Ponoko-made project by Jay Thomson
Jay Thomson wears a bow tie to work every day. “[People] get a kick out of seeing them, and they often will strike up a conversation with me about my tie. They’re always amazed when they find out I make many of the ties I wear,” Jay writes on his website Lavaguy.com
He wanted to wear a different tie every day, but between his day job of managing the gift store at The Barnes Foundation museum, painting beautiful abstractions, and designing fabric patterns, he was having a hard time finding the hours it took to make a single tie.
So Jay decided to find a way to streamline the bow tie making process. He designed 7 different tie shapes and used Ponoko’s laser cutting service to create acrylic templates (shown in action in the photo above).
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Posted in Digital Fabric Printing, Downloadable, Fashion + Textiles, Laser Cutting, Maker Stories by Kristen Turner |
Make your own stuff using: Laser Cutting
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The future is looking solid for rejuvenated browser-based modeler
Fans of the 3D modelling app Tinkercad are turning their frowns upside-down with the big announcement that the company is back in action, and we’re certainly getting excited… because Tinkercad has been acquired by Autodesk.
What exactly does this mean? Well, not only is it great to see Tinkercad back in action; but with the might of this industry juggernaut behind it, Tinkercad looks to be locked into a secure future as elements are slated to filter through into the innovative suite of 123D apps and more.
Tinkercad’s revolutionary Gen6 geometry kernel played a significant role in sealing the deal with Autodesk. The strength of this browser-based solid modelling utility has already proven to be a hit within the Ponoko community. One of the notable success stories of the Ponoko API, Tinkercad makes generating SVG outputs that are ready for laser cutting or 3D printing so easy, it is literally child’s play.
With Autocad at the helm, the Tinkercad free account now has unlimited designs and full import/export functionality, making it that much more appealing to new makers and educators.
“..we have supercharged the free plan. You can now create unlimited designs, all import and export functionality is enabled and ShapeScripts are turned on for free accounts.”
Click through to see the full press release from Tinkercad. (more…)
Posted in 3D Printing, App Gateway, CNC Routing, Guy Blashki, Laser Cutting, Software, Tools + Apps by Guy Blashki |
Make your own stuff using: 3D Printing, Laser Cutting, CNC Routing, App Gateway
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special instructions!
We know that a lot of you have a need for speed.
So we’re testing 48 hr turnaround on laser cutting orders at Ponoko New Zealand *only*.
48 hr turnaround means we will make, package, and send off your order within 48 hours. Shipping timeframes will remain the same.
Now listen up ’cause there’s a certain way we gotta do this.
When you place your order, put “48hr” in the ***special shipping instructions***.
This is a trial so if we drown in orders or run out of your material, we’ll need to call it off for a bit and regroup. Otherwise, trial closes down on May 31st. First-come, first-serve.
Questions? Email service|at|ponoko|dot|com
Posted in Ponoko News by Ponoko Team |
Ponoko-made project by Kevin Taylor
Kevin Taylor was the ‘T’ in T&C Lures, a small business started by two guys who loved to fish in the San Diego bay. His partner (the ‘C’ in T&C) was taking a CNC machining class and “just wanted the challenge” of creating his own lures. Their first product, the swimgrub shown below, made the rounds at fishing forums and quickly became very popular.
But after just a few months of starting the company, C moved on and Kevin was left to carry on design and production. He would either have to pay a lot of money to a product development agency or learn to do it himself. So he decided to dive in and learn.
After some initial research on CAD and rapid prototyping, he came across SketchUp 3D design software and Ponoko’s 3D printing service.
Rather than make CNC machined masters for molding the lures and bait, Kevin decided to try 3D printed models. Below are images of his SketchUp designs as well as a model he produced with Rhino.
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Posted in 3D Printing, Functional Art + Objects, Maker Stories by Kristen Turner | Comments are off for this post
Make your own stuff using: 3D Printing
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Just type ‘Maker Faire’ in the special shipping instructions.
It’s May, and that means Maker Faire Bay Area is on its way! So we’re running a perennial promo fave:
Get a FREE $50 Making Voucher with your $100 order!
To get your $50 making voucher:
1. Log in to your Ponoko account. If you don’t have one, sign up for free here.
2. Place a $100 minimum order at the Ponoko US or NZ hub.
3. Type ‘Maker Faire’ in the special shipping instructions, and we’ll email you your $50 Making Voucher.
Things you should know: Offer good for making stuff with laser cutting or 3D printing at Ponoko. Showroom or sample store purchases do not qualify. $100 minimum does not include shipping. Other coupon codes or vouchers cannot be used with this offer. Offer only good at Ponoko US and NZ. Offer totally valid for Ponoko Prime accounts! Offer ends at 8pm pacific time on May 31, 2013.
