I need a place to store business cards that I get from people. Not that I get a lot of business cards from people, but I have some, and the ones I want to keep don’t have a home. So I downloaded a card holder (long ago, no idea where I got it) and printed it out. Of course once …
The final upgrade
This is upgrade is one that I’ve put off because it meant taking a lot of the Makerbot apart. But now that I’m doing so much switching between ABS and PLA, and since I’ve got a little time with the holidays, it’s time to add Bottleworks’ Aluminum Arms upgrade to my Makerbot. These arms I purchased from Bottleworks quite a …
Get 3D Printing Blueprints for $5 until January 5th
If you’ve been holding out on getting a copy of 3D Printing Blueprints now is the time to do it because PacktPub is holding a “everything for $5” bonanza. Get a digital copy of 3D Printing Blueprints now until January 3rd for only $5. Remember, you don’t need a 3D printer to model for them. And if you pick up …
HIPS Experiment #2
Time to do another HIPS experiment, this time with turpentine. Result: I let myself get a bit wordy in the video so it ran a bit long, but Turpentine does seem to dissolve HIPS. I didn’t let it dissolve as long as the last experiment so it didn’t dissolve completely, but it does seem to do the job. However the …
3D printing toys
‘Tis the season. For toys. Hopefully you got some great toys. I took some time this season to try out 3D printing some toys. Of course 3D printers are capable of useful things and that should be stressed. But fun is fun and fun is good. I made 3DKitbash’s launcher and found it… won’t be replacing real toys. It works …
Using HIPS for support
Joseph Chiu, 3D printing buddy of mine and filament supplier, has beat me to the punch on some of the HIPS experimentation. This was going to be experiment 3 for me, using the software tools to make disolvable supports. The latest version of Makerware (2.4.1) seems very well suited to making even the most difficult shape, a sphere, actually work. …
Brick Dice Tower, Final Design
Here is is, the final iteration of my brick dice tower. The door on this one is much bigger than the last version and can comfortably roll several dice. The walls of the door area may be a bit big. I’ve still got to test it out. This print actually had some issues with the PLA getting twisted and pulling, making …
3DHacker Round Up 4
For those new to this blog, I tend to keep my pontificating to a minimum here and instead house those rantings on 3DHacker’s blog where Andrew Mazzotta has graciously given my ramblings a home. It’s been a while since I’ve done this and a lot has happened on 3D Hacker. Andrew has recruted several new bloggers who are making excellent …
3D Printed gun stock
I’ll just come out and say it. I have no problem with 3D printed guns. There are laws, be aware of them, follow them. But besides that it’s just another way for hobbiest to make guns. Very ineffective guns, by the way. But it’s not about efficiency, it’s about he craftsmanship and having fun. And one day I will probably …
Chessbots sold out, long live Chessbots.
Was it the time of year? Was it the price? Either way I am now sold out on pre-printed RoboAction Chessbot Chess Sets. Now the price is back up a bit and I’ve switched to print-on-demand, meaning give me a week or two when you order. In other words there is about zero chance of a Christmas delivery at this …