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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CNC wire bender creates 2D and 3D forms

The versatility of 3D printers is much lauded, and there are many reasons why we hold them in high regard. But what happens when you need to output lines in space rather than volumes? That’s where a CNC wire bender comes in handy. Usually found in factories and serious machinery setups, CNC wire benders tend to be out of reach for the DIY maker.

Not any more. The guys over at Pensa have developed a handy little unit they call the DIWire Bender. This table-top device is a prototyping machine that can bend metal wire into 2D and 3D shapes.

It’s still early days for this device, yet things are off to a promising start. The wire is fed through a series of wheels that straighten it, and then on to the bending head that articulates in 3D to create the curves of your design.
There are some interesting ideas floating about on what this can be used for. From prototypes and wireframe models, to spectacles and on-demand jewellery… it’s even possible to create custom springs and other tricky engineering components.

“A DIWire Bender could eventually become an element in an array of 3D equipment with different capabilities. One day, if you get enough rapid prototype machines in a room hooked into a data line, you may be able to fax a bicycle. Now that would be cool.”

Follow through after the break for a neat little video of the DIWire in action. (more…)

Posted in Digital Fabrication, Guy Blashki, Hardware, Maker Movement by Guy Blashki | 1 Comment

Make your own stuff using: 3D Printing, Laser Cutting, CNC Routing

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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

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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

Make your own stuff using: 3D Printing, Laser Cutting, CNC Routing

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You make stuff. Stitch makes selling your stuff easier.

People don’t just make cool lookin’ stuff with Ponoko — they start their own maker businesses! (You can check out their stories in our new blog series “Retail Ready“.)

So when we came across Stitch, a new subscription-based software for managing your small business, we thought “We should share this with our customers! And see if we can get it to them for FREE!”

Anyone can try Stitch free for 30 days, but thanks to Jake over at Stitch Labs, we’ve got a promo code that gives you a free 45 day trial. Plenty of time to give Stitch a try and see if it’s right for your maker business.

We’re putting the Stitch code in our next newsletter so keep an eye out! And if you aren’t subscribed to the Ponoko newsletter, just go to our homepage, scroll all the way down, and put your email in our newsletter subscription box.

Now let’s talk a little bit more about why you should check out Stitch.

(more…)

Posted in Maker Movement, Selling + Business Tips by Kristen Turner | Comments are off for this post

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The fifth-grader who made a fully-autonomous robot with Arduino.

The phrase “Are you smarter than a fifth-grader?” has an entirely new meaning when talking about Davis Fortenberry. Davis, age 10, designed and built a fully autonomous robot using an Arduino (in part) which won first place at the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Southeastern competition, a university-level robotics competition. At first, some competitors objected because they thought he must be showing someone else’s work.

Via Arduino Blog

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

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Salone 2012 gets a DIY makeover

There is more to Milan than slick high-end design this April, and Berlin’s MakerLab are returning for another stint at the Public Design Festival with a special collaborative design project.

Setting up between April 1st to 15th at Art Kitchen Superground and then from 17th to 21st at Cascina Cuccagna, the multifunctional hub will feature 3D scanning, 3d printing, laser cutting as well as various low-tech manufacturing techniques.

Beyond the public demonstration, one of the goals of this year’s event is to engage in the design and construction of objects and tools for Un posto a Milano, a permanent meeting place that is being set up to highlight and preserve local culture, food and agricultural heritage.

It’s looking like the DIY efforts from MakerLab will once again provide a welcome contrast to the streams of shiny new objects being fussed over just down the road…

image thanks to Delfino Legnani

via Abitare

Posted in 3D Printing, Events, Guy Blashki, Hardware, Laser Cutting, Maker Movement by Guy Blashki | Comments are off for this post

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Engineer vs Designer: Makerbot contest winners announced

With the multitudes of iAccesories already out there, is there really a need for more i-themed thingies in our lives? The guys at Engineer vs Designer seem to think this niche market can do with a boost, and together with Makerbot they set a challenge for Thingiverse users to submit designs for the most absurd iPhone case or accessory.

Requirements included that it be ironic, backward, cynical or comically self-defeating; all while being printable on a Makerbot or similar DIY unit. The lure of a Makerbot Replicator printer up for grabs as the grand prize led to a fantastic response, with a huge number of entries taking the iPhone into realms never before seen, let alone attempted.

Humour played a key role in this tongue-in-cheek competition, and the judges were quick to point out that submissions that deemed actually useful were immediately disqualified. Descriptions and naming conventions contributed much to the designs themselves as witty scenarios support the hilarity of the entries.

“…it was the wordings that had me almost pissing my pants with laughter”

Click through to hear the full EvD podcast, where a lively conversation ensues as the guys talk through the competition entries and even place a live call to the winning designer.

via Engineer vs Designer

Posted in 3D Printing, Contests + Competitions, Guy Blashki, Maker Movement by Guy Blashki | Comments are off for this post

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The birth of Brutherford Industries.

Bryan Brutherford posted an Instructable about how he started his small designer toy company, Brutherford Industries.

It’s not a detailed step-by-step set of instructions for making designer toys, but it is, nonetheless, interesting. It’s a more of a narrative about the steps he went through developing his first product and then turning that into a company. It’s well worth reading for anyone considering starting their own small maker business.
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Ponoko getting its fingers into something sweet againFollowing the sugar-crazed stampede that was the success of the 2011 JamOff, the 2012 addition, organised by Ponoko’s Catherine FD, attracted even more participants.  This time around the public queued patiently to sample the long line of jams, and the icecream stick shanking was mostly avoided.  The range of jams and the resulting spectrum of colours was impressive: from the crowd favourite deep bordeaux plum& manuka to one of the delicate yellow lime marmalade.  The overall selection represented a delicious variety of berries and fruit.  Although apparently, bacon falls into nether category.  Yes, there was a bacon jam, much to the vocal horror of one unsuspecting vegetarian, and it was also one of the judges’ finalists.In Wellington, wherever the MIY outlook is celebrated, Ponoko is seldom far away.  For JamOff, Personal Factory unleashed itself mostly in form of prizes.  Once again the signature jam splatter red acrylic badges made an appearance, and the MC proudly announced that his and the judges’ were bigger than the participants’.

More after the jump:

(more…)

Posted in Events, Laser Cutting, Maker Movement, Yana Skaler by yana | Comments are off for this post

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