Printable Animatronic Tail
Thingiverse user Artharis created this awesome Arduino-controlled animatronic tail. You can even customize it to however many vertebrae you want. [Via Thingiverse]
3D Printing & Imaging
If you’re a maker, 3d printing is an incredibly useful tool to have in your arsenal. Not only can it help bring your projects to life faster, but it can also offer unique results that would be difficult (or impossible!) to achieve with traditional methods. In these blog posts, we’ll provide you with some essential information and tips regarding 3D printing for makers—including the basics of how to get started, plus creative tutorials for spicing up your projects. Whether you’re already familiar with 3d printing or are just starting out, these resources will help take your game-making skills even further!
Make Ideas Real with SketchUp
There are a lot of makers who really like SketchUp’s approach to 3D modeling. Personally, I think it’s a great way to get kids hooked on the idea of designing physical shapes that they may or may not fabricate with the laser cutter or 3D printer. While it may take a bit to get the hang of scale and accuracy, once you have these habits, your designs are repeatable with a variety of CNC tools and many different materials.
By looking about on Thingiverse and in the MAKE Flickr pool, you can see that Sketchup is a fairly popular tool for many of us who like to bring our ideas onto this side of the computer screen. The Make Ideas Real with SketchUp project is looking for examples of things that have been designed with SketchUp and brought into the world. The folks at SketchUp are gathering stories with the Make Ideas Real project about how people are using the program to design the things they make.
How Laser Sintering Works
David Bourell of UT Texas describes how laser sintering works. This method of 3D printing uses a laser that fuses plastic powder, building up layer by layer somewhat same way as filament-based 3D printers do. [Via @cenmag]
FabLab: What Would You Make?
MIT’s Professor Neil Gershenfeld gave a fascinating and engaging talk at the Carnegie Institute of Washington on November 3rd. The event was a benefit for the emerging FabLabDC, which is intended to provide a high-tech fabrication laboratory within sight of the US Capitol.
LeBigRep, a Giant 3D Printer
LeBigRep is a monster RepRap capable of building within a 1-meter cube. Inspired by the RepRap Project, the idea arose of having a machine which could actually produce objects exceeding the dimension of objects produced by desktop fabbing devices as the RepRap, Makerbot, etc. Imagine printing furniture, sculptures and other life size structures and experimenting […]
Printable Iron Man Shoelace Covers
Everything about this printable from Thingiverse user DrewPetitclerc makes me happy. Especially his description: “For many decades I’ve had trouble getting interesting shoe designs, my size is not common and I got tired of being told no or we have these in white or black only, so when I found you can design your own on the internet…”
Autodesk 123D – Personal Fabrication, 3D Printing, and Making Products and Services
Take your 3D model and make it real in a new and amazing way. The Autodesk® 123D™ Make Technology Preview turns any 3D model into a pattern of flat parts that can be cut and assembled into an artful creation. The Autodesk® 123D™ Make Technology Preview is currently available only for Mac OS X. The preview software will expire on 1/31/12.
