Here's a more polished, production-ready update to the domekit 3d-printable geodesic connector system. We refactored the central hub to feature a rounded edge and use less material. The strutcaps are shorter while being more durable, and include an integrated thumbscrew (with captive nut) that locks the strut to the node. This makes the structure easier to assemble, because you're not trying to snap the balls into the sockets — just slide the strut into the shaft and turn the screw.

+ + +

please visit domekit.cc for more details

This year instead of sending Christmas Cards I decided to use my Makerbot to make something unique for my friends. And naturally the project took on a life of its own.

The final result was 20 Lego Men at 4x the normal size. Each inscribed with a holiday greeting.

Before dispatching them off to the world, I decided it would be nice to take all 20 brothers on a photographic tour of Kansas City.

picasaweb.google.com/skimbal/LegoMenOfKansasCity?feat=directlink

Happy Holidays to all of the Thingiverse Community.

-Michael Curry

In the tradition of barrel of monkey's these guys are meant to link together en masse. They can form chains or even checkered sheets by connecting on all four corners.

This thing was originally conceived and designed by MakerBot's own Matthew Griffin (http://thingiverse.com/mifga). Enjoy and please send comments, we're still working on it!

Check out v16 for our latest and greatest version! the sc55 version is the version that they are printing at MakerBot lately....

Concept by Colin J. Roberts and Paul J. Roberts. Please see their website for more information and history: pjroberts.com/sphericon/index.php

Some have two positions. In the picture see the amusing paths that these objects (the ones without "Stop" in the filename) will roll along.

3D Modeled by Chris K. Palmer

Printed by Jeff Rutzky. See his model in action here: vimeo.com/16985828

I uploaded these with Paul's permission to commemorate the arrival of my Cupcake CNC!

This edge lock system for paper and plastic works great for realizing meshes from thin sheets of material. It avoids the negative accumulated error common with the classic glue and tab method of construction. Instead the edges have enough freedom to adjust towards the perfect position.

Look here for more examples:
shadowfolds.com/SlideTab
flickr.com/photos/shadowfolds/sets/72157625779410170/

Based on an idea I got from MakerBlock, I decided to create a Dalek from the 2005 series. I've used drawings from various groups to create it, so it should be to scale. However, I haven't quite worked out how to attach the eye, plunger, and gun yet, so that will hopefully be in a posted update soon. I could use any suggestions on attaching them!

Thanks

These STL files were created from a SketchUp model on Google 3D warehouse:

sketchup.google.com/3dwarehouse/details?mid=63a428e39db417b9106b3048633eca78

From the description:

"Produced at the Center for Biomolecular Imaging at Wake Forest University Health Sciences. used a CT scan of the head and segmented the bone of the skull. acknowledgements to Drs. Stitzel and Link."

The model was printed on a BotHacker 3D printer (RepStrap). Read more about the print on this BotHacker blog post:

bothacker.com/2010/05/18/printing-skulls/

This is a human brain I extracted from a public domain MRI dataset from Slicer3.4.

This is the next step in my attempt to make a Sarrus linkage based 3D printer. The idea is to have a cartesian mechanism without those long rods and bearings.

I built three of the Mark III and mounted them in a x-y arrangement as shown. They can move over a square about 105 mm wide, and someday may carry an extruder. They are driven by DC motors taken from inkjet printers. These motors are driven in a servo arrangement using quadrature optical encoders and optical strips removed from the same printers.

Original by George W. Hart
georgehart.com/sculpture/sculpture.html
Remade by Evil Mad Scientist Laboratories
evilmadscientist.com/article.php/frabjous
Then made by me.

This is a very little (20mm^2) box, with a matching lid. It prints quickly on a MakerBot or RepRap, and the lid fits snugly. It is perfect for carrying very small things, like one marble... It is a great little demo print to show off your fabricator to impatient friends.

How do you make a great idea like Makerbot-printable (clothing) buttons better?

Why, make them Lego Compatible! Naturally.

Update 2009/10/04: In the design files, the knobs are 5mm in diameter. I remeasured my source Lego disc after getting back some Shapeways test prints and the Lego knobs are actually closer to 4.8mm in diameter. I lucked out with my MakerBot-printed buttons; shrinkage brought them down to about 4.9mm in diameter. The Shapeways printed versions are more accurate, 5.00mm diameter, +/- 0.05mm. There's enough give in the plastic materials for them to still fit 'regulation size' lego blocks, but the metal one was simply too wide a diameter.

Update 2009/11/07: I've been playing around with OpenSCAD (http://www.openscad.org/) and came up with the attached DiscButton_20091107 variation. I even added bottom "sockets" to this variation. It's almost too easy when it's all code!

Disclaimer: LEGO is a trademark of the LEGO Group and these explorations are in no way associated with LEGO Group. Heck! The files are CC-licensed; nothing to stop them embracing and extending it themselves if they so chose! ;-)

This is an STL file decribing a Utah Teapot, based on data created by Martin Newell.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Utah_teapot

This is a pretty poor model for printing; it's been refined by Unfold since:
thingiverse.com/thing:918

While talking to Zach I got inspired to model lego bricks in order to create custom bricks - the ones you always wanted but thought you never could get. Well now you can!

Of course it does not snap in place as nicely as original lego bricks but it should be good enough to create the custom lego piece you always wanted.

This is a simple pressure fit lenshood for the Leica D-lux4 and Panasonic LX3.

Make a little art with you business cards

See our video at adafruit.com/blog/2009/05/25/adafruit-business-cards-laser-cut-spirograph-cards/

For Mothers day I made my mom a set of earings that double as a working planetary gear.

...sorry for the pun in the name.

A calling card with working planetary gears. Astound your friends, frustrate your nemisii.

(Update: I've moved the gears slightly to the right, reducing the number of cut parts to assemble.)

A hanging bat I made for Halloween. It flaps it's wing when you pull the string. Made from 1/8 in. plywood, I hung mine from a dowel but there's a hanger in the file. Scale it up or down and populate your bat cave.

12 5-sided polygons that fit together to form a dodecahedron. This is probably the smallest buckyball that you could realistically make. There a solid version, and a "wired version", which is way way easier to put together. This is to mess with you geometry-lovers out there.