3D printing is a form of manufacturing technology where three dimensional objects are created by laying down successive layers of material. Industrial 3D printers are available but aren’t the cheapest item around. The Makerbot Thing-O-Matic is an an open source 3D printer for substantially less. Using a 3D CAD program and plastic filament you can create (or recreate) 3D objects.
Kinda reminds me of the Star Trek replicator ( though I wouldn’t be eating anything you create with it). SCHWEET !!! WANT……!!!! 🙂
Check it out at Makerbot , starting from $1299 (some assembly required 🙂 )
And make sure you check out some of the videos.
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There’re fun to play with. 😉 I have a first-generation model that never *quite* worked (a couple of threaded rods are out of true, so it can’t do one motion smoothly). All painted and assembled, plus some plastic and a couple of upgrades if anyone wants it. (I can’t afford for free though.) It’s fixable, but beyond my current resources, largely time.
We have not rigged up 3D printing capabilities to it yet, but our newly constructed CNC machine should be able to do it with the right mods:http://www.rainydaymagazine.com/RDM2011/Home/August/Week2/RDMHomeAug1211.htm#BlueChick_AssemblyCompleted
Here is a link to the original unpacking of the pieces:http://www.rainydaymagazine.com/RDM2011/Home/August/Week1/RDMHomeAug0511.htm#DIY_CNC_BlueChickUnpacking
We still have to hook up the electronics and get the software up and running, but hopefully everything will be ready for projects when we are shut in during the coming winter.
What’s the resolution? Does it create ‘ribbed’ objects or are they smooth? Can you make something like a coffee mug that will hold liquid?
If you have a 3D model and don’t want to pay for the printer, shapeways.com does print-on-demand work. They also have more information on their printing specs – materials, required dimensions and so on.
@Jonathan Cohen. Some spec’s here
http://store.makerbot.com/makerbot-thing-o-matic.html
which talk about resolution.
@DStaal i’d take that! email me at batmankingofgotham@gmail
“(some assembly required )”
hahaha. A LOT of assembly required.
Many weeks worth of assembly in fact.
We’ve just gotten everything put together and moving but have yet to “print” anything.