A Chair with a bit of a back story.

In the interest of putting off our real work around oomlout we set ourselves a simple challenge, make a chair. What ensued a day (well we're a bit disappointed as it took closer to half a day but we digress) where we went from figuring out what size a chair should be through computer drawings, cnc cutting and finally assembly.

(shameless plug)
If you'd like all the details they can be found on our blog:
oomlout.com/blog/

The MakerBot Watch (The Makerwatch) is a great platform for developing new directions in open source electronics. But Bres current laser cut watch housing leaves something to be desired (sorry dude :). And, not everyone is up to the challenge of cutting steel or modeling in 3d to make a new housing.

The SSG design framework, developed by Dominic at the Humblefactory, breaks an object down into different functional layers -- skin, skeleton, and guts. The exciting thing about this separation is how it makes the process of making derivative objects, or entirely new remixes much easier. All you need to know to make a new SSG watch is how to sew, and where to buy some fly fabric. The skin gives most of the style, and some of the function (clasps, pockets, pen-loops -- you decide!)

Or, if you are slightly more adventurous, you can model a new skeleton using the blender template provided. Then, stitch up a new skin, and get ready to share an entirely new watch form factor -- I included a pocketwatch skeleton to get your brains pumping, but think about what else you might make.

Best of all, the SSG framework gets more makers involved in the iteration process -- My goal is to get as many revisions of this watch living in the wild as possible. I would LOVE to see additional sensors, etc built onto Bres basic bits. Maybe a pedometer? Temperature logger? Dangerous Noise Level Detector???

Whatever you do, be sure to share your derivatives. Every new design within the Makerwatch SSG ecosystem makes everybody's watch more valuable. Take a look here for more inspiration about SSG:

humblefacture.com/2010/08/ssg-framework-for-more-sustainable.html

Happy Making,
Dominic

PS - The current file is not makerbot-able cleanly, due to overhangs. However, I am working on a two-halves mod which should make it come clean on the bot. If anyone wants to jump on this before me, I am kinda busy with a sewing machine bike... humblefactory.com/search/label/ProductionCycle

PPS - Big ups to Matt and the crew at Metrix Createspace in Seattle, as well as Andy Davidson, who helped a flustered maker to pull this puppy together with epic speed. Finally, Mark Ganter at OPEN3DP was instrumental in getting me prints of the skeleton before my makerbot was online.

The Hexayurt is an incredible project, reinventing disaster housing:
hexayurt.com

Vinay Gupta, the creator of the hexayurt approached me to try to find larger shapes that could also be build (reasonably) simply with zero-waste from 2x1 rectangles. His version of the story is here: vinay.howtolivewiki.com/blog/other/large-hexayurt-style-domes-a-problem-solved-1730

I came up with two additional larger domes. Models for the original hexayurt and the two new domes are all here.

A longer write up and a little more detail are here:
tilings.org.uk/Hexayurt_Family.pdf

A simple printable tool for getting the most out of your tubes of toothpaste, lotion, etc.

At a recent trade show, I noticed an astonishing amount of beauty and cosmetic products using the same toothpaste tube-like storing containers. By the end of it, the representatives were struggling to give out samples while the tubes were taking on that all-too-familiar form. ( re-nest.com/uimages/re-nest/toothpaste.jpg )

I couldn't help but think about how I would solve this problem with a (hypothetical) makerbot.

The slot width is made to fit the largest of flattened toothpaste tubes found amongst my friends.

The front slot is drafted just a touch to ease the initial insertion of the tube, and the large circular surface is intended to get that last extra bit once the squeezer reaches the back of the nozzle.

This design uses a total of 2.7 cubic inches of material.

This image of various sized whistles:
thingiverse.com/derivative:680

got me thinking. Scaling is RIDICULOUSLY easy with Blender -- and then printing out the new part is just as easy as the previously sized part. So why not make a part that benefited from this scalability?

So, I was thinking, there are all kinds of bottles out there. And adding a whistle to the top will basically form a resonance chamber of that bottle's note. Can anybody say Jug Band?

I designed this section of Toy Train Track for MakerBot printing. It's compatible with the Thomas, Ikea and Brio brand wood toy train tracks.

For larger objects, getting raft and lower layers to stay stuck can be a challenge. Earlier simple copies had serious warpage issues, so I changed to a lattice structure. This gives the lower layers a chance to flex and cool independent upper geometry. There was still some separation of the raft from the build platform, but it was minor compared to previous iterations.

The main track portion of the fabject is 54mm long and 40mm wide. Total length is 72mm.

Note: The socket-side tends to be a bit tight with some track; you may need to widen the hole for a looser fit.

So, you want to make a cup of coffee. Now - you can either shove the coffee into the coffee machine with your bare hands, or you can print out this coffee dosing spoon.

After several attempts for differents container forms I stuck with the cone form, because it was the only one I could get closed at the bottom.

As an additional feature I put a hole into the handle, so after you are finished you can hang it on a hook or a nail.

Makerbot-printable pliers for light-duty uses. Designed to be useful for holding small things during inspection, or simply doing things fingers can not.

There is a male arm, a female arm, and a printable nut. The female swivels around the male, and the nut constrains the assembly. The geometry of the threads are based on the connections seen in the toothbrush holder and originally in the screwable jewelry box. ( thingiverse.com/thing:899 , thingiverse.com/thing:413 )

Alternatively, if the design is too optimistic, you can try printing two female arms and use a small screw and nut to hold it together.

All three pieces combined use a total of 1.24 cubic inches of material.