For more on 3D printing, check out Make: Volume 42.
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Anderson Ta, one of the judges for Make’s Ultimate Guide to 3D Printing, shares his background in Bio printing. He discusses the difficulties with printing living tissue and recent advancements in that area. Anderson also shares some observations of the printers he saw during the review process.
For more on 3D printing, check out Make: Volume 42.
Don’t have this issue? Get it in the Maker Shed.
John Abella, one of our testers, shares his observations at the big review. He’s built dozens of 3d printers between workshops, Maker Faires, and personal projects. In this video John discusses the documentation that we’re starting to see with 3D printers. Many manufacturers are sharing detailed documents that are high quality and helpful. As John points out though, some still come with nothing at all!
One of Potter’s models
Enjoy those wax models or crushed and stamped pennies form national parks and museums? If you do, brace for a whole new reason to waste money. Buy 3D-printed topographical model of this place your visiting! California designer and owner of Flashforge Whitney Potter thought the same thing, and harnessed the power of space technology to make it a reality.
Potter wanted make paperweight versions of the majestic mountain peaks he saw in Yosemite and got to thinking like a geographer. Back in the 60s, geographers and astronomers used a system called Light Detection and Ranging, or Lidar, to map various terrains, both on earth and in outer space. So Potter thought, what’s the difference between making a 2D or 3D map? Why, a 3D printer, of course!
Using Lidar technology, Potter made topographical models of various mountain ranges in Yosemite National Park, including Matthes Crest and Echo Peaks. The models are plastic and fit in the palm of your hand or on the corner of your desk, so you can daydream about hiking when you’re supposed to be working. ‘Merica.
Potter’s plans are open source, so if you want to make your own you can find his plans on YouTube, OpenTopography.org and Thingsverse.
This post is coming to you live from the Elephant & Castle Mini Maker Faire being held today at the London College of Communication.
The JuicyPrint prototype—here the redder light indicates where the cellulose wouldn’t be growing, and the bluer light is where it would. In this case the 3d bio-printer would be printing an ‘H’ symbol.
While the field is still fairly quiet right now, biohacking is the next big thing. There’s a grown segment of the maker movement that is talking about it, but not just that, they’re getting on and doing it.
I talked to Ilya Levantis from the London Biohackspace about JuicyPrint a 3d printer that can be fed with fruit juice and used to print out useful shapes made of bacterial cellulose using a genetically engineered strain of cellulose producing bacteria.
The G. hansenii (Gluconacetobacter hansenii) bacteria that the London Biohackspace is using is a is able to grow on a wide range of things like fruit juice, tea or even brewing waste. Once completed, building objects with the new printer will require only a computer, and a local a trip to your local market for supplies.
The Elephant & Castle Mini Maker Faire is being held at the London College of Communication from 10am till 6pm. Entry is free to children (under 16) and students, tickets are £5 otherwise and available on the door.
For more on 3D printing, check out Make: Volume 42.
Don’t have this issue? Get it in the Maker Shed.
One of our judges, Matt Stultz, shares his observations after spending the weekend testing printers. Like Anna, he notes that many are pushing for a much more user friendly and commercial product. He also shares his observations about ease of use with a great analogy of desktop paper printers. While we may all have an easy to use, click and print experience now, many of us still remember when your traditional 2d printer was a buggy pain.
He goes on to discuss why he sees so much value in the kit experience and open source. The basic idea is that if you built it, you know exactly how it works.
For more on 3D printing, check out Make: Volume 42.
Don’t have this issue? Get it in the Maker Shed.
Anna talks about the changes we’ve seen this year, touching a bit on some of the topics that she mentioned in the State of 3D printing earlier this week. She then explains how we use the special models which were designed specifically for our 3D printer Shootout. Testing isn’t as simple as just printing a file and guessing which one looks a bit better. We have data collection methods and a team of experts that, in some cases, are going onto their third year of testing printers for us.
For more on 3D printing, check out Make: Volume 42.
Don’t have this issue? Get it in the Maker Shed.
Our annual guide to 3D Printing just came out! To celebrate, we’re going to spend a week focusing on 3D printing in the home. Each day we’ll focus on a different area such as the kitchen, bathroom, or workshop.
