cookie cutter – MakerBlock

New Print: Soft-Pawed Albino Stoat of South Wales Cookie Cutter [07/07/2010]

[It’s been a fun ride going through my backlog of drafts. I’ve published several and have literally hundreds more to go! Early 2010’s was a wild time for MakerBot, 3D printing, and the associated communities. There were several people who were regulars on the MakerBot forums as well as in the comments section of this blog. Before I was using OpenSCAD, I was making use of Sketchup which was an incredibly user friendly interface, was great as a “surface” modeling program, but kinda meh at making watertight solids. Back in these days you could literally read every single 3D printing related blog post, article, and watch every news piece in just a few minutes per day and even go a few days between any kind of major updates. Someone coming up with a new printer, completing their build, or just developing something new was big news. And, if you published some kind of nonsense blog such as my own, the comments and models that spin out of them would be a bit of fun for a few days. Essentially published as-is, with the exception of one grammatical correction.]

Designed in California, printed in New England a few hours later.

I actually learned a fair bit from my llama cookie cutter. This time I designed in Sketchup, ran through a polygon reduction plugin, exported through a Sketchup STL exporting plugin, and fixed the STL in NetFabb before uploading to Thingiverse.

Drafts Zero - The Lost Blog Posts

OpenSCAD Club Cookies

@raster wanted to make cookie cutters. This has been something of a solved problem for about 12 years now, through Thingiverse’s Cookie Cutter Customizer. Except, it’s been totally non-functional for probably a decade now. :(

My solution is basically to make a solid for the thin brim + tall cutting edge and then subtract the original SVG shape. I tried it with each of @raster’s SVG’s for the teddy bear, cloud, hexagon, and pacman and they seem to work. Anyhow, here’s the code I wrote instead of doing the work my employer pays me to do:

//  Settings
    $fn = pow(2,7);
    nozzleD = 0.4;
    th = nozzleD*pow(2,2);
//  Measurements
    cutterH = 15;
    cutterW = 10;


cutter() import("TeddyBear.svg");

module cutter()
    {
    difference()
        {
        union()
            {
            //  Thin, tall cutter wall
            linear_extrude(height=cutterH, center=false)
                offset(r=th)
                children();
            //  Wide, short cutter holder
            linear_extrude(height=th, center=false)
                offset(r=cutterW)
                children();
            }
        //  Cutting out the shape
        linear_extrude(height=cutterH*3, center=true)
            children();
        }
    }

Should we have a club motto? I vote for “Vive la différence!”

#OpenSCADClub

New Design: Sonic Screwdriver

Those of you who are not fans of Doctor Who may want to just skip this post.

In any case, what I’d really like to do is to design and print a life-size model of a sonic screwdriver. Ideally it would have a spot for inserting an LED, space for a battery, switch, and be able to extend just as the one in the TV show.

Until then, here’s a sonic screwdriver cookie cutter.

Save the Stoat! Eat a goat!

I must admit, until very recently I was completely unaware of the plight of the soft-pawed albino stoat of Southern Wales.

The story of these gentle weasels is a sad one indeed. Once these stoats roamed the great plains of the Serengeti in herds so vast the sound of their collective padded footsteps was deafening.

But, highly prized and sought after for their sweet sweet tears these animals were hunted to the brink of extinction. Even in this modern age there is a brisk underground black market trade for sad stoats. Now, this once ubiquitous creature has been moved to the endangered species watch list by the combined efforts of a pharamecutical industry bent upon creating ever more potent drugs for keeping these animals on the brink of despair and a growing demand for stoat tacos fueled by a surge in molecular gastronomy.

If not for the Great Stoat Conservatory in South Wales, the soft-pawed albino Stoat would have all but vanished from the face of the Earth. Here at GSCSW these ermines are protected from poachers where it is hoped their numbers may recover… in time.

Thank you to DaveD for bringing my attention to this fascinating mammal.

So, please take the time to make some of these delicious stoat cookies and remind your friends to save the stoat and eat a goat.