AnnMarie Thomas has just released her book Making Makers: Kids, Tools, and the Future of Innovation. She interviewed many notable makers for this book, including Dean Kamen, Leah Buechley, Luz Rivas, and Nathan Seidle. I’m thrilled to be included in this group of fascinating people. It is available through Amazon for Kindle now, and paper copies are shipping September 25.
Next weekend, September 20-21, we’ll be at Maker Faire New York at the New York Hall of Science. I will be participating in the Making Makers panel on Sunday afternoon at 3:00 on the Make: Live Stage, and Windell will be helping out at the Let’s Make Robots booth and will be bringing along an EggBot Pro.
With all the pumpkin spice jokes flowing around the internet recently, it’s time to remind everyone how easy it is to make your own pumpkin spice flavored things. Way back in 2007, we published a recipe for making your own pumpkin spice chocolate truffles (hint: no pumpkin involved) and you can use the spice blend on anything at all. (Pumpkin spice Raspberry Pi, anyone?)
Bruce B. wrote in to say:
I recently bought one of your Bulbdial clock kits. I just wanted to send a quick note to say that your step-by-step guide was the BEST guide I have ever seen, for anything. I have assembled many an item in my years and instruction sets vary from useless to marginally worthwhile. The Bulbdial guide was amazing! You should publish a step-by-step guide on how to write step-by-step guides :)
Oh, and the clock is amazing as well!
Our good friend AnnMarie Thomas will be on Science Friday today talking about Squishy Circuits. The show broadcasts from 2-4 pm Eastern.
Zener, our full-time shop cat, has discovered an unexpected application for the WaterColorBot. Not certain if we should add “cat bed” to its list of features.
Chuck wrote in to say,
Well, I finally did it. Here is the first ever marriage proposal with an Alpha Clock Five!
(Youtube video here.)
Over on twitter, WaterColorBot co-conspirator Sylvia says,
Oh mah glob guys…I got some new winches for the watercolorbot!! Made of metal peeps!! :D #coraline #watercolorbot
An EggBot is a compact, easy to use art robot that can draw on small spherical and egg-shaped objects. The EggBot was originally invented by motion control artist Bruce Shapiro in 1990. Since then, EggBots have been used as educational and artistic pieces in museums and workshops. We have been working with Bruce since 2010 to design and manufacture EggBot kits, and our well-known Deluxe EggBot kit is a popular favorite at makerspaces and hackerspaces around the world.
Today we’re very proud to release the newest member of the family: the EggBot Pro, a near-complete reimagining of the EggBot, designed for rigidity, ease of use, and faster setup.
The EggBot Pro is as sturdy as can be: Its major components are all solid aluminum, CNC machined in the USA, and powder coated or anodized. (And isn’t it a beauty?)
The most common mechanical adjustments are faster with twin bicycle-style quick releases, and repositioned thumbscrews for easier access.
The frame also has an open front design that gives much better visibility while running, and greatly improved manual access when setting up.
And, it comes built, tested, and ready to use — no assembly required. Assuming that you’ve installed the software first, you can be up and printing within minutes of opening the box.
The EggBot Pro begins shipping this week. We’ve also put together a little comparison chart, so you can see how it fits in with the rest of the family.
