THE INVENTABLES WORKSHOP

A new temporary maker lab has appeared in Chicago! Inventables team member Michael Una visited the GE Garages pop-up maker space and offers his review:

Entering this space is like walking into a future space egg laboratory. There's a ton of natural light, a chill lounge area with comfy mod chairs, and a living wall of plants. Oh, and pretty much every digital fabrication machine you'd ever want to make things with.


When I arrived, Inventables' Edward Ford was showing the staff how to run the big ShapeOko CNC mill he had built specially for the space. Edward's been building variations on this design for a while and it shows. This machine should work well for all the workshops and projects going on all month.


 The tools are well-placed and inviting, with lots of informative signage and ample staff to answer questions. I liked how there were lots of reference materials and example pieces on hand to show off each machine's capabilities.


I spotted a legion of these lit…

Amongst the mayhem of New York Fashion Week, Inventables' own Lucy Silverman tucked into the iconic Chelsea Market to take a breather, grab a bite, and get building at 3rd Ward's Make 'n' Take Pop-up space.



3rd Ward is an educational and inspirational mecca for artists, designers, hobbyist, makers, and DIY-enthusiasts alike. It is the go-to place for learning through making. They have classes varying from 3D rendering to cheese making. In addition to their diverse and unique curriculum, 3rd Ward provides its members with both a community and resources to create. Think of it as a gym for creativity. 
From September 9th to 15th they set-up shop, quite literally, in the ground floor of Chelsea Market to give the public a taste of the 3rd Ward experience.


Upon entering, participants are immediately overtaken with the spirit of making.  To the left, six lathes hummed away while instructors demonstrated possible take-away projects. Sawdust flew, revealing wooden tops, candle…

The Industrial Design Society of America (IDSA) is a non-profit association of professional designers.  Each year their big event is their annual conference.  At the 2013 event Inventables teamed up with Paul Hatch the conference chair, Computer Aided Technologies, Stratasys, Models Plus, and The 3D Printer Experience to put on a 3D printed pine wood derby contest called Launch Day. 
The race was captured by 6 cameras strategically mounted around the track.  We even had one camera at the top of the track and one in the crash zone getting slow motion coverage of the action.

Models Plus built a 6' track that was modeled after a Ski Jump.  The purpose of the contest was to give Industrial Designers the chance to really flex their design muscles with 3D printing technology.  In addition since this years design conference theme was "Breaking the Rules" we opened up the entries to designers from all over the world. This meant you didn't need to be in the IDSA and you didn&…