Julie and I have put together our recommendation for 3D printed office goodies! We spend a lot of time listening to the melodious chorus of our 3d printers in our own office, and we’ve printed out a fair number of ‘office upgrades’ over the past couple of years.
Here are some of our favorites!
  Wall mounted Cable Keeper |   Wall mount headphone hook |   iPhone 6 bump case |
  Business card organizer |   Kagome drink coaster |   Modular desk organizer |
  Weighted tape dispenser |   SD card & USB stick caddy |   Wacom pen splash dock |
  Pocket business card case |   Charging cable holder |   Random vase pen caddy |
  Universal phone dock |   Tree stump pen caddy |   Useable paperclips |
Pro tip: Print the coaster from ABS. It is higher temperature and will be less prone to warping.
Tell me what items you’ve printed for your office.
In case you missed it, we’ve already visited:
For more on 3D printing, check out Make: Volume 42.
Don’t have this issue? Get it in the Maker Shed.
Our annual guide to 3D Printing just came out! To celebrate, we’re going to spend a week focusing on 3D printing in the home. Each day we’ll focus on a different area such as the kitchen, bathroom, or workshop.
The Kitchen is often called “The Heart of the Home”. The models in this collection will help you cook, clean, and organize. In the future, maybe the most important tool in this vital room of your home will be your 3D printer.
Cooking
With the help of your 3D printer, you can create tools to help make cooking a snap. Customizable designs can allow you to create your own cookie cutters or chocolate molds. Try setting the table with a salt and pepper pig for your next big family function and see what kind of reactions you get.
Storage
In relation to cooking, the great Alton Brown once said “Organization will set you free”. Use these items to help get your kitchen in order. Mount your tea bags in an easily accessible cases. Try turning a blank wall in your kitchen into a spice rack for easy storage and access while cooking.
Cleaning
Keeping your kitchen clean is crucial to keeping your food safe. These models will help keep your kitchen neat and tidy.
Egg Cups
If breakfast is the most important meal of the day why not enjoy it with the help of your 3D printer? For those of you who enjoy soft boiled eggs for breakfast, here are a few egg cups to liven up the experience.
Keep following the rest of the week as we continue our journey around the house.
In case you missed it, we’ve already visited:
For more on 3D printing, check out Make: Volume 42.
Don’t have this issue? Get it in the Maker Shed.
Our annual guide to 3D Printing just came out! To celebrate, we’re going to spend a week focusing on 3D printing in the home. Each day we’ll focus on a different area such as the kitchen, bathroom, or workshop.
There are few rooms in our homes that need solutions to problems faster than the bathroom. From fixing your toilet to organizing your sink area, 3D printing can help keep your bathroom in working order.
The Shower
The shower is one of those places we go to escape the world and relax. As winter is approaching, a hot shower or soak in the tub can warm you back up and help you forget the cold outside. Printing custom organizers or a new shower head can help keep your shower a happy place. Of course, you can’t forget the rubber ducky to keep you company.
The Toilet
When your toilet breaks, an immediate solution is in order. Like many other things around the house, 3D printing replacement parts can make it easy to fix your toilet. A few printed toilet paper holders can also help add a little style to your bathroom.
The Sink
Our bathroom sinks are the multitaskers of the bathroom. Keeping them clean and organized are important.
Having Some Fun
If your kids have a bathroom – or if you are just a big kid yourself – why not consider a T-rex themed bathroom with all the accessories?
Keep following the rest of the week as we continue our journey around the house.
In case you missed it, we’ve already visited:
For more on 3D printing, check out Make: Volume 42.
Don’t have this issue? Get it in the Maker Shed.
Our annual guide to 3D Printing just came out! To celebrate, we’re going to spend a week focusing on 3D printing in the home. Each day we’ll focus on a different area such as the kitchen, bathroom, or workshop!
Today we’ll explore the yard and the many ways that 3D printing can help with your tasks and outdoor fun. There are a number of replacement parts for lawnmowers that you’ve probably already wished you had. Not everything has to be a replacement though, below you’ll find some
We are all makers 
