Chris Pirillo » 3D

Do You Want a MakerBot or RepRap 3D Printer?

Chris — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 08:15:50 +0000

Do You Want a MakerBot or RepRap 3D Printer? is a post from Chris Pirillo

If you didn’t already realize it, Gnomedex.com is currently promoting our next conference – coming up next month (August 20th – 22nd, 2009). One of the presenters is Bre Pettis, who is a “maker” extraordinaire. For the second time in the past couple of weeks, I’ve had someone from the community email me to let me know about Bre’s MakerBot.com – without knowing that (a) I know Bre, and (b) Bre is speaking at Gnomedex. Still, Christopher Benjamins explained Bre’s project to me…

Hello Chris! I’m not really in the chat, but I’ve seen a lot of your videos. I’ve been getting interested in 3D printers and stumbled on an old video you made back in 2007 talking about them. You mentioned that you read in a magazine I think that someone was trying to make one out of cheap stuff, well – he did. I wasn’t sure if you kept an eye on it or not or forgot about it.

I’m sure you know that the commercially-produced 3D printers are expensive; they now range from $20,000 to $500,000. I was lucky and got to play with one back when I took an CAD Engineering class in high school (I made a cool little spaceship in 3D). Recently, I found the MakerBot and the RepRap 3D printers. They are very cheap compared to the other ones. I’ve been thinking about getting a MakerBot, and then using that to make a RepRap. The interesting thing though about them is that they are open source projects. You can get the designs for them and built them completely by yourself. Or, you can get kits. Another interesting thing (specifically, the RepRap) is that 60% of the parts can be made by another 3D printer (it doesn’t have to be RepRap or MakerBot). They are self-replicating machines. The RepRap project is working on improving that ratio, and also allowing someone to print in more than just plastic. I think they have a solder and a plaster extruder?

3D printing is more than just prototyping now. Their dream is in the future instead of buying something online and having it shipped to you, you would download it, and print it yourself – like a mini personal factory.

Both of these projects work together to improve their designs. Actually, the founder of RepRap helped jumpstart and support MakerBot – both are different in a way. MakerBot is made from cheap stuff that anyone can find and build. RepRap is designed to self-replicate, but the downside of that if you don’t have a friend or some other resource who can give you those special parts (the ones that a machine would make), it’s difficult to make one. So people usually make one, to produce a RepRap, or make a temporary machine using the same motors and circuits to make the parts for it.

Again, you can meet Bre / MakerBot at Gnomedex – in person.

How to Travel Back in Time

Chris — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 10:11:06 +0000

How to Travel Back in Time is a post from Chris Pirillo

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When this application hits 88 miles per hour, you’re going to see some serious stuff! Visualize data in a completely different way. If you were naive to believe that there’s no software available for Mac OS X… think again. Here’s another breakthrough product that’s only available for the computer you claim is “too expensive.” Bee Docs allows people to create timeline charts. The cool thing is that once you create a chart, you can “fly” over it with a 3D perspective.

Your audience will think you spent days crafting your timeline, but it does not get any easier than this… Choose a “look” and enter your events. Got images to add? Drag them onto your events. That is it!
Present your 3D timeline in full motion. Browse your timelines with Quicklook. Search for events using Spotlight. Share you timeline using iChat Theater. Present your timelines in full screen interactive 3D or export your timelines as PDF to include in your documents, movies, or websites.

People can use this instead of using traditional presentation software. It’s built to be a part of a whole ecosystem of presentation. It works fantastically with Keynote. You can automatically chart out iCal calenders, as well as many other applications.

Once again – check with me for a coupon before buying any software!

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These are the Coolest Glasses on the Planet Earth

Chris — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 00:00:53 +0000

These are the Coolest Glasses on the Planet Earth is a post from Chris Pirillo

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I’m watching a movie in 3D playing in the screens within the glasses. It’s like I’m sitting a few feet away from a huge screen. The movie is running through my iPod. The Zeiss Cinemizer is quite possibly one of the coolest inventions ever. The new video eye wear from Carl Zeiss is your take-along personal video screen. In the future, you’ll be able to watch any movie stored on your iPod anywhere. You can watch movies from any model iPod, all the way down to the iPod Nano.

I have the newer version of the Cinemizer. The new update addresses some of the issues that the original version had. One thing in particular is that you can now plug in external headphones if you wish. Some people may not like the ones that are built in to the Cinemizer, so this would be a good feature for them.

Another plus, of course, is the lens. If you’ve ever had a camera that had a Carl Zeiss lens, you know what I mean. You get what you pay for when it comes to things like this, and Zeiss is nearly the best there is.

If you’re planning to get something like this, glasses to watch movies on, this is the one you want. I definitely want a set, but I sadly have to give these glasses back. I borrowed these from the show floor at Macworld, and have to give them back. They sell for about $450.00, but remember to email me before buying them. I may be able to come up with a coupon for you, as always.

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How to Start Drawing Things

Chris — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 13:35:57 +0000

How to Start Drawing Things is a post from Chris Pirillo

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Rofai is a community member who happens to be an artist. He wanted me to pass along his tips to all of you who may be thinking about learning to draw. I personally can’t draw, not even a stick figure. But Wicket is an artist extraordinnaire!

