What’s the difference between a MakerBar and a Hackerspace?

In short, there really isn’t one. Think of a Hackerspace as a smaller subsection of the Maker movement- something that is a Hackerspace can also be called a MakerBar, but the reverse isn’t always true. Essentially, a while a MakerBar focuses broadly on any DIY project, a Hackerspace focuses solely on DIY projects involving technology. So, while a MakerBar may include woodworking, a Hackerspace will solely include things like 3D Printing, Laser cutters, programming, digital art, etc.

Where did they come from?

According to Makerspaces, the origins of hackerspaces can be traced back to 1995 Berlin where the world’s first hackerspace, C-Base, was launched. It was originally started as a community for computer programmers to come together and meet, work, and share infrastructure. At the time, “hack” originally referred to making technology do something it wasn’t meant to do. Over time, however, 3D printing and CNC routers became more affordable to the point where these spaces became part of the Maker Movement.

What are the benefits?

There are several benefits to the spread of these spaces. The first was shared among their original founders at C-Base: these spaces create a community. It allows programmers or digital artists to share their interests and ideas with one another in a safe space. It even allows them to collaborate with one another on projects and learn new skills. In a New York Times piece, Mitch Altman, founder of Noisebridge in San Francisco, states of his hackerspace: “It’s a community supporting people in exploring and doing what they love. That’s the main thing, and you can feel it.”

Mr. Dougherty, of Make magazine, echoed the same sentiments on the benefits of hackerspaces. “The big value is community. A hobby starts as a very personal thing. As soon as you express that interest, you begin meeting people who share that interest. It can really help with motivation.”

Not only do Hackerspaces provide a much-needed sense of community to tech workers, but it also saves a lot of them time, money, and space. When the Hackerspace community originally began to spread, they weren’t popping up in rural areas with large houses and plenty of space. They were solely popping up in urban areas. This is because Makers in Urban areas are severely lacking the space to create. The ideal situation is to be able to tinker away in one’s garage, but people in Urban areas like New York City barely have enough living space for themselves, let alone all of their various tools.

A lot of Hackerspaces operate similarly to how a gym will. You can sign up and pay a monthly membership fee for unlimited use of the facility and its tools. This gives a lot of city Makers not only a space to work in, but also access to all of the tools they need without having to actually go out and purchase them themselves.

In addition, these spaces also serve as great networking opportunities for engineers and inventors. They’re great places to meet like-minded individuals and find others to collaborate with. In fact, business-like Pinterest and MakerBot have grown out of Hackerspaces.

Root Access, a hackerspace that runs out of Fresno, CA, it an excellent example of all of these benefits at work. The space is open for members to use freely and they also teach beneficial classes such as Electronic Hobbyist, Intro to Soldering, 3D Printing, and more. Andrew Runner, an employee with Root Access, spoke to us regarding the benefits of Hackerspaces, stating, “We see a group of people that haven’t had a space to meet besides work or tech conferences. People who do net security, robotics, and cutting-edge tech but didn’t have a venue to meet people of shared interests. People gain skills that are obscure and difficult to learn on your own. Our community provides friendly help in a not usually social scene. Jacob Joaquin has dazzled us with his group, Art Code Tech, fusing code and creativity on a monthly basis.”

Along with the Maker Movement itself, these spaces continue to spread through urban and rural areas, bringing a much-needed sense of community, collaboration, and resources along with them. And the owners of these spaces continue to work hard to teach new skills and pass their expertise along to their fellow creative professionals. Say what you will about Hackerspaces and the Maker Movement in general, but they certainly aren’t hacks.

The post Makers and Maker Movements: Hackerspaces appeared first on Inventionland.

Thanks to Belgian industrial designer Tobias Knockaert and his partner Karel Vincke, the Eleventwentyseven’s stainless steel Erembald bike is in production!

As most may know, bicycles can be rather expensive, depending on the brand and the model.  That’s why these two inventors wanted to find a solution to the problem of bicycles that are expensive, mass produced and lack identity.

