Sometime probably in the 1400's it probably took some poor dudes a lifetime to learn how to mine the marble, transport it to Venice, and painstakingly chisel out this Lion statue.

Fast forward to 2011 and some guy with an iPhone can visit Venice on vacation, take a few pictures, upload it to the internet and within minutes it can be recreated in plastic miniature on my desktop on the other side of the planet!

I cleaned up this awesome scan, resized it, and made it into a solid. You'll need to turn on support!

Update: I uploaded a new version that properly sets his feet on the platform. If you tried printing it and it started too high, re-download the new stl.

Got this spools from reprapworld.

The original spool bearings from byteborg was not fitting to my spools. so I created my own based on his design. as it is made in sketchup, it is not perfect round.

My version is for an 31mm spool hole.

PanelMax enclosure and mounting bracket for Prusa Mendel, see thingiverse.com/thing:18597 for more detail.

Short video demo here:
youtu.be/GwANBxC13Qw

Tutorial here goo.gl/Lk0i6

If you don't want to source the parts, you can get my panelmax kit here ebayitem.com/150886149485

Preassembled panelmax available here
ebayitem.com/150848171067

I think we can all agree, life would become much more interesting if I launched a turtle shell at you every once and a while.

But it’s no fun if I’m the only one with a shell to launch. Therefore…

Turtle Shells for Everybody!!!

All you have to do is print it out and assemble!

The Turtle Shell Racer is as fully 3d printable as I can make it using my Makerbot Cupcake CNC and its MK5 Extruder. The pdf file contains full assembly instructions and a parts list. This is a very ambitious project; expect to spend some time on it.

Video of the Shells in action at CCCKC:
youtube.com/watch?v=YAd3e_UTW4c
youtube.com/watch?v=wA-wY-Q_onU

UPDATE Sept 26th

I have uploaded the modifications I made to the shells for the NYC Maker Faire.

Wheely Bar.stl - This replaces the rear axle brackets.stl with a wheely bar, which allows awesome wheelys!

New stearing Link.stl - This new link replaces the old steering linkage.stl. It is designed to capture one of the servo horns and allow a better connection between the servo and the steering.

This is the original RepRap test object...

reprap.org/wiki/File:Minimug.stl

...a small shot glass which should be water (ahem) tight when printed on a properly set-up machine.

It has been uploaded to Thingiverse before:

thingiverse.com/thing:36

For whatever reasons, however, both here and on the original RepRap wiki, the minimug model has been presented rotated on its side, in an unprintable position. A rite of passage, perhaps? So that first-timers are obliged to figure out how to rotate the model before they can print it? If so, sorry to break with tradition, but it seems decidedly beginner-unfriendly.

This is the exact same model, but it has been rotated into an upright position, centered at the origin along X and Y axes, and positioned with its lower extremity exactly on the origin along the Z-axis.