The Makerbot CupCake CNC machine from Makerbot Industries is on the market. The kits are now available for home hobbyists to build their own CNC machines.

For people who might not know, the Makerbot CNC is a 3-D printer, or for lack of a better analogy–an EasyBake™ “CupCake” oven for geeks.

CupCake CNC
I am an open, hackable robot for making nearly anything.
Overview
The basic structure of a MakerBot is:

A 3D positioning system.
A toolhead that does work.
Electronics to drive it.
As the CupCake CNC is a MakerBot, it contains all of these elements. The 3D positioning system is a standard cartesian (X,Y,Z) system. In our particular configuration, the build platform moves in the X and Y directions and toolhead is mounted on the Z stage which moves up and down. The X and Y axes are belt driven, and the Z axis is screw driven.

The owner has to build the CNC from a kit, and each kit comes with all the parts that are required, minus tools:

This particular kit comes with:

* The lasercut parts to assemble a CupCake CNC machine.
* 3 x NEMA 17 motors to drive your machine
* The nuts, bolts, and various hardware to assemble it.
* The belts and pulleys for it to move things around.
* All the bearings to make your machine nice and smooth.
* The highest quality precision ground shafts for the X and Y axes we could find.
* Fully assembled 3rd Generation Electronics to drive it better, faster, and stronger.
* A magnetized, detachable build platform to make removing your finished prints easier.
* A pinch-wheel Plastruder to make things in plastic with.
* 1lb of ABS plastic to get you started printing.
* Allen keys to make it easy to put together

The “Deluxe Kit” adds the following for $200 US more:

Additionally, we include lots of extras to make your kit building experience easier:

* a USB2TTL cable to talk to it
* cat5e cables to wire things up
* a standard ATX power supply
* a tools kit with all the hex keys, wrenches, and other bits you need to construct it.
* a full 5lbs of ABS plastic so you can print your heart out (in addition to the 1lb of ABS)
* an extra acrylic build surface, and a spare build platform
* SD card to buffer your prints

The basic process to print a 3-D object is:

1. Find or design a 3D model (.STL) of your thing.
2. Use Skeinforge to convert your STL into a GCode file.
3. Use ReplicatorG to run the GCode and build the thing.

At the moment, the CupCake CNC requires some specialized skills, though there seems to be a lot of supportive posts and papers available as resources.

There is even a “Bluetooth to Serial” kit that can be adapted so that the maker can just “print” in 3-D.

What I wonder about is:

I have more questions but I feel kind of overwhelmed by them at the moment.

Summary: CNC CupCake in your house. You can now, with about a 1k investment, make your own plastic things.

Trend (from The Graduate):

Mr. McGuire: I want to say one word to you. Just one word.
Benjamin: Yes, sir.
Mr. McGuire: Are you listening?
Benjamin: Yes, I am.
Mr. McGuire: Plastics.

If you are collecting data, what are you doing with it?

What does it tell you?

How do you use it?

Does your data save money, resources, time, and/or lives?

Does it contribute to innovation?

This is the story of clipper ships, the Navy and Matthew Maury, a man who by thinking differently about data, managed to create innovative tools that forever changed the shipping industry and in turn, the global economy.

On Saturday, I received a surprise gift in the mail: The Race,a book on non-stop global circumnavigation high-speed yacht racing.

The Race starts out at a fast pace, complete with rogue ice and giant waves. Its thrilling right from the start.

Then, it abruptly shifts, to the history of ocean crossings. Specifically, the history of technological improvements that enabled faster and faster ocean crossings.

In the mid-nineteenth century, global trade between China, England, Australia and the United States was exploding. Clipper ships represented the pinnacle of transportation technology of the time. Tea, employment, travel, commodities and all else were in demand. It was up to the clippers to safely and swiftly deliver the goods.

Prior to the clipper, ships were twice as slow. It could take four or five months for a transport ship to complete a 15,500 mile voyage. The clipper could complete that voyage in 74 days, or roughly half the time.

With their speed, the technologically superior clipper ships drove commerce. The only way for the clippers to gain speed on their journeys, was for the captains and crew to press the ships to perform as fast as they were capable by pushing the technology as far as it could go (e.g.full sails at all times and less rest for the crew to keep going 24/7.).

