Among MAKE readers, we’re nearly unanimous in agreeing that the rise of digital fabrication is a complete game-changer for crafters, hackers, and tinkerers of all stripes. Laser cutters, CNC mills, and 3D printers have altered the way we think about design, and raised the bar for quality and precision in our work. I’m a passionate adopter of these technologies, but am also wary of the cultural shift they represent as they become more ubiquitous.
As I predicted, the third week of October has brought with it the MAKE Flickr pool’s first Jack-o’-lantern of 2011—a leering, laser-cut, LED-lit orange from Hacked Gadgets blogger Alan Parekh. I’m also pretty stoked about the bolt-shouldered, needle-felted frog from FeltedChicken (whose koi I featured last Monday), and the latest amazing steampunkery from gogglerman.
Imagine waking up and seeing your design for a circuit being used in a product by someone who never contacted you to ask if it was okay. You will not get any payment for their usage of your design, they’ve raised over $31,000 dollars, and they’re selling something you worked really hard on. You have no control over what someone does with something you made. Is this a nightmare? Perhaps for some, but this is actually a dream come true for others. And it’s what this week’s Soapbox is about: Open-source hardware kick-starting Kickstarters!
A look back at the man, the Estes designer, who invented the Cineroc rocketry movie camera.
This first global SpaceCamp will bring together people from all over the world (okay, mostly North America until our budget is better) for a focused 2-day event. We will all learn from each other’s victories and mistakes, design new patterns for our space processes, and walk away from the event with deeper ways to interact with each other.
I’m beginning to suspect an October conspiracy: While last week’s Flickr pool submissions, on average, had a distinctly orange hue, this week they are distinctly black. And I’ll give dollars to donuts that next week, sure as clockwork, we’ll start to see actual jack-o-lanterns. Our featured image this week is cosplayer JiaJem,as “Jack,” from Mass Effect 2, sporting Shawn Thorsson’s sweet “Predator Heavy Pistol” replica prop.
When I started this Zero to Maker journey, I was inspired by the idea that I could become a self-made industrial designer – that I could bypass an expensive education by learning only what I really needed to get started. Now that I’ve started down the road, I’ve realized that it’s a very long road. The good news is that I remain committed to my initial belief that there’s a less expensive (and faster) way to learn: through a strategic blend of internet resources, access to the right tools, and involvement in a community of like-minded makers. Most important for me, however, has been the commitment to trying to figure out and examine more of what I don’t know.