Their solution was the Erembald bike.

In order to keep the prices down on these bicycles and to add creativity and personality, both inventors utilized the technology of laser cutting to build its frame and then piece it together like a puzzle.

Here’s a closer look at the detail of this innovative bicycle, courtesy of Eleventwentyseven.

Each and every Erembald bike is made-to-order and is custom fit to the specific client.

This means that the bikes are then made with a non-adjustable seatpost and handlebar stem that’s designed to fit that particular person.

Not to mention, thanks to the technology of laser cutting, the person’s name is laser-etched right onto the bike’s frame.

Now, let’s get into the nitty-gritty details of the Erembald bike’s design process.

These bikes are made of tubes that are laser-cut to the size of the specific buyer and include interlocking bits at each end.

Once all of the tubes have been cut, they are then attached by hand and welded together.  To further showcase the capabilities of laser-cutting, the inventors cut a variety of designs out of each tube.

Though this practice does decrease the strength of the steel, it’s compensated for by using thicker-than-normal tubing.

As of right now, the cost of the Erembald bike is $1,700 and both Knockaert and Vincke are planning on releasing 50 single-speed bikes.

Furthermore, they are currently looking into a more cost-and-production-time effective system to better serve future clients.

Copyright Inventionland, 2015

Sources:

https://www.gizmag.com/erembald-laser-cut-bicycle/36526/

https://www.designboom.com/technology/erembald-bicycle-unique-laser-cut-belgium-03-11-2015/

https://interestingengineering.com/erembald-is-a-tailor-made-laser-cut-stainless-steel-bike/

Media:

https://interestingengineering.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/emerbald-laser-cut-bicycle-3.jpg

https://interestingengineering.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/emerbald-laser-cut-bicycle-1.jpg

The post Erembald Bikes: Laser Cutting Toward Innovation appeared first on Inventionland.

In this day and age, as higher-education budgets continue to drop, a group of young entrepreneurs from Betaversity, an education technology company, might have found a solution to this problem with the invention of the BetaBox.

The BetaBox, which is a repurposed 25-foot shipping container, is equipped with prototyping equipment that ranges from 3D scanners and printers to laser cutters.

Each pod, as the company calls them, is built with the idea of creating an environment that encourages entrepreneurial thinking and creativity.

The Betaversity team even went on to say that the BetaBox is “an incubator for innovation and rapid prototyping.”

Though the BetaBox at its core is easily accessible, its design caters to schools, events and institutions.

Now, each BetaBox comes with a Betaversity employee. This doesn’t mean that the person lives inside of the shipping container; it simply means that an employee is assigned to a certain BetaBox to make sure that everything is running smoothly inside.

The space is very inviting, welcoming and clean. The design was meant to take any semblance of intimidation away. The walls of the shipping container are made of white boards that invite free thinking and collaboration.

As of right now, Betaversity has raised $53,000, mostly in grants. It charges $4,000 to $5,000, depending on how far it needs to be shipped, to rent a BetaBox for the week.

Time will tell if Betaversity’s BetaBox is a hit; and, if it is, more shipping containers will be retrofitted and put into the mix for more people to exercise their innovation and creativity!

Here’s a quick video to give you a better look at BetaBox, the mobile prototyping lab!

Copyright Inventionland, 2015

Sources:

https://www.dwell.com/r-and-d/article/betabox-mobile-prototyping-lab-shipping-container

https://www.psfk.com/2015/02/betabox-betaversity-mobile-prototyping-labs.html

Media:

https://bv-dev.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/Duke-BetaBox-23.jpg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CrjmKE2BU70

The post BetaBox: A New Way to Prototype appeared first on Inventionland.

Recently, TIME Magazine released their list of “The 25 Best Inventions of 2014.” While you won’t find any specific products that we designed at Inventionland on TIME’s list, you certainly will recognize some of the technology and innovation behind the products that emerged on top of 2014′s “best invention” ranking.

