Slashdot Mirror
Makerbot Thing-o-Matic 3D Printer Review
rsk points out this "review of the $1200 Makerbot Thing-o-Matic 3D printer. After a 16-hour self-assembly and a few weeks of use, a blown PSU was replaced with a higher powered PSU via a mod to the Thing-o-Matic. Video of the Thing-o-Matic printing out little solar panel mounts from Google Sketch-up included in the review. Final thoughts suggest that the Thing-o-Matic is not a great gift for non-engineers: 'You need a decent understanding of robotics, hardware, software, electronics and mechanics, need a little hand dexterity and a ton of patience.'"
I want to know what software he used to make those cats!
Seven puppies were harmed during the making of this post.
Wouldn't it be more accurate to move the head around rather than moving the part? What if your plastic hasn't set yet? Jiggling it around while it is hardening is probably not good for getting an accurate part.
When our name is on the back of your car, we're behind you all the way!
Fuck you. I would if I could.
PS: Anyone have a copy of Ferrari_599_Fiorano.torrent? Thanx!
Er, because it doesn't perform any milling? It performs deposition - adding of material. Milling is carving away - subtracting the material.
[
I hope you're not looking to work in marketing.
There's no -1 for "I don't get it."
So, why not call it a gnillim machine?
Keep on knockin'
https://robbiecrash.me
You wouldn't steal a car. But soon you'll be able to copy one.
I doubt GM / Ford / Ferrari will be too worried about off white lumpy 'cars' with plastic engines anytime in the foreseeable future. Wal Mart might be concerned about your ability to mimic their large selection of plastic junk, everyone else - not so much.
Faster! Faster! Faster would be better!
I was seriously considering picking one of these up as i tend to do a lot of low level fabrication (right up to casting noble and non-noble metals) and have yet to find a reasonable and quick method to fab plastics. However looking on the website and reading the review the quality of this product seems extremely questionable, not only did this one unit have 2 major issues within the first day of running (with a complex system like this not exactly a horrid start) but the company itself has a blog post on the front page about how its favorite customer service interaction was one in which the customer decided to fix all the problems on their unit themselves. So my first two impressions are that this unit will most likely be in a state of disrepair in between quick burts of usefulness? I'd rather just submit my renderings to online stores and pay the shipping, etc. simply for the lack of frustration. Now if they got these problems under control i'd have one tomorrow.
drunk chemists
I'm looking forwards to seeing what he builds once he's gotten done rebuilding the machine.
Sure, it's a lot of work to put into a brand-new machine, but anyone who has bought a Chinese mill or lathe machine knows that a right-out-of-the-box rebuild sure helps the accuracy. Even with simple tools like wood chisels, the first thing you do is resharpen them because the from-the-factory job is nearly worthless, so it's hardly surprising that an amateur-designed, amateur-built, and kit-built-by-amateur 3D printer would need some work.
Nostalgia's not what it used to be.
Apparently, you have generous friends who are willing to manufacture the parts for free.
I think I'd rather have the laser burn table that they used to cut out various parts of the Thing-o-Matic (such as the plywood shell), than a machine that prints stuff from plastic.
The desk-sized laser cutters are the most popular machines at TechShop. They're easy to use, easy to program (all they need is line art), and will cut up to 3/8" plywood. The size limit is 18" x 24". They'll cut wood and many plastics, but not metals - that takes a much more powerful model.
Making small plastic parts by injection molding is an incredibly cheap operation in quantity. Making one-off parts with a MakerBot like device is a slow, expensive process, and the surface quality will be lower. On the other hand, cutting stuff out of sheet stock with laser cutters, plasma cutters, and water-jet cutters is fast; it's useful as a production process.
I've had one of the Makerbot Cupcakes for quite a while. Great fun to build and operate -- if you are a tinkerer and enjoy making things work, and tweaking them until they work, and tuning them again when they quit working. If you don't happen to have the tinkerer gene, then they are not for you. I tell anyone that asks me about it: "It's not turnkey like a laser printer, it's a lifestyle choice."
Outrageous good fun, though, if you like that sort of thing. My last few prints: a pair of wheels for a robot, a bracket to mount an Android phone on a robot, and a cookie cutter to give as a gift. In between, my daughter has been printing doll house furniture.
After a 16-hour self-assembly
Now I'm impressed, I had no idea that it could self assemble, I expected that the guy who bought it would have to put it together.
I'm an American. I love this country and the freedoms that we used to have.
The wiki is still up, and more informative than the store site. Wiki - MakerBot Industries
Chemists do it with moles.
FWIW, I have a Makerbot Cupcake CNC, and it's freaking awesome. It takes a LOT of work to get it running and tuned properly, but once it's working, you can use it to make improved versions of every part. It's a self-feeding hobby. I've spent days building new parts to make things run better, just so I can use it to print even better improvements that require more precision.
Chemists do it with moles.
Similarly, when the cassette recorder came out, the music industry was saying, "Yeah, but the quality of reproduction is awful and you can't copy a whole 33 1/3 RPM record." When the first computer with sound came out, they said, "Yeah, but it can only do 1-bit mono audio. It won't ever be a threat." Looking back, it's obvious that they were missing something.
Remember that this 3D printer is a fairly early design. Eventually we'll have robots that can do everything you describe in a few hours. This is just one step towards that, but it is a significant step.
Check out my sci-fi/humor trilogy at PatriotsBooks.