millingmachine
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We carved a custom bottle opener with the free Easel web app
Inventables' Shapeoko 2 desktop computer controlled (CNC) milling machine just got a whole lot more attractive. The company's new Easel tool is a free design and fabrication web app designed for the $650 open-source kit, which launched last October. The new duo will enable you to design objects in 2D with a real-time 3D preview, then "print" your creation using a USB-equipped CNC milling machine (such as the Shapeoko) with wood, plastic or soft metal. Best of all, Inventables has whipped up an interface so straightforward even an Engadget editor could figure it out. Creating designs, such as the bottle opener we tossed together is a simple drag and drop affair, and requires no prior experience. While you should be able to design basic objects in less than five minutes, assembling a Shapeoko can take considerably more time. Fortunately, Zach Kaplan happened to have one ready to go, so we caught up with the Inventables CEO to try out the new cloud-based design tool here at SXSW.
Roland's iModela 3D milling machine: it's a crafty tool
3D printing. Sure, that's pretty neat, but there are other ways to make three dimensional objects at home. Roland's new iModela, for example, is an "affordable" ($899) digital hobby mill that can carve 3D shapes, jewelry, textures and prototypes out of balsa wood, foam, modelling wax and plastics. Projects definitely need to be more on the petite side, but the 3.39inch x 2.17inch x 1.02inch milling area should be good for a wide range of small craft creations. The iModela comes with all the cutting tools, software and materials you need to get started, but if you've already been tinkering with ideas, there's also compatibility with other "popular" CAD software. Want to get making right away? Tap the source, or hit the PR after the break for more info.
CNC machine carves dot drawing portraits for your living room walls
Fancy seeing your mug enlarged to halftone-processed heights? You're in luck, because Finnish modder Metalfusion has a homebrew solution for those Wall Street Journal-style hedcut delusions. Using a specially designed image conversion program, the DIY hobbyist tranforms .jpg, .gif or .png files into DXF-formatted dot patterns of varying density. The resulting images are then fed directly into a CNC machine where a drill is left to make the wood-carved magic happen. Need some visual confirmation of this awesome feat, then head past the break for a video demo of this old-timey optical illusion.
