Maker Sam Kirkiles is a Nintendo fan and he designed printable, 3D paper models of the game’s characters using 3D modeling and Pepakura. To build them, just print the templates and glue the tabs together. Pretty cool, stuff.
I am currently a research assistant in the “changing places” group at the MIT Media Lab. For my final project in a class I took this semester called “How To Make (Almost) Anything,” I designed and built a pair of internet-connected chess sets, which I’ve dubbed, “Shadow Chess.” The boards let you play a real game of chess with a remote opponent. When you move a piece on one board, it senses where it was moved and relays that information via wifi to the second board, which then “shadows” it by physically moving the piece to the appropriate square using magnets. The whole process involved numerous fabrication techniques that we learned throughout the semester, including 3D printing, molding and casting, laser cutting, CNC milling, circuit board design and production, embedded programming, and machine design.
Bio: I am currently a research assistant in the Changing Places group at the MIT Media Lab. For the three years prior, I dabbled in the New York City tech start-up scene as a web developer. I started out at the file-sharing service, drop.io and I later spent some time at the start-up incubator, QLabs. I've also done an extensive amount of work for M, the mysterious founder of The Master Theorem puzzling society. I graduated from Columbia University in 2008 with a major in Computer Science and a minor in Economics. At Columbia, I was heavily involved in the Association for Computing Machinery and worked in the Computer Graphics and User Interfaces lab. In my free time I focus on personal projects, which range from making games and puzzles to voice-activating my apartment.
Hackaday ran this video interview with Slic3r programmer Alessandro Ranaelluci. As so many 3D printing videos are about print models and the software interfaces, this video shows the OS’s programmer and his ideas behind it, a rare insight.
Bio: Entering engineering fields of MECH and ELEC with a third degree in CS. Previously I acquired an ECON undergrad and MBA in my 20s.Engineering is super exciting!
The latest project from the Milwaukee Makerspace is a USB device to help you answer all those pesky emails when words fail you. Kevin Bastyr explains:
My friend Rob is a smart engineer and throughout the course of a work week he receives dozens of requests for his assistance on various projects. He’s such a positive and helpful person that he finds it difficult to say “no” to any of these requests. I’ve helped him out by making a USB device that can provide a clear and simple email response to some of these requests. SAGA, or Semi-Automatic Gmail Assistant, is approximately the size of a mouse, and plugs into a computer just like any mouse or keyboard would. Here is the first prototype:
SAGA comes complete with a key lockout feature that prevents accidental activation. Once a worthy email request has been received, Rob can calmly make the call whether or not to arm SAGA by inserting the key, and rotating it clockwise 90 degrees. After rotating the key, an octagon of LEDs lights up around the chrome button, enticing Rob to press it. The extra illumination from the LEDs also further highlights the artfully coiled wiring that fills the prototype SAGA. When the button is pressed, SAGA sends the keyboard shortcut to respond to the email and types out “Go F*** Yourself.” at a respectable and slightly humorous 200 wpm. After waiting a half second for dramatic effect, SAGA automatically sends the email. Note that there is a 1 percent chance that SAGA will instead respond “That’s a great idea. I’ll get right on it!”
Bio: I'm a founder and current board member of the Milwaukee Makerspace. I have a Masters degree and Ph.D. in Acoustics, and am an avid TIG welder, unconventional wood worker, extreme music enthusiast, capable circuit board designer, etcher and populator, and have recently embraced the micro-controller revolution!
MilwaukeeMakerspace has grown from 15 members at our current space to nearly 70, so it’s time to move. We’ll have more than 2 1/2 times more space for making (and for more members!)
Six months ago, you helped us announce the first women’s hackerspace, Mothership HackerMoms, on your awesome blog. With your help, we’ve grown, doubled our membership since then and have launched a Kickstarter for equipment, construction, and programs. Recently Boing Boing, 510families.com, and the Mini Maker Faire in Oakland have supported us. Would you consider putting our news on MAKE? Here’s more info, including a press release, website article, and of course, the Kickstarter itself at http://mothership.hackermoms.org/.
I’m Sho-Sho Smith, founder of Mothership HackerMoms, the first women’s hackerspace. We are a new kind of playground and workspace for creative mothers. After 6 months in our space, we need your help to build a workshop with tools and equipment, plus create a kids program and business incubator for moms inside it. HackerMoms just launched a Kickstarter fundraiser to accomplish this. I hope that you can help us with a donation pledge and by spreading the word on Facebook, Twitter and by email. With your help, we can make our $10,000 goal by the November 18 deadline. Your dollars will go towards tools and equipment, a DIY construction fund (we are the builders), and hired experts. As budget-conscious moms made a list (of course) you can read with cost detailed in our Kickstarter description.
We started our non-profit organization in April 2012 because traditional hackerspaces don’t really have safe spaces for babies and young children – or, consequently, their mothers. Our mission is to give creative moms the time and space to explore DIY craft and design, hacker/maker culture, entrepreneurship, and all manner of creative expression – with childcare. Mothers sometimes need a room of their own! Learn more about who we are and our philosophy at http://mothership.hackermoms.org/.
