Extruded Ellipse (curves_extruded.stl)
height: 70mm
wall thickness: 0.8mm
rotation: 8°/mm


I also included another file (curves_extruded_screw.stl) that is half the height and has a 1.2mm bigger radius. The two parts can be screwed together :)

When the dinosaurs return, they'll need something to destroy... what's better than the eifel tower?

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

This is the first release of the Boot-strappable Open Laser Cutter project that I've been working on for the past few months. The goal of the project is to construct an open design laser cutter with a large cut area (about 1 meter square), for about 5%-10% of the cost of a commercial system. The design draws heavily from other open laser cutter projects out there (such as the Buildlog 2X Laser Cutter) in using inexpensive aluminum extrusion and optics for most of the structural frame, while here most of the custom parts are 3D printed from ABS.

The printed parts represent about 10 hours of total printing time on a Makerbot or Reprap, and have been designed with the hope that they would be of general utility to anyone printing out a large CNC system -- not just a laser cutter. These include parts such as NEMA17 motor holders that mount onto t-slot, idler brackets, pillow block bushing mounts for motors, idlers, and shafts, and so on.

our 3D printers are now such high resolution we need higher resolution 3D models so we don't see the facets when we print.

Take a Stanford Bunny. Decimate It. Subdivide It. Repeat. Repeat. Export to STL.

You should have almost all the detail but almost none of the visible 3D model facets in your print.

NOTE the before and after screenshots from Blender where you can see how the 3D model improved.

enjoy.

UPDATE 2011-09-18: I uploaded the FLATFOOT versions which should skein a bit easier. choose high res or super high res if you really want to make a big print.

I was just checking in on George Hart's page to see if anything new was up and this gem was there. Astounding!

On his webpage he links a detailed paper describing the mathematical theory of objects like this one, the Mathmatica code he used to create it, and of course, photographic evidence that he not only printed it, but successfully assembled it!

georgehart.com/puzzles/SymmetricSticks/index.html

A friend who is into puzzles pointed me at this 3D puzzle cs.tau.ac.il/~efif/applications/puzzles/knot/ so I whipped it up in a few minutes in OpenSCAD.

If you get stuck, there is an animation showing the solution at youtube.com/watch?v=xNtNQRTdxps

When you're building circuits on a breadboard there is nothing more annoying than having to measure, snip, and then strip both ends of each and every piece of wire.

Well perhaps there are greater annoyances but that does not mean that this problem should go un-addressed. Addressed it has become, and if you too have a few stepper motors, a hand-held wire stripper and a bunch of nuts and bolts your life, too, can become easier.

For all of you crying overkill, we do have a small ulterior motive, at oomlout.com we manufacture a number of kits that come with pre-stripped wires hence the need for semi automation. This version is the much improved brethren of version one.

Let's get to stripping. (that doesn't sound quite right)

A video of it in action;
youtube.com/watch?v=fftZq_deIls

A second video (a little shaky but better at showing the different components)
youtube.com/watch?v=hWS99SeBHX8

Perhaps one of the funnest projects we have attempted around the .:oomlout:. offices. A five degrees of freedom robotic arm. While we have spent many hours twisting knobs to move pop cans from one point on our desk to another sadly it has not progressed much further.
The main reason for this is the sum total of math knowledge around the oomlout.com offices is about 4 (don't ask us to show our work on how we calculated this) so inverse kinematics is well beyond our reach.

We are releasing it in an imperfect form in the hope that the clever Thingiverse denizens will be able to make it better.

Why this isn't quite ready for sale:
-We lack any inverse kinematics program which makes moving the arm intelligently nearly impossible.
-Without software limits on the servos it is capable of stripping the low cost hobby servo motors (this is alright for testing as they are only five dollars) (we have stripped two in the life of our arm and both happened when we were asking it to do silly things) (this can be fixed by upgrading the servos)
-We haven't completed the 3d model or assembly instructions just yet, but by studying the photos it is possible to assemble. (think more jigsaw puzzle than lego set)
-The gripper, lets just say the gripper needs a little work.

That said it is an amazingly fun toy to play around with, and a good starting point if anyone has ever had a desire to make the perfect robotic arm (it is open source so you'd be free to make and sell your own)

(shameless plug)

For more details about becoming a Robotic Arm Developer visit our blog
(http://www.oomlout.com/blog)

An eight-legged big spider robot.

