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 | No Comments

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 | No Comments

Make your own stuff using: 3D Printing

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Microscopic analysis of Ponoko’s laser cut acrylic

Jacob Martin from the Photon Factory at Auckland University sent us this update on creating microfluidic devices using Ponoko’s laser cutting service. He made a range of sample cuts and engravings and then analysed the results in microscopic detail, concluding that it could indeed be possible to do microfluidic research without access to a lab.

Posted in Hardware, Laser Cutting, Rich Decibels, Technology by Rich Decibels | No Comments

Make your own stuff using: Laser Cutting

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Your chance to be a 3D printed statistic

What do we really know about 3D printing? Perhaps it’s time to find out what’s happening out there, and you have been invited to help put those juicy numbers together.

Backed by the P2P Foundation, Peer Production is currently running a survey with the goal of providing insights about 3D printing communities to the people who are actually doing the printing.

It’s only 20 questions long and can be completed in just a few minutes. So if you’ve dabbled a little in the world of 3D printing and would like to contribute, head over to the P2P Foundation survey where your experiences can be turned into numbers for the inspiration of the broader community.

The 3D printing community survey closes on May 15th, with results to be published soon after.

via Statistical Studies of Peer Production

Posted in 3D Printing, Guy Blashki, Maker Movement, Mass Customization, Technology by Guy Blashki | No Comments

Make your own stuff using: 3D Printing

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Welcome to the third Industrial Revolution

At what point has the status quo been shaken to its core… and we can declare ourselves in the midst of a Revolution? Reflecting on the changes that are taking place in various manufacturing industries, a recent article in The Economist puts forward some interesting points and suggests that we are, indeed, at the cusp of the Third Industrial Revolution.

If you’ve ever wondered about the impact that technologies such as Additive Manufacturing can have on a larger scale, then you are well advised to click through and read the full text. Before the really juicy content kicks off, there is a neat overview of current industrial practices, followed by an introduction to 3D printing and how it is already so much a part of our lives. Then things start to get interesting.

It’s not all about Additive Manufacturing – the factory of the future is also evolving to make use of smarter and more flexible production equipment. This means that as the number of people directly employed in making products declines, there will be a direct impact on the cost of labour (and therefore cost of production). What does this mean? Manufacturing techniques will make it cheaper and faster to produce locally, moving work back to the rich countries that enjoy so much gleeful consumption.

“Everything in the factories of the future will be run by smarter software. Digitisation in manufacturing will have a disruptive effect every bit as big as in other industries that have gone digital, such as office equipment, telecoms, photography, music, publishing and films. And the effects will not be confined to large manufacturers; indeed, they will need to watch out because much of what is coming will empower small and medium-sized firms and individual entrepreneurs. Launching novel products will become easier and cheaper. Communities offering 3D printing and other production services that are a bit like Facebook are already forming online—a new phenomenon which might be called social manufacturing.”

(more…)

Posted in 3D Printing, Digital Fabrication, Guy Blashki, Interviews, Thoughts + Opinions, Maker Movement, Technology by Guy Blashki | No Comments

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An Arduino-controlled puppet with moving eyes and mouth.

Jeff Kessler originally made TJ* to use in a short movie he was making before deciding to develop it for the public. TJ* is an animatronic puppet head with eyes the move up, down, left, and right as well as a moving mouth.

It is intended as both a toy for children that they can continue to improve as they grow up and as a development platform for makers and artists.

The complete system is still available for pre-order on Kickstarter for $120, but if already have an Arduino you can pre-order just the head and servo motors for $50.

Via designboom

Posted in Electronics + Robotics, Taylor Gilbert, Technology by Taylor Gilbert | Comments are off for this post

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From design to demo in under two hours

One thing that is certain about the future (before we all start wearing matching jumpsuits) is that there are going to be more robots making their way into our daily lives. Where will these robots come from? The usual process would see long development times, high costs and teams of specialised professionals behind each new product.

Printable Programmable Machines is a research project out of CSAIL (that’s MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory) that is well on the way to achieving the goal of democratising robot manufacturing.

The idea is that we can all design robots – you don’t need to be an engineer or a programmer – all that is required is a modest level of computer skills and a little imagination. Automated software then prepares the concept for printing on a home 3D printer.

This is all heading towards something that resembles an API for robots, which should mean faster development from a broader selection of makers, thanks to a more streamlined process and compatibility with the latest innovations in digital manufacturing.

This research envisions a whole new way of thinking about the design and manufacturing of robots, and could have a profound impact on society.

Click through for a short video featuring the fish pictured above, along with a few other speedily manufactured robotic critters and devices.

(more…)

Posted in 3D Printing, Electronics + Robotics, Guy Blashki, Technology by Guy Blashki | Comments are off for this post

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The launch of the Raspberry Pi was a huge success.

The Raspberry Pi is a new $25 ($35 for model B) computer about the size of a credit card capable of running word processing, spreadsheets, games, and high definition video. We previously covered it last May while it was still in development (watch the interview in that post). It launched recently and was hugely successful, selling out within hours and crashing the sites of the distributors RS Components and Farnell. As of this writing, it is still sold out.

It should be noted that this is not a competitor to the Arduino. It is an entirely different thing. This is more like the PC on your desktop. It runs on Linux, and it uses a TV as the display and a keyboard for direct input. Model A at $25 has 256Mb of RAM, one USB port, and no Ethernet connection. Model B at $35 has 256Mb of RAM, two USB ports, and an Ethernet port.

The Raspberry Pi Foundation is a non-profit organization. Read all about the project on their site.

Via CNN

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An experiment in bio-mimicry and alternative power sources.

Alex Villanueva and a team of researchers primarily from Virginia Tech University are developing Robojelly, a biomimetic robotic jellyfish. It is intended as a self-propelled surveillance vehicle. It is modeled as closely as possible on the appearance and propulsion method of a moon jellyfish.
(more…)

Posted in Inventions, Taylor Gilbert, Technology by Taylor Gilbert | Comments are off for this post

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The next generation of automatic slicing tools.

Kristian Hildebrand, Bernd Bickel, and Marc Alexa of the Technical University of Berlin have created a program to automatically  produce slotting laser-cuttable templates from any 3D model. While several tools are available to slice a 3D form for laser cutting, this program is far more advanced than any I have seen.
(more…)

Posted in Laser Cutting, Software, Taylor Gilbert, Technology by Taylor Gilbert | Comments are off for this post

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