(Sound familiar?)

This provided for incremental increases, but did not provide any real innovation for dramatic improvements until the sailor Matthew Maury figured out a new way to analyze and synthesize naval data.

According to The Race:

In 1839 a Navy man, Matthew Maury broke his leg. While he convalesced, Maury managed to write under a pseudonym, a series of articles criticizing the Navy’s position on various controversial topics. Unfortunately, the articles irritated the Navy’s higher ranks.

When his identity was revealed, the Navy appointed Maury to the Depot of Charts and Instruments, the archive that contained all of the Navy’s warship logs and navigational instruments.

The logs contained daily, and sometimes hourly reports of ships’ tracks and locations as well as observations about winds, currents, and other ocean phenomena.”

No one had used this data.

It had sat there.

For years.

In fact, the book goes on to say that they almost sold the archive logs for scrap paper. But they didn’t. They Navy kept them and when Maury was in charge:

Maury realized the value of the logs and quickly he, and his staff, first collated the logs by area and then converted them into pictorial representations of the currents, average wind speeds, and wind directions experienced by U.S. Navy ships over the routes they had sailed since the service’s inception.

Maury assembled these pictorial representations into easily readable charts, using arrows of various sizes to depict average wind speeds, strengths, and directions of specific locations during different seasons of the year.

Maury’s first Wind and Current Charts were produced in 1847. They were accompanied by an explanation and analysis that came to be called Sailing Directions.

At first Sailing Directions was only offered to US Navy ships, but a few commercial captains began to request copies–one being Captain Jackson, of the W.H.D.C. Wright, who used Sailing Directions for a trip from Baltimore to Rio de Janeiro in 1848. Jackson returned more than a month ahead of schedule.

Word of his journey spread and the first edition print of Sailing Directions was for 5,000 copies. They were given away, and the recipients were asked to complete an abstract log that Maura had designed. (Maury wisely used the new logs to reincorporate data into future versions.)

The most stunning statistic from The Race:

by 1854 Maury’s Sailing Directions was saving American Ships $2.5 million a year and the global fleets perhaps more than $10 million a year.

Maury’s story is a terrific example of great data interpretation, innovation and application.

Sailing Directions not only provided captains with a better user interface of the ocean–it also changed the way they thought about navigation. It enabled them to learn from the logs and patterns of others before them, to not repeat dangerous and costly navigation mistakes.

Maury and his team had to filter piles and piles of data–coding, sorting, mapping, and analyzing it, to come up with the meaningful data, that created the guide. If Maury hadn’t been a sailor himself, he might not have known to value the data, or the contexts in which it would be helpful.

The Naval data was disregarded for years because no one was able, or wanted to, or thought of how to interpret it in a meaningful way. The Navy dutifully collected the data and then abandoned it to their archives.

In my opinion, data isn’t worth much to collect, unless something meaningful and useful can be done with it.

Don’t get me wrong: I’m all for data collection, but I’m opposed to data stagnation.

Trend: We’ve got some great data that is likely just as buried as the Navy’s. How can we think differently about data analysis?

A few posts ago, I wrote about “Inconspicuous Consumption” — the idea that people will still consume, if they have the cash, but will try to be stealthy about it and not show off labels and brands.

I think that the next trend regarding consumer goods is “Brand Dilution.”  With the economic situation the way it is, all kinds of luxury goods have been going on sale at rock bottom prices. We’re talking 70% at Saks Fifth Avenue.  The New York Times wrote an article this week describing the sales in detail. When these branded “luxury” goods go on this deep of a discount, do they lose their brand appeal and cachet?

In my opinion, some of the goods, like those made by Prada, have diminished in quality in recent years. Oh their runway couture is pretty well made, but the bags are really just a way to make money off the brand. The bags at 70% off, are finally being sold at their real value.

But the difference with these current sales is that both poorly made “branded” goods and actually well made “luxury” goods are all on the sale block.

If one pays less for something branded as a “luxury” good and it goes on super sale, does the brand still have status?

