Things we Make: Birdhouse

In addition to making useful items for humans, 3D printing can also be used to make things for our animal friends. For example, in 2011, MakerBot sponsored a competition to design 3D printed shells for hermit crabs. More recently, MakerBot held a competition to see who could design the best birdhouse. The winning design was submitted by Erik Durwood and is freely available at Thingiverse. We recently printed this birdhouse and are proudly displaying it in our lab (see below). As shown in the photo, the design is inspired by the American Craftsman Bungalow movement and is richly detailed. Now all we need are some birds!

 

Things we Make: Dalek

One of the main characters in the hit British television program, Doctor Who is the Dalek, a race of extraterrestrial cyborgs that seek to take over the universe. One of our Makers is a big Doctor Who fan and created a 3D printed version of a Dalek. "Exterminate!"

What fictional character would you like to bring to life via a 3D printer?

Things we Make: University Keychains

The MakerLab receives many requests from students and faculty for 3D design and printing assistance. One recent request was from Greg Fisher, a marketing doctoral student here at Illinois. Later this week, Greg will be interviewing for a job as an assistant professor at a number of universities, including Marquette, Missouri, North Carolina State, Notre Dame, and Wyoming. During his interview, Greg plans to discuss some of his recent research on the factors that influence user adoption of 3D printed objects. Thus, he felt it would be nice to have a 3D printed object that he could leave behind after each interview. Greg supplied our Lab with a set of 2D logos for each school. Our intrepid MakerLab Guru, Danny developed 3D designs based on scans of these logos and then printed them using our MakerBot Replicator 3D printers. The result is a memorable souvenir of Greg's talk. How can 3D printing enhance your career?

Things we Make: 3D Printed Chess Set

MakerLab Gurus Danny & Ryan recently created a 3D printed chess set. The entire set, including all of the pieces and the game board, were digitally designed and 3D printed in our Lab. Stop by on a Tuesday or Thursday and challenge one of our Guru's to a game of chess!

Things we Make: Replacement Parts

Many visitors to the MakerLab are intrigued by 3D printing technology but wonder how they could apply this new tool in their daily lives. One emerging application is replacement parts. For example, Swedish synthesizer manufacturer, Teenage Engineering, has replacement parts available via Shapeways. In addition to printing parts offered by manufacturers, if you have access to 3D design software and a desktop 3D printer, you can design and make your own parts!  This capability is particularly valuable if you are trying to obtain parts for an object that has been discontinued by the manufacturer. This happened recently to one of our friends, who owns a unique Sears Craftsman weedwacker that uses plastic blades instead of the traditional spool of plastic string. Our friend ran out of the original set of blades that came with the weedwacker. Unfortunately, Sears no longer carried this product or any of its parts. Fortunately, the MakerLab came to the rescue! MakerLab guru Danny used a shard from an original blade to design and print a suitable replacement on a Makerbot Replicator 2 printer. As a result, a defunct lawn tool was revived and given a second life. How many times has something like this happened to you? By gaining 3D printing skills, you may be able to replace rather than rebuy!

Come make something in the MakerLab this summer. We are open Tuesdays and Thursdays from 12:00 to 5:00.

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Things We Make

Cuddling Owls (Thingiverse Thing 50212, Designed by Moses) Super cute. Makes a great gift for a close friend.