Personal Factory is a cloud software platform for app developers to connect users directly to manufacturing devices to make custom goods on-demand.
It integrates product creation and customization apps with an established manufacturing and distribution system, so users can turn their designs into final products and have those products delivered to their door.
This is part one in a series of tutorials written by technologist Mark Schafer on working with the Personal Factory API in Python.
The full API documentation is here. All supplied examples use cURL.
The code for this tutorial can be found here: https://github.com/Neon22/Ponoko-API-from-python
(more…)
Posted in API Tutorial, Personal Factory, Programming by Mark Schafer | Comments are off for this post
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Best of the blog 2011 – Tutorials
Knowledge-sharing is central to the open design and distributed manufacturing movements. Here are ten of the best tutorials from 2011: 3D printing and laser-cutting techniques, online resources, and software help.
David halves his lasercutting cost with a few simple line optimising techniques. (more…)
Posted in 3D Printing Tutorial, Laser Cutting Tutorial, Rich Decibels, Tutorials + Making Help, Various How-To by Rich Decibels | Comments are off for this post
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rocketships, sliceforms, perfect packaging, and file optimization
We’re throwing our second Prototyping Party and giving away FREE cardboard for the rest of the month when you make something with Ponoko.
To give you some design ideas we put together a post of 20 inspirational designs made from cardboard.
With just two a little over two weeks left on this promotion, it’s time to get down to business. So here are 6 resources to get you started.
(more…)
Posted in Kristen Turner, Laser Cutting, Laser Cutting Tutorial, Materials by Kristen Turner | Comments are off for this post
Make your own stuff using: Laser Cutting
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Comprehensive step-by-step instructions
There comes a time when the electronics hobbyist wants to start making their own printed circuit boards (PCBs). There is a baffling array of different techniques to achieve this; it can be difficult to know where to start. One very solid option that is popular with DIY hackers is to convert an Epson printer to print etch-resistant ink onto copper-clad board. The problem is there has never been a concise set of instructions on how to do this.Until now: Instructables user ‘pourcirm’ posted this comprehensive step-by-step guide on the conversion process, that makes it seem a little less daunting!
On the other hand, if you want to get a few boards made up without going to all this effort, you can always crowd-source the job.
Posted in Electronics + Robotics, Rich Decibels, Various How-To by Rich Decibels | Comments are off for this post
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Best of the Blog 2011 – 3D Printing
To celebrate the new year, we’re running a best of the blog 2011 for each category 3D printing, laser cutting, CNC routing, art, hardwear, materials etc. 2011 was an impressive year for 3D printing. It was a real challenge selecting only 10 from all the amazing articles. I think you’ll agree this snapshot of ten (in no particular order) showcase the exciting possibilities with the technology…
This generated an enormous amount of buzz on the interwebs and is probably my favourite 3D printer so far. If the future is destined for a Mad Max-esque distopia this is what I’ll be taking to my desert island!
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Posted in 3D Printing, 3D Printing Tutorial, David McGahan by David McGahan | Comments are off for this post
Make your own stuff using: 3D Printing
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Simple Grasshopper definition for CNC
Parametric software can save you a lot of time by automating repetitive tasks. The Grasshopper plugin for Rhino is well known for its impressive generative architectural modelling, but it is also useful for much simplier tasks such as offsetting lines as you might do manually in Illustrator or inkscape for CNC routing. (more…)
Posted in CNC Routing Tutorial, David McGahan by David McGahan | Comments are off for this post
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cardstock comes to Ponoko US = a whole new range of things to make!
Awhile back we gave our most frequent customers the chance to tell us what new material they wanted to see in the Ponoko materials catalog, and we promised to add the top two materials by the end of the year.
We brought on matte black silicone rubber last month, and today we’re announcing CARDSTOCK!
We even let our top users vote on what colors they most wanted, so we’ve got black, ivory, and red.
The cardstock laser engraves really well. It looks awesome, to be honest. And one trick you can do is use a medium vector engraving line to create perfect fold lines. Because it’s paper, its 100% recyclable and can be easily joined with glue or tape.
And you can buy a sample of our new cardstock materials for $2.50 each.
(more…)
Posted in Laser Cutting Tutorial, Materials, Materials Catalog by Ponoko Team | Comments are off for this post
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Laser cutting technique for bending plywood
I’m a big fan of UK open-source & DIY company oomlout. I used their work as the basis of my laser cut project box design tutorial back in August.
They’re back again with a new construction technique that I can’t wait to try out. By simply creating a series of alternating slots in a length of plywood, it is possible to create flexible flowing curves: something that has always been challenging with the two-dimensional nature of laser cutting. They have provided their design files in a wide range of different formats so you can start experimenting with curves in your next laser cut project.
Posted in Electronics + Robotics, Laser Cutting Tutorial, Materials, Rich Decibels by Rich Decibels | Comments are off for this post
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Detailed instructions for a Stereolithographic 3D printer on Instructables.
Rob Hopeless has posted an Instructable showing how to build a Stereolithographic 3D printer at home as part of the Instructables contest to win an Epilog Laser cutter. If you read through the tutorial, I think you’ll agree that he is a serious contender in the competition.
He went all out on this Instructable. There is a parts list, including companies who sell every part, plenty of photos at every step, downloadable files for a CNC (ok, so you probably can’t do this part at home), and 3D diagrams explaining the assembly.
(more…)
Posted in 3D Printing, Hardware, Taylor Gilbert, Technology, Various How-To by Taylor Gilbert | Comments are off for this post
Make your own stuff using: 3D Printing
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Optimise your files before uploading to save laser cutting time and money
Ponoko’s recent prototyping party reminded me how important effective nesting parts in laser cut files is. This guide is about optimising line work to achieve faster cuts and thereby saving money. Cutting time is generally the most expensive component when ordering from Ponoko. In the forums recently, people shared their methods of saving money, but I think nesting line work requires greater exploration…
David is an industrial designer from New Zealand. He contributes a weekly article on personal fabrication for Ponoko. You can follow him on Twitter
@dizymac
Posted in David McGahan, Laser Cutting, Laser Cutting Tutorial, Ponoko News, Tutorials + Making Help by David McGahan | Comments are off for this post
Make your own stuff using: Laser Cutting
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