Do you have enough supplies? Some recommended supplies would be a pencil for sketching, a darker pencil for detail, a pencil sharpener, a ruler, an eraser (those ones that look like mini bricks), a protractor, a compass, colored pencils, enough blank paper (obviously), and anything else that you may think you need. I do NOT recommend crayons or markers. Hopefully you started off with crayons and markers in early elementary school. By this time, you should be using colored pencils.
Place your supplies in a place where you can access them efficiently. If you’re right handed, you might want to place everything somewhere on the right side of the table (or whatever you’re using), same if you’re left handed. Have everything within easy reach, so you don’t have to over-extend your arms. Keep a drink nearby, but not on the table with you.
Be sure to have enough elbow room. You don’t want to be working on something and get this line across your paper because someone bumped your elbow. My recommendation is to work alone. If you’re working on something during a party, or if you have a friend over… leave your personal space well beyond your boundaries.
Color in one direction!! Remember in elementary school when you used to color and it was just… *pewk* b/c you would color in this direction, and that, and it was just horrible? Well coloring in one direction, for the whole picture, makes it look nice and professional. So just move the pencil up and down, or side to side, but remember, which ever way you go, you have to stay that way for every part of your picture.
Shading is always a good technique when drawing. You don’t want your drawing to look plain, bold, and 2-dimensional. Shading makes it look more 3d. One way to shade is to take your pencil, start in the corner (or side) you want to be the darkest, then starting there, start coloring dark (by pressing the pencil hard enough), then slowly move along, in one direction, and get lighter as you move. Then take your finger (or two fingers, w/e) and just rub in the area you just colored. This makes your shade look very nice, and makes it look like it’s professionally printed.

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What is a 3D Printer?

Chris — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 14:27:06 +0000

What is a 3D Printer? is a post from Chris Pirillo

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http://live.pirillo.com/ – Mike Sutter sent me an email, wondering what exactly 3D printing is, what it does, and how much it costs.

Normally, your home or office printer is 2D, or 2 dimensional. In other words, it prints in length and width. So what is that third dimension? It’s height, of course. Height? How the heck can you print height? Elementary, my dear Watson… 3D printing. Three-dimensional printing is a method of converting a virtual 3D model into a physical object. 3D printing is a category of rapid prototyping technology. 3D printers typically work by ‘printing’ successive layers on top of the previous to build up a three dimensional object. 3D printers are generally faster, more affordable and easier to use than other additive fabrication technologies.

Apparently, some of our community members are already utilizing this type of printer, in their schools or workplaces. This from John (Mool):

Hey Chris, you have just finished your video on 3D printing and printers, and i have used one of these at school, there is both actual 3D model printers that make it out of plastic an just super high def printing for architecture and design. We use these in CADD (Computer Aided Drafting and Design) class where we make a bunch of 3D things from tools to cars to parts for machines etc…. Then we print them using the Hi Def 3d printer or the actual 3D printer that can make models, which is much like a CNC mill that molds plastic with water, except this does it in layer printing, with some sort of a powder and ink sprayers.

From Jim (BugHouse):

I have been speaking with some people about 3D printing in a retail enviornment. There is talk about creating custom manufacturing for people and putting it out there at a retail level. For example, imagine sports trouphies for like a kids baseball team, all with customer figures that actually look like each individual kid. How about custom dolls, action figured or toys? I saw a video of a guy creating a watch band. I agree, we are a way off yet from bringing it down to a level an everyday user can – but the retailers are looking at this more and more.

If you’d like to watch a 3D printer in action, check out this video on YouTube.

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How to Handle Remote Tech Support

chris@lockergnome.com (Chris Pirillo) — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 06:30:00 GMT

Using GoToAssist is the easiest way to view and control another person's computer online. Use it to provide instant technical support to family, friends and customers. Start a session with just one click, and instantly connect with the other party.

Network Tools for Windows

chris@lockergnome.com (Chris Pirillo) — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 06:30:00 GMT

You need these network tools, no matter which operating systems and networks you have to support. SolarWinds ipMonitor: Affordable Network Monitoring for SMBs. Get turnkey network, server and application availability monitoring with SolarWinds ipMonitor v9.0. This easy-to-use, reliable solution for SMBs delivers out-of-the-box availability monitoring so you always know exactly what's up with Active Directory, DNS, Exchange, FTP, Web, IMAP, MS SQL Server, and SMTP. Download your free trial today. Or, try their totally free tools! And, through 2/29, save 20% when you purchase ipMonitor 9.0.

Get Your Own Web Site

chris@lockergnome.com (Chris Pirillo) — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 06:30:00 GMT

Starting at just $3.99/month, web hosting from GoDaddy includes 99.9% uptime, 24/7 support and free access to GoDaddy Hosting Connection, THE place to install over 30 FREE applications sure to help you get the most from your hosting plan and Web site. Enter code CP2 at checkout, and save an additional 10% on any order.

Plus, as a friend of Chris Pirillo, enter code CHRIS7, that's C-H-R-I-S and the number 7, when you check out, and save an additional 10% on any order. Get your piece of the internet at GoDaddy.com.

VMware and Parallels for Virtual Machines

chris@lockergnome.com (Chris Pirillo) — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 06:30:00 GMT

It doesn't matter if you're running on Windows or Mac OS X - every power user needs either Parallels or VMware (or both). There's never been an easier way to test software without destroying your primary operating system's stability. Think of how many times you wish you could press a 'reverse' button on your computer. Plus, there's no easier way to try new Linux distributions - see what all the fuss is about. Run Windows in OS X, run Linux in Windows, but the best way to do either is with VMware and/or Parallels.

Coupons for Online Shopping

chris@lockergnome.com (Chris Pirillo) — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 07:56:13 GMT

This feed is fueled by Lockergnome Online Shopping and Coupon Codes

Before you shop next time, see if we have a coupon first.