About the free Making Voucher: Promotional making voucher is good for a future order, not the initial $100 order. One promotional voucher per account. (Making Vouchers are good on making costs only.)
Posted in Ponoko News by Kristen Turner | Comments are off for this post
Ponoko-made project by Andrea Garuti
Andrea Garuti’s engineering skills earned him the grand prize in the GrabCAD/SolidSmack laser cut toy design competition.
His castle-under-attack toy model — complete with draw bridges, trebuchet, catapult, battleram, and a basilica — blew away all the judges.
Andrea’s inspiration came from the medieval history surrounding his home near Modena, Italy. “It’s not a strict reproduction of a real castle. I wanted to include as many medieval elements as I could,” he says.
As part of the prize, Ponoko sponsored free laser cutting for the winner. Andrea’s epic design required thirty-two P3 (about 31″x15″) size sheets. Rather than ship an entire castle battle over from the US, we worked with our friends Vectorealism, a laser cutting service based in Milan, to have Andrea’s design made closer to home.
The picture below of Andrea’s son standing behind the castle walls demonstrates just how big this toy is!
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Posted in Architecture, Laser Cutting, Maker Stories, Toys + Games by Kristen Turner | Comments are off for this post
Make your own stuff using: Laser Cutting
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Wednesday May 1 in San Francisco
Art/tech nonprofit CODAME is “exploring the dimensions of 3D printing” — all 4 of them. What’s the fourth dimension of 3D printing? You’ll have to find out from CODAME featured artist and speaker Stefano Corazza.
CODAME 3D PRINTING will be at Adobe Systems in SOMA San Francisco on Wednesday, May 1 from 6-9pm. Tickets are donation only, but $10 is recommended.
There will be performance art, live music, 3D printing show & tell, plus talks on 3D printing as applied to Business, Gaming, Manufacturing, Biology, and Art. Check out the full featured speaker/artist profiles here, including Ponoko CMO Kristen Turner (yep, talkin’ about myself in 3rd person).
So come to CODAME 3D Printing! It’s a lot of bang for your donated buck. Donate bucks ie get tickets here.
Can’t make it to this event? CODAME has an extensive calendar of events lined up for their 2013 program — everything from data visualization and hacking to fundraising and a full-on festival.
Posted in 3D Printing, Events, Ponoko News by Kristen Turner | Comments are off for this post
Make your own stuff using: 3D Printing
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Monday, May 6 from 6-9pm at PARISOMA
Ponoko is teaching it’s first in-depth design workshop: Adobe Illustrator for Laser Cutting!
When: Monday, May 6th 6-9pm
Where: PARISOMA 169 11th St, San Francisco
We’ll guide you step-by-step to create your own laser cut design. No experience necessary! All you need is a design sketch, a laptop, and Illustrator (free trial available).
What you’ll learn:
• How to go from a sketch to creating a design in Adobe Illustrator
• How to format your design file specifically for laser cutting
• How and where to make your actual laser cut design
What you’ll get:
• 3 hours of instruction including 1.5 hours of individualized assistance
• FREE *laser cutting & shipping* from Ponoko (materials are little bit extra)
Register now:
• Space is limited to 20 people so everyone get’s the help they need.
• Tickets are $50. Reserve your spot soon!
Posted in Events, Ponoko News by Kristen Turner | Comments are off for this post
Ponoko is looking for a web developer to lead our technology road map.
This is a great opportunity for a web developer to take ownership of Ponoko’s technology and work in a creative and challenging environment.
You’ll be the lead technologist, which means responsibility for delighting our customers with the most beautiful web experience possible.
Ponoko helps product designers to make beautiful things they can make money from. We’re one of the world’s leading companies in the online digital making industry, being the first to enable designers to both make and sell their product ideas online. We’ve featured in places like The New York Times, Forbes, Wired, Inc (cover story), Boing Boing, TechCrunch, CNet, PCWorld, MIT Technology Review, Makezine, BBC News, TV1, TV3, The NZ Herald and The Dominion Post.
We’re open to applicants in the SF Bay Area (US) and New Zealand only. Preference given to applicants in Wellington, NZ.
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Posted in Job openings, Ponoko News by Ponoko Team | Comments are off for this post
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Major savings on P3 sizes through April 22
When it comes to materials for our laser cutting service, we’ve got ‘em in 3 sizes: P1, P2, and P3.
P3 is our biggest sheet size at 31.1″ x 15.1″ / 790mm x 384mm. It’s also our most expensive — with most of them around $20 – $30 a sheet and some, like our silicone rubber, are over $100.
While there isn’t a Ponokoan out there that doesn’t love a good looking laser cut coaster, sometimes you just want to make something BIG. Or maybe you want to fit a lot of smaller stuff on one big sheet. This is the promo for you!
40% off P3 laser cutting materials
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Posted in Ponoko News by Kristen Turner | Comments are off for this post
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