Ponoko Showroom

Tweet

Thanks to Ponoko for perching Rubik the [Retarded] Raven on their showroom feature page!

Mexican Fiesta

Tweet

Spanish guitar with a free laser-cutting file.

A while back we went to a Mexican Fiesta themed party.  As grown-ups we apathetically sneaked in Day of the Dead, but the baby got attired in a less macabre fashion.  Unfortunately I couldn't source a sombrero. The guitar is cut from MDF, which is fine for pre-solids tots, but it isn't a safe material for babies that are old enough to be sticking everything in their mouths.  Polypropylene would be more appropriate even if floppy.  You can download the free lasercutting file from my Thingiverse collection and head over to Ponoko to make your own guitar.

Thingiverse

Tweet

Thingiverse is like an online library for digital files that can be used to create physical objects using fabrication techniques like 3D printing and laser cutting.  The Arachnid Fruit Bowl is now on Thingiverse, so that's another place, in addition to Ponoko, where the file for the bowl is available for free download.  Got a lazy cutter?  Make your own bowl!  The ones below I made for a friends' wedding last year.

Patch up Job

Tweet

How cute are these!

Ponoko Personal Factory NZ Awesomeness!

Tweet

Personal Factory has just announced the launch of their material samples store!  This is exciting because it means that you can buy one or two or how many different material samples you need to keep for reference on colour/texture/flexibility/engraving quality, etc.  Of course, there are all the material photos on the Personal Factory catalogue, but looking on screen is just not the same as lovingly caressing with your fingers.  Delivery within NZ is pretty damn cheap, too!

Flat Pack Fruit Bowl

Tweet

 Intolerance.  Well, that is more or less what happens when you design interlocking parts that require decent tolerances, and the material scraps used in fabrication all come from different batches.  I decided to make some flat pack fruit bowls to use up some of my plywood offcuts, but the first bowl was to be made out of red tint acrylic for a ruby wedding anniversary present.  Acrylic is definitely not the ideal choice for something that is a combination of a) delicate, b) has lots of interlocking joints, c) will be handled a lot.  However, in this case it was more about aesthetics because the bowl was to be an exo-skeleton for a clear glass bowl.  The main design challenge was making the lasecut bowl fit precisely over the contours of the glass bowl.  I made the initial prototypes from corrugated card to test out whether my idea and contouring was going to work.  Once the acrylic design was finalised, I tweaked the form for a plywood version.  The files for the latter can be downloaded for free from my Ponoko Personal Factory showroom.  These customised if required and lasercut.

 

Spice Cabinet

Tweet

I like cooking. Cooking needs spices.  Spices need containers.  Containers need storage.  Storage needs to be easily accessible during cooking. 

Spices - check.
Glass spice jars - check.
Storage - time to design some spice cabinets

This is a prototype for a set of stackable spice cabinets, which will be screwed to the wall.  The sliding doors, provided they are kept closed, will hopefuly keep the contents secure during an earthquake.  Don't want little spice bombs exploding around the kitchen!  Most doors will be clear, but the cabinet with all the odd containers will have mirror doors to conceal the "mess".

 These are pretty easy to make with Ponoko Personal Factory - jump here for free files!

Crafting With Computer

Tweet

Via Ponoko

Last weekend, Wellington's premiere indie design fair Craft2.0 once again demonstrated just how much digital fabrication is influencing day to day making for many crafters and designers.  Amongst the numerous stalls, there were several that had laser cut jewellery and accessories on display.  Knowledgeable mutterings with regard to fabrication techniques from several elederly ladies confirmed that digital fabrication is becoming less of a mystery, although a few shoppers did ask how long it took to cut the snowflakes by hand...

Super Very
Freedom Creative
Chromatophobic
Chloe Jansen
Boocraft
Freestylen

Mirror acrylic

Tweet

Ponoko now have 3mm silver mirror acrylic in their catalogue!  Exciting?  Hell yes!  It's not something you'd want to use in large amounts, but it's a great accent for small details, especially when engraved and backlit.

Craft2.0 via Ponoko

Tweet

I'm yet to pen a debrief of my own, but here's the Ponoko version.

Nearly Easter Craft2.0

Tweet

Easter.  What is it really about?  Hot cross buns?  Delicious chocolate bunnies?  Well, we all know that just like Christmas, Easter is all about retail therapy, albeit on a lesser scale and with no obligation of sharing your loot with people you pretend to care about.  Easter is also about stuffing yourself silly, which helps create a protective fat layer for the winter months.  Don’t kid yourself thinking that this is unhealthy.  All that advertising telling you to treat yourself can’t be wrong!

You can pretty much kill both birds (of bunnies) with one stone and come to Craft2.0 @TheNewDowse this Easter Saturday.  There will be plenty of tasty treats as well as loads of amazing design creations to look at.  This is a rather special edition of Craft2.0 being its 5^th anniversary.  Ponoko have been involved with the fair since it started and will be out in force around TheNewDowse this time around.  There will be plenty of materials samples and laser cut + 3D printed projects.  Another very exciting addition to Craft2.0 this time is the Jam Off competition, which has been getting quite a bit of publicity in Wellington newspapers as well as online.  The interest in Jam Off has been rather spectacular, so the 2pm competition kickoff should attract much attention.  Mmmmm 24 kinds of jam. 

World's First!!!!

Tweet

Ah, the excitement is too much!  Future is totally here

Craft2.0 on Ponoko

Tweet

Ponoko's blog post about the last fair

Would you like to make your own?

Tweet

If you're in Wellington and are keen to try laser cutting your own designs, you should check out Ponoko and come to Wellington Makers Meetup on the 10th of November.

Chromatophobic on Ponoko

Tweet

Catherine at Ponoko checked out Craft2.0 and blogged about it.  Awesome!

Ponoko greatness

Tweet

I make with Ponoko, so good news for Ponoko = good news for Chromatophobic.

And it's pretty fantastic when Wired makes announcements like this one

It's also awesome when Treehugger jumps on board!

Ponoko has also made the list of 15 Places to Make Money Creating Your Own Products. You want to make some money, don't you?