designs
If you’re a regular Personal Factory user, you may have seen the wonderful 3D models available for sale in Dizingof’s showroom.
Dizingof specializes in math art, which generally refers to works that have been procedurally generated with a focus on aesthetic qualities. That aesthetic quality is readily apparent in 3D models like these: (more…)
Posted in 3D Printing, Derek Quenneville by Derek Quenneville |
Make your own stuff using: 3D Printing
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Making the not-so-ergonomic, ergonomic again…
Apple is usually revered as an shining example in the design world. There is the ocassional exception, however. They seem unwilling to design a mouse that takes into account biomechanics and ergonomic factors of the human hand since at least the early 90’s. The iPod earbud style headphones are another instance – where Apple has a priority of designing a geometric neo-minimalist form, rather than ensuring comfort and performance. Cupped headphones are also much better at isolating your ears away from the ambient noise of the world.
These issues led Paris based Chilean industrial designer JC Karich to develop a 3D printable ear enclosed headphone adapter that houses a pair of iPod earbuds. (more…)
Posted in 3D Printing, David McGahan, Design, Open Source, Ponoko News by David McGahan |
Make your own stuff using: 3D Printing
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Getting some serious work out of your hobby 3D printer.
It has been said that once you have a lathe you can make just about any other tool. This open-source printable mini lathe could be the perfect place to get started. With the quality of hobby printers increasing so rapidly, it is great to see complex mechanical models like this making their way out into the ecosystem.
(We’ve seen a printed mini-lathe before, but that project seems to be obsolete now.)
Posted in 3D Printing, Hardware, Open Source, Rich Decibels, Tools + Apps by Rich Decibels |
Make your own stuff using: 3D Printing, App Gateway
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“Form follows constrains” philosophy aids design process
Alienology’s physical design output is pretty impressive. As a designer your head space has to be perpetually filled with evolving concepts. Time permitting, those imagined concepts become sketches or even make it to the CAD phase for rendering. Resources permitting, a concept will result in a prototype. However, the chances of the prototype ever becoming a product that makes it to the market are pretty negligible.
Alienology founder Igor Knezevic isn’t interested in showing half-baked concepts or even refined ideas. Alienology portfolio consists only of products available for purchase – an outcome enabled by a commitment to minimise the time span between idea and the manufactured object. Igor has embraced on demand digital fabrication with every limb to rapidly move through a process that would have required much time and capital investment under the traditional manufacturing model.
The LA based design company embraced the Ponoko model from the onset and has used its laser cutting and 3D printing services to create numerous lighting elements, jewelry and tableware. Igor already had experience with digifabbing technologies and had access to making facilities, but the option of an online service made it possible for him to focus on designing the products rather that concerning himself with how to make them physically.
Of course, design is never a straight forward process, and prototyping one of its integral features. Many of Igor’s designs undergo repeated experimentation to achieve the functionality, fabrication efficiency and the desired aesthetic of the final product. Igor has had pieces 3D printed in plastics and Stainless Steel, and for laser cut objects worked with tinted acrylics, felt and different wood materials, such as Veneer Core and Eurolite Poplar. He makes a point of considering material quality as one of the starting points in a design, so little finishing is necessary to complete the products. There are also some products that are designed to be spray-painted and lacquered.
A few words from the designer after the jump:
(more…)
Posted in 3D Printing, Furniture + Lighting, Jewellery, Laser Cutting, Maker Stories, Yana Skaler by yana |
Make your own stuff using: 3D Printing, Laser Cutting
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Smooth as a.. thing that is very smooth
Objects that come out of most hobbyist 3D printers look a bit rough. The printing process creates ridges and swirls that, in my opinion, look nice and homemade… But to others that look can be an eyesore.
Luckily, ABS plastic is very receptive to post-processing. As I tell folks whenever I run a 3D printing demo: you can sand it, drill it, paint it, you name it.
The team at MakerBot TV recently put together an episode showing some of these finishing techniques, including the use of modeling epoxy: (more…)
Posted in 3D Printing, Derek Quenneville by Derek Quenneville |
Make your own stuff using: 3D Printing
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So you can talk to the hand
Bryan Cera describes himself as a designer, and artist and a maker, and his projects exemplify those directions with a mix of practical, conceptual and technical approaches. Digital fabrication is an integral part of Bryan’s creative process, and he’s not new to combining laser cutting, CNC milling and 3D printing in his projects.
Majority of Bryan’s projects involve re-purposed electronics and custom built circuits. The end result doesn’t have to have a practical application, as long as the experimentation process is fun. Metals and plastics are Bryan’s favourite materials to work with, as they are accessible, easy to machine and add a sense of permanence to the work. 3D printing in metal is certainly on that list.
One such project is Glove One:
a wearable mobile communication device. It presents a futile and fragile technology with which to augment ourselves. A cell phone which, in order to use, one must sacrifice their hand. It is both the literalization of Sherry Turkle’s notion of technology as a “phantom limb”, in how we augment ourselves through an ambivalent reliance on it, as well as a celebration of the freedom we seek in our devices. Emotional investment becomes physical, as the functionality of the device depends on the dysfunctionality of the wearer. While we enjoy the fantasies they offer, we rethink the technologies we construct and reflect on how they construct us.
Essentially, this is a prototype for a mobile phone glove with a futuristic armor aesthetic that evokes a fusion of Inspector Gadget and Daft Punk robot gloves. The glove phone is designed around components from wrist-watch cell phone that wasn’t getting much use. The structure of the glove was 3D printed from Super Fine Plastic to give the parts the best form definition. Bryan wanted to give the glove a smooth, shiny finish, and that meant a lot of sanding and several coats of paint.
More on Bryan’s process after the jump:
(more…)
Posted in 3D Printing, Electronics + Robotics, Maker Stories, Yana Skaler by yana |
Make your own stuff using: 3D Printing
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