Digital MsBehaviour (+video)
Written by
Helen Baxter puts her digital spin on the traditional column with the all new Multimedia MsBehaviour Files! Her first monthly file looks at the maker, crafter and hacker spaces across New Zealand, including 2D laser-cutting and 3D printing for digital designers.
Watch the animated clip, listen to the podcast or read the show notes.
* * *
Make, Craft, Print
Maker spaces are growing in popularity, bringing hackers, crafters, and creators together to share tools and skills. Urban zones are sprouting knitted or crocheted overlays, embedded with Arduino open-source electronics for interactive creations. Old skool crafts are being given a geek twist, with knitted robots, crocheted computers or games characters immortalised in cross stitch.
Christchurch
Slip was a collaborative crochet & knit project where electro-luminescent dragonflies and crocheted vines with LEDs decorated trees as part of the Christchurch Arts Festival.
You can learn how to fuse hardware, software and electronics with crafts such as knitting, sewing and crochet at the Christchurch Creative Space, on Sundays and Wednesdays at 200 Armagh St (pics & people).
Wellington
Auckland's Co-Lab is a partnership between Auckland University of Technology & MIC Toi Rerehiko, to make an inter-disciplinary creative technology centre in central Auckland.
2D Laser-cutting
Designers with digital skills can take advantage of the new wave of 2D laser cutting & 3D printing services. Kiwi company Ponoko.com offers laser cut designs in materials such as card, felt, acrylic, bamboo, hardboard or mdf.
3D Printing
You can even design and sell 3D printed objects through Shapeways.com, which offers prints in a range of plastics as well as stainless steel.
3D printers are coming onto the market for under $10,000 and 3D sculpting tools such as ZBrush.com export models in 3D print-friendly formats.
Desktop Factories
Fabbaloo blogs news on commercial and open source 3D Printers, and a desktop printer in every home may be closer than we think.
Vyomesh Joshi, Executive Vice President of Imaging & Printing at Hewlett Packard said recently that HP has "interesting" 3D printing experiments in their labs.
"...you will see it in the next 2-3 years."
Fablabs
FabLabs grew out of a project at MIT’s Center for Bits and Atoms into a worldwide network of spaces for design, rapid prototyping and manufacture.
RepRaps
The open-source Reprap programme is working towards creating a self-replicating machine which can be used for rapid prototyping, and 3D print manufacturing.
As the Guardian says the RepRap project has been referred to as:
"the invention that will bring down global capitalism, start a second industrial revolution and save the environment..."
Listen to the audio podcast or watch the animated video clip below.
Produced by Mohawk Media.