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The video on the homepage showed the finished product. It's a set of salt and pepper shakers shaped like eggs. You can plainly see that it's built layer by laye

The video on the homepage showed the finished product. It's a set of salt and pepper shakers shaped like eggs. You can plainly see that it's built layer by layer. I think MakerBot is really cool, but it fails to please the eye with rounded surfaces.

steveklabnik 17y ago
The FDM process is one of the rougher ones, but the end parts are much more durable. A little bit of sanding goes a long way.
- ax0n 17y ago
  This. Just a little bit of sanding, some filler, some paint... it yields a pretty nice product. I wish the photos weren't so craptastic, but my friend rob made a plastic combination lock on a high-end 3D printer. While the resolution is certainly a lot tighter than MakerBot, it still is easy to tell it was printed in layers. Even the high-end rapid prototypers do this.
  - steveklabnik 17y ago
    Have you seen a V-Flash print up close? You really have to be looking to see the layers. That goes for stuff like Z Corp, too. And you're not even going to be able to see the 10 micron resolution on an Object machine.
    - steveklabnik 17y ago
      Wow. I meant "Objet," by the way. Apparently, I can't type it. When I wrote that first sentence, I thought it through, and slowly typed "Object."
iamwil 17y ago
That'll change eventually. Web apps had clunkier interfaces than desktop software ~10 years ago. Personal computers had less computing power than mainframes 20 years ago. They all had their disadvantages at first, but they make up for it by advantages along other dimensions while slowly eroding their disadvantage. When something like that becomes cheap enough for kids and hobbyists to get their hands on it, you should keep your eye on it.
- replicatorblog 17y ago
  The only thing I would challenge is the comparison to the speed of development in computer hardware/web apps. PC's have been a multi-billion dollar business with hundreds of million in investment since the Apple II. 3D printers are still a niche r&D tool 20 years after their invention. For instance 3D systems, the #2 player in the market only spent $8MM on R&D last year. Assuming the 4 majors did the same it is still under $40MM. More has been spent on real time web R&D this year. That said, I hope the pace increases.
  - steveklabnik 17y ago
    To be fair, in an industry that's as encumbered by patents as this one is, you can't expect things to innovate that quickly. There _are_ some innovations coming down the pipeline, however. Expect to see costs fall rapidly in the near future, making the tech even more accessible... There's even business method patents on half of this.
  - zepolen 17y ago
    Computers were still a niche tool 40 years after their invention. I think that once people realise applications that apply to the mainstream they will become as cheap and as widespread as inkjet printers.
nirmal 17y ago
We have a more expensive version of these machines in our lab. After we print the part, if we want a finished surface we brush on super glue to make the part stronger and smoother. Then we sand and paint. We're also looking into using Bondo.
- steveklabnik 17y ago
  If you're into playing around with materials... check out this blog. http://open3dp.me.washington.edu/?cat=6 http://open3dp.me.washington.edu/?cat=6 This dude is on the cutting edge of new material stuff. A lot of it is for Z Corp stuff, not FDM, but you might find some interesting nuggets there.
Tichy 17y ago
I've seen the dragon head they printed at the 26C3, and I was quite disappointed. It is still a cool toy, but not by far what I would have expected. Still, it can only get better - I guess if you know what to expect, you can also pick things to make where the quality is adequate. Won't be printing sleek iPhone casings for now, though.
- replicatorblog 17y ago
  The bet uses of it I've seen have been related to projects where aesthetics didn't matter much. ex. I know a student who used it to prototype chassis for a robotics class. The MakerBot let him quickly and cheaply iterate his design and the final finish didn't really matter. You are right that the action figure market has nothing to fear in the short term.

steveklabnik 17y ago

The FDM process is one of the rougher ones, but the end parts are much more durable. A little bit of sanding goes a long way.

ax0n 17y ago
This. Just a little bit of sanding, some filler, some paint... it yields a pretty nice product. I wish the photos weren't so craptastic, but my friend rob made a plastic combination lock on a high-end 3D printer. While the resolution is certainly a lot tighter than MakerBot, it still is easy to tell it was printed in layers. Even the high-end rapid prototypers do this.
- steveklabnik 17y ago
  Have you seen a V-Flash print up close? You really have to be looking to see the layers. That goes for stuff like Z Corp, too. And you're not even going to be able to see the 10 micron resolution on an Object machine.
  - steveklabnik 17y ago
    Wow. I meant "Objet," by the way. Apparently, I can't type it. When I wrote that first sentence, I thought it through, and slowly typed "Object."

iamwil 17y ago

That'll change eventually. Web apps had clunkier interfaces than desktop software ~10 years ago. Personal computers had less computing power than mainframes 20 years ago. They all had their disadvantages at first, but they make up for it by advantages along other dimensions while slowly eroding their disadvantage. When something like that becomes cheap enough for kids and hobbyists to get their hands on it, you should keep your eye on it.

replicatorblog 17y ago
The only thing I would challenge is the comparison to the speed of development in computer hardware/web apps. PC's have been a multi-billion dollar business with hundreds of million in investment since the Apple II. 3D printers are still a niche r&D tool 20 years after their invention. For instance 3D systems, the #2 player in the market only spent $8MM on R&D last year. Assuming the 4 majors did the same it is still under $40MM. More has been spent on real time web R&D this year. That said, I hope the pace increases.
- steveklabnik 17y ago
  To be fair, in an industry that's as encumbered by patents as this one is, you can't expect things to innovate that quickly. There _are_ some innovations coming down the pipeline, however. Expect to see costs fall rapidly in the near future, making the tech even more accessible... There's even business method patents on half of this.
- zepolen 17y ago
  Computers were still a niche tool 40 years after their invention. I think that once people realise applications that apply to the mainstream they will become as cheap and as widespread as inkjet printers.

nirmal 17y ago

We have a more expensive version of these machines in our lab. After we print the part, if we want a finished surface we brush on super glue to make the part stronger and smoother. Then we sand and paint. We're also looking into using Bondo.

steveklabnik 17y ago
If you're into playing around with materials... check out this blog. http://open3dp.me.washington.edu/?cat=6 http://open3dp.me.washington.edu/?cat=6 This dude is on the cutting edge of new material stuff. A lot of it is for Z Corp stuff, not FDM, but you might find some interesting nuggets there.

Tichy 17y ago

I've seen the dragon head they printed at the 26C3, and I was quite disappointed. It is still a cool toy, but not by far what I would have expected. Still, it can only get better - I guess if you know what to expect, you can also pick things to make where the quality is adequate. Won't be printing sleek iPhone casings for now, though.

replicatorblog 17y ago
The bet uses of it I've seen have been related to projects where aesthetics didn't matter much. ex. I know a student who used it to prototype chassis for a robotics class. The MakerBot let him quickly and cheaply iterate his design and the final finish didn't really matter. You are right that the action figure market has nothing to fear in the short term.