Coiled extension cord lamp
I love this lamp made from its own coiled extension cord by Craighton Berman. He’ll sell you one ready-made with a cord, or just the laser-cut acrylic frame and lamp guts so you can roll your own.
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!
DIY CNC router comes alive!
There are situations where you really need a part made of solid metal or wood, and for those there is no substitute to a good ol’ CNC machine. So, it’s nice to see that Jonny D is making progress on his homebrew CNC router.
Homebrew CNC hot wire foam cutter
I keep trying to persuade anyone who will listen that CNC foam cutters are dramatically underrated machines. People look at them and say, “That’s cool and all, but I don’t want styrofoam parts.” To which I reply, “If you have a styrofoam part, you can turn it into cast aluminum with an unbelievably simple garage process.” What’s more, styrofoam is ubiquitous, cheap, and so easy to cut that the CNC robot can be extremely lightweight and inexpensive, as for instance, this one submitted by reader Raul Aguaviva, which is hacked together from a coat hanger and junked scanner parts. Combine one of these with a Gingery-style charcoal foundry and you could conceivably produce a homebrew CNC system, that can produce aluminum parts, for less than $50.
FreeCAD open source design software
I don’t do CAD or 3D printing, but this software at least looks promising from my armchair. It’s an open source CAD/CAE app based on OpenCasCade, QT, and Python. It offers features like macro recording, the ability to run as a server and dynamically load application extensions, and it runs on Windows, Linux, and Mac. […]
New hacker hang out in Seattle
This Thursday, Oct 15, Metrix Create: Space will open its doors in Seattle (at 623A Broadway East). It’s hackerspace meets an indie coffee house. They’ll have tools and equipment for building projects, 3D fabbing machines, classes on various types of high-tech makery, coffee and snacks. They even have a vending machine that’ll dispense Sun Chips, […]
Linear actuators without shafting
A major obstacle standing in the way of total self-replication by rapid prototyping machines, notably RepRap, is that certain of the components, particularly ground shafting (or threaded rod) for the Cartesian robot’s linear actuators, require greater precision than the machines are currently capable of. Thingiverse user fdavies is engaged in a noble effort to design printable linear actuators that require no shafting and are instead based on the hinged Sarrus linkage (Wikipedia). Excelsior!
New York Toast
The MakerBot frostruder is coming along, now printing news headlines on toast. Delicious and informative!
