Vermont Rapid Prototyping

Providing rapid prototyping services to inventors and businesses.

Preparing for Champlain Maker Faire 2013

Last year was the first Champlain Maker Faire.  No one really knew what to expect, least of all me.  I went with everything I had ever made, perhaps 15 or 18 separate projects.  A canoe.  Guitars. Stirling engines. LED light controllers.  The pPod. Magnetic spin toys....

Using 3D Printed Jigs with My Mill

The washers used as touch switches with the LED game require that a wire be soldered to their undersides.  That wire has to then feed through the hole which was pre-printed in the button.  Locating the solder point was critical. I took the 3D model for the button and...

Getting Creative with 3D Printing

It is amazing to be able to download a 3D model, print the part, and be able to use it, in a matter of a few hours, but creating something from scratch is more rewarding and enabling. I downloaded and printed this red wire shield to prevent the wire bundle from...

3D Printing Complex Parts

While the low end 3D printers (like the ones that I have) cannot print arbitrary shapes (they need a fairly broad base to stick to the printer bed during printing), they can print shapes that would challenge normal manufacturing techniques. One example may be found...

Magnetic Spin Toys, Take Two

I brought some home-made magnetic spin toys to the Champlain Maker Faire last year, and they were a real hit with the kids. This was before I purchased my first 3D printer, so the only fabrication approach I could take was cutting disks out of plexiglass and...