We’ve selected five of TIME’s 25 that stood out to us for a variety of reasons:

1. The Real-Life Hoverboard

Thanks to Hendo, Marty McFly isn’t the only cool cat you may be able to see soaring through the air on a Hoverboard. For a mere $10,000 (insert gasp here!), a person can levitate for around 15 minutes on a Hendo Hoverboard. It may not be practical just yet, but the Hoverboard technology has the ability to make a greater impact in the world, too. It possibly could to help stabilize buildings during earthquakes or protect other valuables. We’re particularly fond of the Hendo Hoverboard, because it bears a striking resemblance to our auto-industry changing Hover Creeper!

2. 3D-Printed Everything

It is becoming more and more obvious that 3D-printing capabilities are pretty much limitless. From candy to car parts, 3D printers can really do it all. This invention made our list because we can’t get enough of 3D printing at Inventionland, either. Our rapid-prototyping technicians actually are in the process of 3D printing their very own, fully-functioning 3D printer!

3. The Selfie Stick

Although the selfie may never be responsible for curing disease or creating world peace, we’ve got to admit that pretty much everyone with a social media account or a smartphone (which is pretty much EVERYONE!) has taken, at least, one selfie. If you have tried, you know that it is not that easy to take a great shot of yourself. With the invention of the Selfie Stick, capturing those oh-so-necessary poses is much easier!

4. Wrappers You Can Eat

Talk about a packaging solution! Wikipearls are edible wrappers for things like yogurt, cheese and ice cream that you can buy at Whole Foods stores. They’re currently sold in biodegradable bags, but the company’s ultimate goal is to sell them a la carte, like you can buy apples or oranges!

5. Screens that Showcase Digital Art

Like so many other industries today, art has gone digital; and, with the invention of Electric Objects, digital art now can be displayed on the wall. The flat screen as pictured above from The Collective Loop, is wired to display digital art. An accompanying app allows users to change their artwork with just a simple swipe!

These are just five of TIME’s innovative list. See TIME’s entire “The 25 Best Inventions of 2014″ list here.

Copyright Inventionland, 2014

Sources:

https://time.com/3594971/the-25-best-inventions-of-2014/?xid=newsletter-brief

Media:

https://www.schoolgrantsblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/time_logo.gif

https://content.science20.com/files/images/back_to_the_future_ii_hoverboard.png

https://timedotcom.files.wordpress.com/2014/11/best-inventions34.jpg?w=407

https://1.bp.blogspot.com/–vzvnU06bGE/U9uzJyHw43I/AAAAAAAAT7Q/Js–NWsj0aM/s1600/E01.jpg

The post What Topped TIME’s “25 Best Inventions of 2014″ List? appeared first on Inventionland.

The invention that we are talking about combines elements of a desktop circuit printer, laser cutters and 3D printers all into one.

How can FLUX build such a machine? The crème de la crème is found in the modular head that can be swapped out to perform different tasks.  For instance, it can change from a 3D printer to a laser engraver to a 3D scanner.

In short, this means that FLUX’s latest machine is an all-in-one 3D printer.  The machine will be able to scan objects, then transform into a laser cutter/engraver.

Let’s take a better look at what this all-in-one printer can do:

• Modular design– This will allow the user to customize his or her FLUX experience in order to meet their specific needs. The modules are equipped with magnets, which makes interchangeability easy!
• 3D printing– By using high resolution stepper motors to print objects of great quality, the FLUX 3D printer is equipped with three cooling fans that make printing with precision at top speeds plausible without the risk of over-heating.
• 3D scanning– The FLUX comes with a built-in 3D scanner that allows the user to clone 3D objects in a cinch; think of it as a copy machine!
• Laser engraving– This feature allows the user to personalize his or her creation and is the first interchangeable module that can take creativity to the next level.

FLUX’s picture above shows an apple that was scanned and then 3D printed by their machine.

But, aside from the fact that this FLUX invention has the ability to do these jobs through one convenient machine, FLUX, as a company, has more to offer too!

