Now that low-cost 3D printing is really on the rise, increasingly complex projects like this stunning execution of a 2D positioning system are becoming more common.  The implications of this low-metal setup are pretty huge, especially for the RepRap, but what gets me is how this complex machine is now part of the Creative Commons.  As personal fabrication becomes more popular, open designs like this one will raise the baseline functionality of, well, just about everything.

Parametric GCoding can still beat even CSG on some specific problems, like these snowflakes!  I absolutely love that with a 3D printer you can now automatically and randomly generate such delicate and gorgeous designs!

The gang who does the Radar series over at Babelgum came by the BotCave and made this video. They used Nikon d90’s and it turned out beautiful! Go to their site and check it out big.

Another brutally difficult week to chose the best entry– Thingiverse is becoming a real treasure trove of design!

This hinge makes use of the feedstock itself as a pin.  Designs which rely on a few hardware-store-available parts to do really amazing things are great, but any time we learn how to squeak by with one less bit of external parts is a solid win.

Wow! It’s been way too long since I had a chance to do a Thingiverse Thursday. This one isn’t super impressive, but I got some things in that I’ve had on my list for a while:

* Thingiverse login / comment integration. We upgraded to JS-Kit Pro which means we can take advantage of their custom site login integration. That means that if you’re logged into thingiverse, then any comments show up as being from you. Awesome! Of course if you’re not logged in, you can post anonymously or use openid.

* New login screen. A while back, I saw this cool login idea called Chroma Hash. The idea is to give you visual feedback on your password as you type so you can make sure you entered it correctly. It hashes your password into three colored bars based on the text. No more wondering if you typed your password in correctly or not!

* Parts system update. Added a couple fields to the inventory system to let you keep track of the cost and the value of your stuff in inventory. Eventually you’ll be able to get a report of how much its worth and stuff. This is a feature for MakerBot so we can keep track of how much crap we have. Yay!