Bio: Sho Sho Smith worked professionally for 15 years as a business writer for Fortune 500 companies in finance, technology and retail industries before she went rogue. She is a corporate dropout turned social entrepreneur, MFA turned freelance writer, design lover turned hacker/maker and former militant anti-breeder.Sho-Sho founded Mothership HackerMoms in the midst of her husband’s battle with cancer. She needed a positive project that reinforced her values of creativity, community and motherhood. HackerMoms saved her life, and by extension, her family’s life.Her motto for HackerMoms, for herself and her two young daughters is, “Be a Pattern for the world.”
The population density of San Francisco exceeds 17,000 per square mile. The small peninsula occupies only 46 square miles and is home to many a motorcyclist. Many motorcycle owners in the SF Bay Area don’t have a garage – rents for a motorcycle space in a shared garage can run more than a full apartment in other areas of the country. This leaves someone with mechanical knowledge no where to do basic maintenance on their bike.
Enter “Wrench It Yourself”. Wrench it Yourself is a DIY Motorcycle Maintenance facility inside an existing motorcycle repair cooperative in Emeryville – Addiction Motors. The space is fully equipped with two lifts, two sets of basic mechanic’s tools and a large assortment of specialty tools such as a compression tester, torque wrenches and feeler gauges. Stations are available for rent in one hour increments and discounts are applied for multiple hours and when purchased pre-paid in bulk.
There is also a learning component – the space will house regular classes on basic maintenance topics such as suspension, changing oil, and chain maintenance. Should a client get in over their head, there are several trained and certified mechanics on hand who are available for consultation in 15 minute increments.
We think this model will not take anything away from the mechanic’s business – instead we think it will be an innovative way to introduce motorcyclists to our shop, get them involved with the safe maintenece of their bike and cause them to become loyal clients with our mechanics for jobs which exceed their mechanical knowledge and ability.
If you are in the Bay Area, we welcome you to our space. We’re located at 4052 Watts Street in Emeryville right next to Pixar Studios and inside the walls of Addiction Motors.
Bio: 44 year old software engineer turned motorcycle repair collective partner. Assisted with the start up of Addiction Motors in 2011, a repair collective consisting of several independently owned motorcycle related business under the umbrella of Addiction Motors. Founded "Wrench It Yourself", A DIY Motorcycle Maintenance facility in 2012
I’ve spent too much time breathing the stuff that emanates from the tips of soldering irons. After checking out the available fume extractors, I thought I could do better putting something together myself. If it didn’t turn out that way, at least it would be my loud, expensive, and low air flow fume extractor. Maker’s remorse is always better than buyer’s remorse
At Maker Faire NY this past weekend, I was quite inspired by the people who attended the robot making workshops I led for Let’s Make Robots. I saw that spark to create light up in both kids and adults.
Bio: Andrew is an electronics and robotics enthusiast, beer brewer, juggler, and general goof ball. For the past two years, Andrew has organized the Let's Make Robots presence at Maker Faire. He also acts as Chief of Public Relations for Let's Make Robots.
On Saturday October 20th 2012 the first ever Mini Maker Faire of continental Europe will take place in Groningen, The Netherlands. This blogpost explains the why and how.
A hugely successful ‘trial-run’
What better way to show off energy, passion and creativity than a Maker Faire? This is exactly what a group of young Dutchmen thought. Not hindered by a big budget or other obligations, they made it happen. In just five weeks time the team organized a ‘tryout’ Maker Faire in 2011. With over 14 workshops, an art-technology exposition and an exciting scrapheap challenge they were ready for it. But how many people would turn up? An unexpectedly high number of 800 excited visitors ages 6-80 from all over The Netherlands absolutely loved the event and begged for more.
A real Groningen Mini Maker Faire on Saturday October 20th 2012
Groningen Mini Maker Faire (The Netherlands) will be the first official Mini Maker Faire of continental Europe. The same team who organised last year’s trial-run is preparing for an even bigger Mini Maker Faire. Far more workshops for kids and older kids, a bigger and even more exciting scrapheap challenge and more makers to meet, all guarantee that visitors will have lots to do at the Groningen Mini Maker Faire. This year we’re also adding a series of Maker Talks to the programme.
The Makers, Workshops and Expo
Some highlights include rocket-building workshops, a levitating model train running on liquid nitrogen, Jaguar converted to run on electricity, a giant cardboard soundsystem, an enormous FabLab area, cute offline ‘Facebook Likes’-collecting LikeJars, and soldering workshops will all be part of the Groningen Mini Maker Faire.
Do you want to show something at the Groningen Mini Maker Faire? A maker talk, a workshop or a booth? Let us know!
Festival information
The free to attend or join Groningen Mini Maker Faire on Saturday October 20th 2012, from 12:00-18:00 (or noon to six p.m. if you like your clocks in 12hr setting). Afterwards there will be a smallish party. We hope to welcome between a thousand and two thousand visitors, and invite you to be one of them! If you’d like to know more (location details, travel options etc), take a look at the English page on the Groningen Mini Maker Faire website.
