CNC Panel Joinery Notebook
A collection of clever ways of slotting flat stock together for CNC, laser cutters, and conventional material cutting and joining.
Digital Fabrication
Digital fabrication tools have revolutionized the way designers, engineers, and artisans express their creativity. With the right resources, you can learn to use these powerful instruments in no time! Whether it’s 3D printing or laser cutting that interests you, these articles will provide useful tutorials and inspiration for makers of all levels. Discover how digital fabrication can open up new possibilities so that your craftsmanship is truly extraordinary!
The Concrete Lathe Project
The origin of mechanical precision is a classic chicken-and-egg problem: If you need a precision machine tool to make a precision machine tool, where do precision machine tools come from, in the first place?
Lego Hermit Crab Shell
This is “Harry,” a hermit crab who lives in a rock pool at Legoland Windsor, sporting a brightly colored shell custom made from Lego elements by the staff, who emphasize that Harry was not forced to endorse their product, choosing his new home over the traditional seashells that were offered alongside it of his own free will.
Create 3D Models of Buildings with a UAV
Using an octocopter UAV and its 123D Catch software, CAD software maker Autodesk was able to capture a 3D model of its corporate headquarters in San Rafael, CA. The model itself was generated from aerial photos taken from the UAV and processed with their 123D photogrammetry software.
MakerBot vs the Easter Bunny at MakerBot UG NY
This past Tuesday, April 3, MUGNY held their “MakerBot vs the Easter Bunny” meetup, which featured chocolate molds, a demo of some printed artifacts scanned from originals using Autodesk’s free 123D Catch, an intro to MakerBot’s newly launched Design Studio team, and overview of home pewtering and casting, and a talk from Annelise, producer and […]
Print-and-Fold Robot Parts
This video has been released to promote a new university research initiative between MIT, Harvard, and the University of Pennsylvania aiming to develop a rapid manufacturing system for one-off problem-solving robots. Seems like an ambitious program, to me, but I like the idea of using fold-up papercraft chassis parts for prototyping or short operational life designs.
Cast Cement CNC Chassis
Those of you who click through to read more about this very cool project from grad student Kenny Cheung of MIT’s Center for Bits and Atoms may be a bit disappointed: The page is not really complete yet and a bunch of the resources, including the physibles, are still “coming soon!” But it’s so cool, I didn’t want to wait. Looks like the molds are laser cut and, I would expect, reusable. [Thanks, thatcherc!]