Form over function redesign of the first thing I printed: thingiverse.com/thing:1813

The holes keep it strong and light, but are really just there because they look cool.

1280x800 jpg of the rainbow toolpath on my blog here: 000vmm.s3.amazonaws.com/printrbot/files/2011/07/hires-printpath-curvy-coin-op.jpg

This is a project named Kandelar and it is my entry in the 3ddesigncompetition.

Kandelar is a candle holder which makes it possible to burn the candle completely.
This prototype is using three springs to grip the candle with it's metal jaws.
When the end comes, the candle will slip through and die in the water.
No fuss with tiny candle ends, it is ready to load another.

My cupcake from 2009 is still not able to print it.
Hopefully some can do it, I pre-cut the parts for the makerbot platform

Obviously it would need some fine tuning, when my bot is printing well, I'll make a version that is full plastic and has teeth available at your local hardware store ;)


If you like it, please vote
3ddesigncompetition.com/entries/view/kandelar

"Inspired from" Thing 5570. thingiverse.com/thing:5570

I threw this together a while ago and have used it a good bit. I kinda forgot about it because I now use mostly PLA and the marker thing doesn't work well on PLA. It works very well on ABS though.

This holds two standard Sharpie markers (i.e. "fine" not "ultra fine") and should clear a standard Cupcake's roof hole. I've no idea about the ToM but I expect it should work as well. I originally made a similar thing for one marker but it didn't color the filament very much resulting in very light coloring. Two markers actually tints the filament enough to be noticable. Three would be better, and it follows that 4 would be better-er. I suppose I could throw a three pronged one together. Might be a good exercise to make parametric in openSCAD. I think a holder that bristles with Sharpies might colorate stuff pretty good.

The image with the two parts shown is close to how it really looks. One is natural ABS the other is natural ABS colored with two black Sharpies. The final color is what I'd call a dark gray. The color is throughout the part and fairly even. Long prints you do notice the color getting lighter as the markers run out. After a six hour print the two sharpies were getting low. Most colors come out light to dark pastel colored.

I've done many turtles this way. thingiverse.com/thing:4178 The turtles shown are single blue marker, single green marker and the weird looking one is natural (clear) PLA with a single red marker, then a single blue marker. The red just made the PLA look over-cooked orange, the blue wasn't too bad but not as nice as the ABS.

Note: There is some solvent in the markers that allows the ink to soak into the ABS. If you rub a Sharpie on ABS then break the filament you will see what I mean. That said, if you leave the markers in this rig in contact with the stationary filament it will (fairly quickly actually) cause this filament to shear off cleanly at that point. I've not noticed any weakness of the printed colored parts compared to natural parts. I expect the solvent is boiled off in the hot end.

abs jaw plate replacement for a bench vise

Some non-steel jaws for my vise (Irwin 4.5" light-duty). The plate is a little thicker than OEM (to account for eventual plastic deforming), but otherwise is an exact fit.

My kids love the octopus, and kept asking for a starfish. This did the trick! I drew this in sketchup freehand. It took quite some time to get the surface right. Looks very topographic once printed. A great flat bottomed animal for the Makerbot. Perhaps a flounder is next up :)

Update: This prints really well if you scale it up as well, I've printed it so that it just fits on the build platform, takes a bit longer, but comes out great. Sort of neat that the ends of the feet tend to curl up a little due to the heating/cooling of the plastic.

Was very odd but overnight these things crawled up on a few rocks I'd left on the table...

Update 10/15/2011: if your original needs a companion, check out Squiggly version.

Functional Pin Tumbler Padlock Model. User Print-To-3D: thingiverse.com/printto3d shared a very cool sectioned Paddle-Lock: js-kit.com/blob/sk9sIwQKzOFH1K4lciYmmQ.jpg that got me interested in making something that actually locks.

Again, all items are printable except for the springs which I removed from ball-point click pens (thankfully my wife is still putting up with disassembled pens around the house). This one is a little more complicated but it still works and makes a good desk oddity. If you were to glue the "Top", "Retainer", and "Lid" in place, the only way to get this lock open without the key would be to break it. But, what is the fun if you can't take it apart?

Note 1: I did do a bit of finish sanding on the components to make everything fit together and slide/twist well. I would suggest a "dry-fit" of the components with their mates before attempting assembly.
Note 2: The "Lock" component is a difficult print. I was able to get good results by adding two supporting features over the length and then carving/sanding it back to a circular form. If anyone has suggestions on how to print circular objects on their side, I'm all ears.

Today's mission is for all of you to go to the Brain Slug Planet, and just walk around not wearing a helmet.

Inspired by:
paperkraft.blogspot.com/2008/04/futurama-papercraft-brain-slug.html

*EDIT 9/19/11* Uploaded lowpoly flat-bottom version and SKP file so you can edit to your heart's content.

Since the thingiverse needs good robots to fight the bad ones, i give you R2! I've modeled the full scale version in inventor and put the files here. I've also made an attempt to make it printable. However, since my printer is currently down for repairs, i'm hoping someone else will give it a shot and let me know how it goes!

Obviously design credit goes to lucas film, but the 2d design files came from the r2 builders group, and the 3d is the result of days and weeks of modeling and guessing. May the force be with you :)

This is a 3D model of a squirrel that I found on Aim@Shape [1]. It was uploaded by MPII and is actually under the MPII Institute License, which you can view by clicking on the download link on the things page at Aim@shape.

I flattened the base and cleaned up some artifacts on the tail that I'm guessing were the result of scanning.

This is the most work I've ever done on a model (I used Netfabb and Blender to clean it), so I learned a lot, and he came out very cute. My print came before I caught an error in the model, which caused the bandana looking line. It slices correctly now.

[1] shapes.aimatshape.net/view.php?id=105

Original headcrab friom the Valve game Half-Life. The original .obj was passed to me by a friend. After some searching I believe the original is this one - thefree3dmodels.com/stuff/characters/headcrab_classic/14-1-0-844

I decided it needed to be scaled to fit my cat as he is in desperate need of some extra brainpower and it won't make him any more destructive than he already is. However, as the photos show, cats are immune to headcrabs.

I saw a ceramic version of this somewhere a while ago. This is based on what I remember of that design.

This uses thingiverse.com/thing:8793 (syvwlch's awesome trapezoidal thread library)

One Leg Articulated Frog

Collaborative work with thingiverse.com/Benoit
Jumping frog leg skeleton with rubber bands muscles.

I saw these somewhere on the internet and though they would be printable on a 3D printer. They are a little large and will fit on a Prusa Mendel's bed. Makerbot might have problems though...

MUST resist the temptation to talk like Yoda.

He is about 1.5X bigger and less of the robe, more of the detailed face.

This 24" high game table is intended to be cut from a 2x4' panel of 3/4" stock material such as plywood or MDF. The legs slot together and the top is secured between tabs at their upper corners. The reversible top might be painted with, say a chessboard on one side and a backgammon board on the other.

A neat little gears in a gear design for a necklace

The Polyalphabetic Substitution Cipher Slide Rule. This is a slide rule to assist with the ciphering and deciphering of polyalphabetically enciphered messages. With it, you can learn a bit about how slide rules work and a bit about crypto at the same time! It also has some added features that let you begin exploring strong crypto.

A hook with a bearing to suspend a basket of plastic to feed a RepRap machine. Full details in my blog: hydraraptor.blogspot.com/2008/11/sky-hook.html

A simple plastic tool for scraping swarf out of t-slots in a milling machine bed or a lathe cross slide. It is for slots that are 16mm wide and 6mm high.