The design goal was to create a legged robot that is large enough to walk regular stairs and strong enough to lift simple loads. It also had to be simple enough to use regular RC-srevos and could be cut with my minimal CNC machine.

youtube.com/watch?v=gNXuzhop-u8

youtube.com/watch?v=mSzAuPa47WA

The build process is documented here:

roboternetz.de/phpBB2/zeigebeitrag.php?t=39810&highlight=

Here are plans for a simple caliper, handy to have around the shop for measuring thickness and diameters. Anytime I can build something that helps me build something else I am always pleased.

The plans should be as accurate as your cutter or printer is, I actually used this project as a collaboration for my laser.

For updates on my other projects and things check out: 4volt.com/blog/

I went to the Cupcake Social 2.0 event in NYC on May 7, and won this awesome pink apron in their raffle.
Being an avid cupcake baker and just loving pink clothing, this was the perfect opportunity for making my long-term vision of being able to bake cupcakes while tweeting my progress in real-time finally becoming a reality.

So here I present: The Keyboard Cupcake Apron.

The design was inspired by Zach's keyboard pants:
thingiverse.com/thing:589.
Also thanks to Zach for giving me his leftover keyboard!

For more images, see flickr.com/photos/kintel/sets/72157618070732209/

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.

What could be more awesome than a cute little elephant companion to keep you and your desk company?

This business card is a tri-folded laser cut card meant to look like a old school cassette tape.

The advantage this card has over other is that there's a zipper seal (like on UPS envelopes) on the back of the card that lets you open it like a tri-fold brochure so you can fit a mini-portfolio or a bunch of text on your usually too small business card.

This design gives you about 3.5 x 4in of space that you can't see when the card is folded and sealed.

It's possible to print the card on standard thickness paper, or card stock, though printing and folding normal paper turns out to be the the most similar to a standard business card in thickness.

If you like this thing, i've got more stuff over at 4volt.com/

It seems that many of my things I'll be giving as Christmas presents this year are small, less then a few inches in dimensions. That brings up the question, How do I pack it? One could put the thing in a envelope or a small plastic bag, but all of those like a distinct "giftiness", they don't really look like a gift.

Enter the Folded Box, it's small enough to print and/or cut from a piece of standard size card stock. You can also easily customize it with a logo or name to make it that much cooler.

The box is cut from a single sheet of material. Thick paper, card stock and poster board work well. This pattern will not work well with corrugated cardboard since the thickness of it will make the folds difficult to make.

There are two sizes:

The 7x8 pattern produces a final box that is about: 2.5 x 2.5 x 1 inches inside.
The 8x8 pattern produces a final box that is about: 3.5 x 2.5 x 1 inches inside.

If you are interested in more of my stuff check out: 4volt.com

I created this design while learning how to use my laser, it's a good simple project that creates 35, 1.2in hex pieces that can be pushed together to make abstract sculptures. They make a great desk toy or gift because you can engrave a custom logo or name on each piece to make them truly unique. I'll be giving several sets out this Christmas.

This pattern creates about 35 pieces, and the only material you'll need is a 8x8in piece of plexiglas, which I've been able to regularly find at my local home improvement store for $1.50.

35 pieces is enough to build a 6 inch sphere, or a large abstract object. When I was giving these out as promotional items, I gave them out 7 at a time which is enough to be interesting, but only costs $0.30 in material.

This toy is not intended for young children, the edges are mildly sharp and could possibly be a choked on.

I've also included the flash file which I drew this design in. I have a lot of experience in flash so I'm sticking to what I know for now.

This is a box headed guy that talks when you pick him up. You can record a new message for the boxman to say and leave him around for your friends to pick up. It is like a piece of you is always there, until somebody else records over you and you are gone. Here is a link to a youtube clip of it saying some nerdy things! youtube.com/watch?v=m-OaE8rOz_o

This is a slot-together model of the first stellation of a dodecahedron. The slot sizes are appropriate for "172" illustration board, but you can scale the pieces to construct this model out of other materials.

This is a quick drawing I made of some planetary gears. We're trying to make some gears for our logo, and hopefully these will do the trick.

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.

Just a couple of square gears and a frame to hold them more of a curiosity than useful thing.

It's a geared calling card! Two slots in the top layer display different information as you turn the smaller gear, and a little window lets you watch the gears mesh.

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.)

This is a 4-pin tumbler lock with a key and display case. Insert the key and turn clockwise to get a smiley face!

Another non circular Gear
Drawing created using software I found while Googling for Non Circular gears, so credit goes to Jeff Schoner. His website can be found here decidedlyodd.com/cw/cs285/