Maker Faire 2013 - Part 2. The best part.

I can't believe I have been blogging about 3D printers since 2005/6. It's taken that long for them to become common and cheap enough for a large segment of the population to be able to afford them..

I haven't bought a 3D printer yet. Because the technology is still in it's infancy, and new machines are coming on line all the time. I've been sitting back trying to figure out who was going to float to the top. The machine above from Formlabs was at the top of my list. It uses lasers instead of the extraction method. This is suppose to make the resolution better. Although through a crowded booth, the items it printed didn't seem appreciably different from a lot of the other stuff I've seen before.



This type of machine was a surprise. I'd never seen it before. It's from SeeMeCNC. While I find it really fascinating - it has a LOT of moving parts. It is a creative idea to solve height limitation though.





A few companies were trying out this design model. This one was from OpenBeam USA.



This one was interesting because it had tiny fans at the area where the heated plastic comes out. You can see two of them from this shot. They are those square objects resting on the pad.

There were so many 3D printers at Maker Faire I didn't even try for stuff I'd already seen. They were everywhere. Cubify as far as I could tell didn't have much of a presence. I did see a few of their machines. But their machines are pretty mainstream now I guess.

The Makerbot Replicator was an interesting stand out. Mr S. and I were talking about all of the machines later and he pointed out that Makerbot didn't even have a booth (again as far as we could tell - it's a very crowded place), but their machines were everywhere. Even companies selling other machines might have a Replicator in the background. I don't know what that means. Maybe they have hit the sweet spot.

This is also a good article to read. 3D printing has come a long way. It still has quite a way to go before we depend on them for real things.

Maker Faire 2013 - Part 1.

I really have a lot of 3D printing stuff to get out tomorrow. So I have to do this picture dump tonight.

Maker Faire 2010.

Here is the first run of pictures.

Updated: With video.

Maker Faire 09' - THE END.

Adam Savage from Mythbusters.



I might as well get the interesting stuff out first, because this post is going to go dramatically downhill fast.







There is a point where something goes so mainstream - it becomes completely ruined. This is where Maker Faire finds itself today.

Sure, it is great for Maker. They managed to pull in more people than they probably ever could have imagined. A great revenue stream to be sure. For everyone else it becomes the most un-enjoyable event on the planet. You couldn't even walk 2 or 3 feet before having to dodge someone or adjust where you were walking. You couldn't get close to anything. There is a Telsa Roadster somewhere in this shot.

Everything to see was this way.



I wasn't even in the gates 10 minutes before I was completely feeling hostile. Who the eff are these people I ask Mr S. I don't even get the demo. There aren't that many nerds. There aren't even that many hippies. Who are these people?!

Mr S. replies - they look to be just about anyone bored enough to come down. A perfect snapshot of what you'd see in a mall. And he was right. It even had just about as much enjoyment as shopping at a mall the week before Christmas. People didn't even seem to be enjoying themselves. They were just milling about.



Gone was that electric creative energy of the previous years. Only to be completely hijacked by the green movement. It was less "Maker" and more just Trash Faire. Tinged with complete guilt bullshit. Tinkering to make things and recycling to make things aren't really the same. One is an interesting project. The other is just stuff from the dump.



How disturbing is this shot?



It was today that I realized how the greenies get away with all their crap. They capitalize on how most people don't feel good about themselves. And, they are oh so successful.

Once I did find an area where people were selling stuff, it was the most ridiculously overpriced stuff you can imagine. I finally had to leave early. It was the most self absorbed annoying group of people on the planet.

When we got to the parking structure I asked Mr S. "do you think those people will be gone next year". He said "probably not - it's too mainstream now". So, unless something becomes really interesting, I doubt I'm going next year. It was that unpleasant.

Maker Faire '08 part 8.

Last post.



The lost in Space robot is at most of the shows.



Do they really think people are going to drive these tiny cars?



R2D2 also is at most of the shows.



Now we're talking. 3D laser printer. When I first heard about these - I thought it was complete bullshit. But I've been tracking them over the years. Here, here and here. They've come down in price, and they are making more items. At this rate - in 5 years, most everyone will have them in their homes.





Maker Faire had some serious merchandising this year.





Kids playing with a create kit. I didn't see iRobot there at all.

Maker Faire '08 Part 7.

I'd never seen this before. Foot long corn dogs. Normal sized ones on the right.



A few months ago Mr S. started sending me weekly links from Tool Monger. At first I thought it was ridiculous. But now I'm hooked. They have a bunch of interesting stuff.



Not a real child.



Remote control tank village.



Says "Need a job". Perhaps the devil on his shoulder might be career limiting. Unless he's going into porn.



Two headed stuffed calf? I don't know why. I just take the pictures.



When nothing else will do but to play a shovel guitar.





Motorised barcalounger.

Maker Faire '08 Part 6.

I'm not into this stuff. But a strange amount of my readers are. So, I took these pictures for you. Because I care!



Guy knits with one side of the sticks. Plays drums with the other side of them. At the same time!






I just thought these were cute. We only know one person with a baby - so we bought them one. It isn't bad that I'm going to put it on my bunnies first. Is it?





I don't know what this stuff was.. but it looked really soft.

Update: Mr S. is observant, and he tells me it was baby camel.



Maybe knitting is becoming faddish too. There was knitting stuff everywhere, and people knitting.