TARDIS Transformer has a Matt Smith head

With the bow tie it was either him or Patrick Troughton. The process of making this head involved getting some reference pictures online, importing them into Blender, doing some rough shaping, and then using Blender’s sculpt tools to finish the job… or so I thought. But the roughs looked enough like Matt Smith to me at least in Blender, that …

The Perils of Detail

My cub scout son suggested before last week’s weekend camping trip that we all get whistles in case of emergencies. a while back i figured out which 3D printed whistle was best so I whipped out the STL and printed a few more copies. A number of things has changed on my side since my last printing, most notable of …

Book Update – 2nd Drafts complete

Update on my book, Packt managed to get reviewers for the last 3 chapters and 2nd draft editing for all 10 chapters are complete. Thank you everyone who contacted me for reviewing help. I’m sorry Packt didn’t end up using you, but I owe you guys. Here’s hoping they can get me the final drafts soon. I’m hoping for a …

I Have a Transforming TARDIS, Your Argument is Invalid

Alright, the design isn’t mine. It was actually created by Ellindsey on Thingiverse so at least 90% of this thing’s coolness need to be attributed back to him. Every joint on this thing is 3D printed. In fact the only non-3D printed parts are the pieces of paper that make the windows look white which are totally optional. But I’ve still …

Stress test? Pshaw

TurnRock’s Super Stress Test is designed to push the limits of what home 3D printing can do… theoretically. In reality this was hardly a test at all for my Makerbot. I know I keep lauding it here, but I am really impress with the small details that MakerWare handles so well. So to really stress the test I reprinted the …

Making a glasses holster for Gabe

My second son, Gabe, recently had to get glasses, just like his Dad. But, like any child, he has a hard time keeping track of them. So I build a case for them that he can keep with him wherever he goes, clipped to his hip. The files can be downloaded on Thingiverse, but if your glasses are a different …

3DHacker Update

In case you missed my announcement, I have moved my 3D Printing commentary to Andrew Mazzotta’s 3DHacker site. In case you haven’t been following it here’s what you’ve missed: 3D Printing is more than a Gimmick or I don’t think so Mr UogHow much is a design for 3D printers worth?First step to 3D printed eletronics, or the birth of …

Book Update – Makerbot Project Blueprints needs YOU

Makerbot Project Blueprints is close to finishing but is in dire need of a technical reviewer or two to help review the last few chapters for technical accuracy, meaning you will actually do the activities and report if anything is missing. Since you’re coming in at the end the ideal candidate will know the basics of Blender at least a …

3D Printing Tidbit – Don’t tightly spool PLA

Got some clear PLA a little while back. Spooled it in my usual way around a spool from Makerbot. Turns out the spool I used was too tight, or maybe I spooled it too tight, and it resulted in the spool cracking into smaller and smaller segments near the end. Lots of air prints resulting from this. In the future …

A second shot at a Modibot

After my last go Wayne Loosey actually contacted me and asked if I’d like to test a few accessories for modibots on my next go. Well that motivated me to give this another shot. Did a couple of things different this time: Scaled everything to 130%. This was to hopefully increase wall thickness and fudge the tolerances. Mostly successful, except …