Tag Archives: cutter

What kind of CNC cutter would you recommend?

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I’m only vaguely aware of craft/robo/CNC cutters that aren’t laser cutters.  I don’t want one of those has to use cartridges to give it different preprogrammed cutting patterns – I want to be able to design my own shapes for cutting.  So, I ask you now for your help…

  • Is there a difference between robocutters, craft cutters, hobby cutters, and CNC cutters?
  • What brands are there?
  • How reliable are the various brands?
  • Besides just paper and cardstock, what kinds of materials should they be able to cut?
  • How easy are they to use, program, etc?
  • What kinds of reuseable supplies do they require?  (Blades?)
  • What should I watch out for?
  • What questions should I be asking?
  • What do you use your cutter for?

Have you turned your MakerBot or RepRap into a robo-cutter?

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I’m curious – has anyone out there retrofitted their MakerBot Cupcake CNC, MakerBot Thing-O-Matic, or RepRap1 with a cutting device?  I recall seeing an example of someone creating a laser cutter, but I was particularly interested in whether someone had made a cutting device using a blade.

If so, what kinds of blades did you use?  Did you create your own?  Did you use off-the-shelf replacement parts for a commercial robo-cutter?

  1. Or other DIY 3D printer, for that matter [↩]

Uh, that’s it for now

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I’ve exhausted my cookie cutter ideas for the moment.

With 10cm x 10cm square being about the proper size for a cookie,I would point out that cookie cutters are a really fantastic implementation of a MakerBot print.  So much so that I looked into purchasing “CustomCookieCutters.com.”  Don’t bother – it’s taken.  However, it certainly seems like a viable niche business.

Save the Stoat! Eat a goat!

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Soft-pawed albino stoat of Southern Wales

Soft-pawed albino stoat of Southern Wales

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.

Show me your llamas!

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This llama cookie cutter doesn’t take much plastic to print, especially if you’ve got a heated build platform or are printing in PLA.  The surface area of the part that touches the build platform is so small you might be able to get away with no raft at all.

A few days ago I was explaining to a friend of mine that you can print anything with a MakerBot.  All you need is sufficient time, determination, and plastic. 1  What I would really like to show my friend is how the llama cookie cutter we designed has made it around the world in just a few days.

How about printing a llama cookie cutter and posting a picture?

  1. The prime examples of this would be the cathedral playset and the MakerBot MakerBot [↩]