3d fabrication and robotic control

[da]

I thought this was cool, if pricey: a service to make your sketchup, 2nd life, or wii avatar in coloured plaster.

But this is probably cooler: Build a Candyfab 4000 to fabricate your objects from sugar. DIY, $500 parts. (Link via secretsoflife)

Indeed, it's based around a controller board kit which might even be useful for work. I'm tempted to inquire with a prof about using this board to assist with developing better servo-motor controls for one of the labs. *ponder ponder ponder*

Comments

[oldgrover.livejournal.com]

I saw that Candyfab 4000 - that is just amazing. Be very cool to build, too

[da-lj.livejournal.com]

It surely would.

I'm left wondering what I'd do with an artistic medium that turns 100lbs of sugar into a solid structure two feet by one foot by 9 inches in size.

Big candy typography comes to mind, or a model city.

[secretsoflife.livejournal.com]

i'm serious about wanting to make one :)

[da-lj.livejournal.com]

I believe you. :)

[da-lj.livejournal.com]

I find myself wondering what sort of work could be done on making the heating element much more compact- 2 or 4 times more resolution would be awesome. You could make food-sized art that way. :)

As far as I can tell, right now there are just too many unknowns for what they've done. I don't know nearly enough about building the 2-d plotter part. Yet. :)

I'm about 75% convinced that I want to buy myself one of the controller kits, though.

what else would I say?

[stfrn.livejournal.com]

Sweet!

Re: what else would I say?

[da-lj.livejournal.com]

*headdesk*

[pekmez.livejournal.com]

that is excellent, but I think I like the 2d toast printer even better! (it seems it was actually a step along the way to the sugar 3d printer. but decorated toast is more useful!)

http://www.evilmadscientist.com/article.php/cnctoast

[da-lj.livejournal.com]

...How is decorated toast more useful than a two-foot-long screw made of sugar?

Fabjectory

[(Anonymous)]

Hi, Mike from Fabjectory here. Thanks for writing about our Fabjectory service.

I know this sounds nuts, but we're actually extremely inexpensive compared to trying to get items fabbed in 3d color on your own.

The biggest issue right now is actually the cost of the substrate, it's all the expenses of inkjet printers multiplied by literally another dimension.

Thanks again,

Mike Buckbee
Fabjectory Founder

Re: Fabjectory

[da-lj.livejournal.com]

Heh, wow. Thanks for stopping by.

I promise you I wouldn't consider colour 3d fabrication from anywhere else. I spent a few days after I heard of your service, trying to figure out whether I had anything compact I needed instantiated.

What I think you guys should should do is come up with more non-avatar samples, for those of us who don't use 2nd life or Wii. :)

Still thinking. :)

Congrats on your recent media mentions.

Re: Fabjectory

[secretsoflife.livejournal.com]

wow, they will make sketchup options. too cool!

Re: Fabjectory

[da-lj.livejournal.com]

It is very cool- but what to make?!

It's funny, when I was a kid, faced with a bag of legos, I had no problem occupying myself for hours.

Now, with sketchup, I'm at a complete loss for choosing something to design. I ran it once, learned enough to build a spaceship, and haven't run it again.

I had an easier time learning to work with sculpey, but that was mostly technique, learning millifiori. ...and now it's sitting in my closet. :)

Inspiration. Hmm.

Re: Fabjectory

[da-lj.livejournal.com]

Funny: just as I submitted that, I had a series of "well there's always..."

- translating a topo map of one's hometown, if it has any topography. complete with roads and little coloured-dot houses. I could make this for my parents, I bet they'd like it.

- maybe imprinting photos on the faces of an icosohedron? I don't remember if sketchup let you do that.

- ooh; 3-d version of maigrite's floating castle in the sky.