Trend: For ultimate status, we’re going to be looking beyond the ability to select and purchase from a high end “brand.” Those days are over. Maybe education will become the new status.

Well human nature is human nature. Now Americans have shifted from using their homes as ATM’s, to expecting the goverment to be one. The banking and auto industries have lined up for treats, after having tricked themselves and the American public. Now some cities, and even a public school are all petitioning for “bailout” money.

Britney Spears’ “Womanizer” is a catchy pop tune on its way to being a end of year surprise hit. My Trends take on it, besides the catchy tune, is that is symbolizes what we are looking for right now, and where we are: in the realm of wanting authenticity.

Britney sings about a man who is a Womanizer and who doesn’t fool her with his ways. She sees right through him, she knows “just, just, what you are.” 

Witness the man throwing the shoe at President Bush.

After the current financial crisis, real estate crisis, and private sector and government transgressions–there is a great desire for honesty, for authenticity, and for wanting to know exactly what something is or is not.

Like it or not, the timing of this song is spot on.

Trend: Authenticity.

Well, there is finally a QVC home shopping channel for the digerati: Honeyshed.

Honeyshed is a website where people can sign up to belong to a community of people who buy online merchandise that is being demonstrated live by what I am calling the “honey” part of the name. The wares are modeled by young ladies and young gentlemen who talk for long periods of time about each item. There are several “channels” of merchandise to look at that have long commercials/sales pitches of the items.

It seems to me to be a mashup of infomercials and the teen stores at the mall with a touch of Las Vegas stylin’ thrown in for decoration.

I’ll have to add to this piece when I can decode a bit more of what it means.

Trend: Honeyshed is trying to really flip the model of internet to be constantly streaming television advertising/titillation. The product on offer seems to be the flirty young men and women smiling and talking effortlessly (and effervescently) about whatever Honeysh*t is on offer. Run away.

Halloween has come and gone, but the really scary stuff is just getting started. For the record,  I’m not talking about friendships here, I’m talking about strangers. 

Lately, I’ve noticed a trend of people needing to tell each other scary stories. Its sort of like the whole nation is being traumatized and the way that they are dealing with it is to “share the scare” with others. In this way, they are holding the “scare hot potato” for a moment, until they pass it along to the next unsuspecting soul.

No one seems to ask how we’re doing, without getting some terrible traumatic story in reply. I haven’t met anyone lately who replies with a “great, thanks for asking” or “couldn’t be better!” or even a “fine thank you.”  Its as if the polite query of “how are you?” has somehow become the magic key to open the floodgates of whatever trauma, drama or problem is plaguing the person given the polite query.

As a culture, are we past the point of “fine, thanks, and you?”  

If we are seeing others rewarded for airing their disasters online, in the press or on TV, have we become collectively conditioned to do the same with hope of the same reward?

Since when did it become the norm to tell strangers your deepest fears?

Trend: Fine thanks is going away. For whatever reason, the collective conscious of the American public has no qualms about telling strangers how awful things are for them. If you are going to use “How are you?” with a stranger, brace yourself–the reply might be more frightening than you expected.

With Obama winning the election and entering the White House in January 2009, I think that fashion is going to pick up the pace and echo the cooperative and integrated sentiment of the times.

Look for black and white together to make a comeback. Checks, houndstooth, and/or black and white stripes will all be popular Blue may also feature in fashion–as thousands of democrats subconsciously wear their colors. 

Another influence will be Africa. Look for African color pallets, patterns and small details in clothing in the coming seasons. Maybe Fall 2009 or Spring 2010. If they can shift their focus before production, we might see it in Spring 2009.

I think the trend will continue in music. Look for Ska and mixed Reggae bands to make a Two-Tone comeback. 

Trend:  cooperation, unity, and merging of cultures, races and ideas. Look for it in black and white fashion, patterns, music and African themes woven into existing trends.

So the downside of all this conservation of resources–the downside of “Reduce, Reuse and Recycle” is something that I’m calling “Ecorexia.” These are the people that take extreme measures in their conservation. The ones that reuse plastic bags for a year, or don’t use any heat in the winter. The ones who channel their OCD into the new trend, by disguising their depravation as conservation.  It isn’t conservation, its depravation. In your quest to do right by the planet, beware the siren call of ecorexia.

