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For this class we write weekly blogs on a variety of topics that have to do with 3D printing.

Blog 1: Thingiverse

We had to explore around on Thingiverse and find different items.

An item that is amazing/beautiful

Here is a marble machine that is powered by a small electric motor. I find this marble machine pretty amazing because of its creativity. I don't think it does anything particularly useful, but it is a good example of a fun projected that can be created with a 3D printer. Source

An item that is funny or strange

Seeing a printed version of the Mac OSX trash bin made me laugh. This is one of many designs I found that have little practical uses, but are incredibly intricate. I suppose it would make an interesting paper weight though. This was also a top contender for the next category: An item that is useless. Source

An item that is useless

Here is a miniature Nintendo (notice the size of it compared to the penny). No matter how cool a super tiny Nintendo looks I can't think of it could be used for. I also find it interesting that it is made out of 8 different parts. Again I'm impressed by the complexity of things that seem useless to me. Source

An item that is useful

Here is an earbud case designed for easy storage of earbuds. This is one of many items that I wanted to print immediately after I saw it. This earbud case makes me excited about additive manufacturing because it gives people the opportunity to create products to meet their needs. Source

An item that surprised me

I never would have thought about making a gum machine out of printed parts. This is something that gets me thinking about how many industries 3D printing will impact in the future. It also makes me want some bubble gum. Source

Blog 2: Open Source Blueprints for Civilation

TED Talk Open Source Ecology Wiki

A) What is your general impressions of the OSE project?

The Open Source Ecology Open Source Ecology project was creating to design and build the machines necessary to start a civilization by sharing and building off of each others ideas. I like the idea of the OSE project because of the need for it. During his TED talk, Marcin talks about the financial difficulties he experienced as a small scale farmer. I live on a small farm in Lancaster PA that my grandfather and now my uncle Farm. I have seen the financial struggles firsthand. The newest and greatest equipment is too expensive for these small farmers to afford, so they need to buy used equipment. My uncle uses two tractors that were made in the mid 1950's and they constantly need repaired.

The start-up costs alone were enough to discourage me from wanting to farm at a young age. But the OSE project gives me hope that small farms will once again become profitable. I love that you can build the tools that you need and make changes to them when necessary. In This Video Marcin talks about building tools that can replicate themselves (He even gives a shout-out to REP RAP).

I am excited to see where this project goes in the next few years. I hope that more and more people contribute to the project to keep making the design of the machines better and better. Hopefully someday soon it won't be uncommon to see someone plowing a field with a tractor they built.

B) The New Yorker magazine recently had a fairly critical article regarding Marcin's OSE project. Find/link that article and summarize its critique. Marcin had a response to that: I'd like your response to both of these pieces.

The New Yorker magazine recently wrote an article about the OSE project called THE CIVILIZATION KIT. They talked a lot about Marcin's philosophy about OSE and the living conditions at his farm.

C) Imagine we want to create capabilities similar to what Marcin has made at PSU (something like an OSE student club, or another effort). I don't think the administration or trustees would support such a thing, but there might be professors who are interested in supporting such a thing. Do you know any of them? What do they do, and why do you think they would be interested in such a project? Imagine you are looking for allies to do such a thing. Whom is on your list and why?