For instance, the company is advertising a 3D modeling system that will allow a user to create a 3D object by drawing a 2D picture!

This will make it easy for people to get their ideas to a 3D printer without having to know everything about 3D modeling.

Here is a quick trailer for the FLUX 3D printer:

As of late, the Kickstarter campaign for FLUX’s all-in-one 3D printer has over $1 million pledged toward the company’s efforts.  Only time will tell what the future of this invention has in store!

Copyright Inventionland, 2014

Sources:

https://gigaom.com/2014/11/11/this-3d-printer-is-also-a-scanner-and-laser-engraver/

https://3dprint.com/27665/flux-3d-printer-million/

https://flux3dp.com/

Media:

https://gigaom2.files.wordpress.com/2014/11/screen-shot-2014-11-11-at-3-43-47-pm.png?w=635&h=212

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l9ZISxSo2X0

The post An In’FLUX’ of Innovation appeared first on Inventionland.

Not only is Pittsburgh our home, it’s also home to another company called Red Ant Lasers, who have invented a new portable laser cutter by the name of the Origami.

We think that this laser cutter is particularly interesting due to its design, which makes it the very first laser cutter with a fold-out arm and no limiting enclosure.

The inventive design of the Origami will enable users to cut almost anywhere they wish with a laser, thanks to this portable cutter solution.

Just as we know it at Inventionland, the inventors of the Origami have said that lasers are versatile tools that allow people to make almost anything with them. In fact, from our Laser Shop, we were able to create the Half N Half Cupcake Pan that was featured on QVC!

This company in particular found a better way to make this type of technology portable. This new invention folds to save space and can be used in a variety of ways, like vertical for walls and windows and horizontal for tables. There isn’t any limiting enclosure, so users have the chance to create great works of art by moving the laser across the work area.

How did the inventors from Red Ant Lasers create the Origami?The versatility of this invention can be credited to its patented folding arm technology and its self-contained ventilation system. This piece of equipment doesn’t require large hoses and other special electrical components. In fact, all that it needs is to be plugged in and you can open the arm and begin your project.

Here’s a better look at the Origami in action!

Copyright Inventionland, 2014

Sources:

https://www.geeky-gadgets.com/the-origami-portable-laser-cutter-with-fold-out-arm-unveiled-22-09-2014/

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1360113357/the-origami-a-portable-folding-arm-laser-cutter

https://www.wired.com/2013/02/laser-origami/

Media:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YqXZhtITTp8

The post The Origami is ‘Cutting’ Edge! appeared first on Inventionland.

Designer Rebecca Stoner was given the task to create a wall feature for York Hospital’s Breast Imaging Department in the Magnolia Centre, which is part of the Cancer Care Centre. She collaborated with the laser cutting and engraving specialists at Cutting Technologies Ltd. to complete this project. Through the usage of a laser-cutter, Stoner created a design of magnolia flower heads, flowers, leaves, butterflies and bird motifs that were cut into the metal. Next, Cutting Technologies Ltd. used their world-class machines to cut out the delicate and intricate designs on mild steel panels. Once the designs were cut, they were then powder-coated in order to give them a cream color. The cream color was used to replicate a lace-like quality that would stand out against the vibrant red hospital walls.

The idea behind this artwork came from the creativity of Stoner, who wanted to create a pattern that was not only bold enough to be seen as people passed by but, when looked at closely, someone could see the great detail of the piece.

Laser cutters can create a variety of objects. Just like a laser cutter allows us to make different prototypes and objects, it also helped an artist turn her creative idea into a beautiful, artistic reality that people enjoy and appreciate on a daily basis.

Copyright Inventionland 2014

Sources:

https://www.industrial-lasers.com/articles/2014/06/laser-cut-artwork-lifts-hospital-patients-spirits.html

Media:

https://rebeccastoner.co.uk/portfolio/magnolia-centre-metal/

The post The Creative Power of Laser Cutters appeared first on Inventionland.