Trend: Ecorexia–the disorder of “extreme” conservation.

During the past few weeks, I attended two different concerts: Neil Diamond and David Byrne. Both fringe “boomer” bands and both interesting to me for different reasons. Neil Diamond’s concert seemed heavily weighted towards Baby Boomers and their parents, while David Byrne’s seemed to attract Baby Boomers and their children.

Both concerts addressed the human condition. Neil Diamond took it in a spiritual direction, while David Byrne asked a lot of questions. Both performers used African rhythms, African-Americans or just Africans and back up singers. The sound flavor of Africa is primal, early to our roots as humans (in my belief system anyway) and for the themes of the human condition, soundly comforting.

Neil’s take on the human condition was to address it within the framework of salivation. He began with the energy and pop of his younger material. “Sweet Caroline” was sung with extra choruses to insure that everyone in the audience had a chance to see and hear him sing it–and also to drive home the point that “good times never seemed so good.” Midway through the show, Neil took us down to the bottom of the arc where he became the “Solitary Man” and his duet partner told him “You Don’t Bring Me Flowers Anymore.”

After taking us to the depths of solitary despair, Neil talked to the audience about being spiritual, being a man of “the Lord” and of his country, and sang a spiritual song, followed by ”America in Blue Jeans” with the latter song featuring projected images of the World Trade Center, the American flag, immigrants and the Statue of Liberty. This emotion was capped with a rousing ”Brother Love’s Traveling Salvation Show,” which delivered us from a solitary state and from the trials of immigration into a revival tent. It sort of seemed like he was telling a life story of someone who had suffered and then “saved” in some way.

Neil’s story likely works for the parents of boomers who are immigrants who came here and made their own way, who feel a certain bond with America and who had Neil Diamond songs providing the soundtrack for their lives.

David Byrne took us on a different journey. Byrne and his entire ensemble wore white–as if they were already in heaven or some sort of clean place. Byrne’s hair is a shock of white as well which made him blend in with the crowd of peers who had come to see him with their adult children. As he sang, three dancers, all younger people, interacted with him during the performance. It was sort of like watching an old man ducking younger people on the sidewalk or in the park as they skidded under his legs, leapfrogged over him, and spun him around. Throughout this, he just kept playing his music, doing his thing.

The story in Byrne’s show was similiar, though the nostalgic hits were interspersed with current material–a collaboration with Brian Eno. The Eno pieces were obvious, as he has a signature to his work that changes rhythm from the energy of the early Talking Heads material. The arc was different in this case. He moved us from the urgent energy of the early Talking Heads, towards a more laid back and curious mindset. Then the build took us to “Burning Down the House.” Byrne didn’t seem to be seeking “Salvation,” he seemed to be getting “ready to rumble” with the human condition.

In preparation, Byrne surrounded himself with a cacophony of trickers to stave off the inevitable. The finale to Byrne’s performance was an surprise performance by The Extra Action Marching Band. The Extra Action marching band is from San Francisco. This quote is from their website:

The Extra Action Marching Band is a collision of big band and ecstatic turmoil. Despite their name they rarely march, but rather shimmy, crawl, mob and charge. Trumpets pounce like eagles and tubas drip ass-bouncing blurps from fat fingers. Drums shudder under wild eyed and white knuckled drummers, and through it all winds the flag team; glittering and sinuous creatures who masterfully pulsate pom-poms in a hypnotic fantasy. The listener is hoodwinked, soaked, and savaged into giddy abandon.

Powerful and empowering, the Extra Action Marching Band seduces the pre-civilized will. They are immediate and visceral – more of a sweaty invitation than a show. They are a parody of idioms with shattering volume – guerrilla theater with the rug rolled up…

As the sound boils into a spinning crossfire, sweat and flying hair tangle in a delicious knot. Audience and band submit together, to each other, to the whim and fancy, to satisfaction. Irresistible.

I don’t know about you, but “dancing towards empowerment” is more of my kind of salvation.

Trend: We’re all on the path. The real question is “Which way do you want to travel?”