Make:cast

Make: books editor, Patrick DiJusto talks 3D Printing with the authors of Getting Started with 3D Printing, Liza Wallach Kloski and Nick Kloski. Liza and Nick run HoneyPoint3D, which started in 2012 as a small 3D printing shop in Northern California. Explaining 3D printing to many people was the motivation for them to write this book, whose first edition came out in 2016 and is just now updated in a second edition. This conversation is a chance to look at what's changed in the world of 3D printing over the last ten years. While the hype has died down around 3D printing, there are more people doing 3D printing than ever. During the pandemic, makers demonstrated how you can use 3D printing to do on-demand manufacturing and meet local needs. If you haven't yourself started 3D printing, now is a great time, especially with this practical, hands-on book. The printers are easier to use and the software is easier to learn.

You can buy a copy of the book in print or PDF at https://www.makershed.com/products/make-getting-started-with-3d-printing-2nd-edition-pdf. You can also order the book on Amazon - https://www.amazon.com/Getting-Started-Printing-Hands-Ecosystem-dp-1680456431/dp/1680456431/ref=dp_ob_title_bk

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Mark Zalme had an idea how to organize everything in clear jars that could be mounted on pegboard in his garage in Asheville, North Carolina. Over 3-4 years, he developed this idea into a product called WallWerx, a workspace organizing system. In this episode, we talk about Mark's product but we also learn about the process he went through to prototype, manufacture, assemble and distribute that product. This process wasn't easy, and a lot of what happened along the way was unexpected; a lot of trial and error. He is working on finding ways to market this new product. "I've got a lot of high level people telling me this is a viable product," he said. "But I just don't know."

For more info and photos, visit https://makezine.com/2021/04/28/everything-in-its-own-jar/

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A new book out April 20 looks at the learning science that Fred Rogers used to develop an understanding of the "inner needs of children" and then construct Mister Rogers' Neighborhood to reflect those needs. The book is called "When You Wonder, You're Learning" and its authors, Gregg Behr and Ryan Rydzewski who are with the Grable Foundation in Pittsburgh, are my guests on this episode of Make:cast. We talk about the ideas behind the work of Fred Rogers and why they are still relevant for today's learners and young makers.

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As a result of a $50 million grant to the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) in 2017, the Maker Library & Innovative Learning Complex of the Future is under construction on campus. The new $17.5 million building will house a makerspace open to all students. The man behind the largest donation ever to RIT is Austin McChord, an entrepreneur from Connecticut who has a surprising success story. In this conversation with him, I learned that he wasn't the best student in high school or college. He had his own ideas, which he worked on while not doing his homework. He started a company after graduating from RIT because he didn't think anyone would hire him. At least the business didn't fail, and ten years later, the company became the first "unicorn" in Connecticut. After selling the business, Austin made the donation to his alma mater. He also started the Norwalk Havoc Robot League (NHRL).

For more background, images and excerpts, visit:
https://makezine.com/2021/04/02/makecast-austin-mcchord-episode-16

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"All instruments are inventions and all music is made up -- so make your own using microcontrollers," writes Helen Leigh in Volume 76 of Make Magazine, encouraging people to create and invent musical instruments, as she has.

In this conversation with Helen Leigh, we learn about her upbringing in Wales, how she first learned about electronics at a makerspace in London, why she objects to call herself "self-taught" and her new lab in Portland Oregon. She came from a family that consumed lots of music and her early musical experiences were singing choral music in church in Wales. Her work today still bears the influences of sounds of the high church of her childhood. We talk about why harpsichords went of out fashion and how electronic music got started with pioneers such as Daphne Oram and Delia Derbyshire.

We talk about technology from reel-to-reel tape recorders to synthesizers and to making electronic music with Makey-Makey and the Bela board. Helen is an advocate for people learning how to make their own instruments, to experiment with music and be makers of your own kind of music.

https://makezine.com/2021/03/24/making-new-music-with-helen-leigh

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How do you transform ordinary stuff into meaningful things, even beautiful things? How you make things that don't yet exist, something original rather than a copy? That's the topic of this conversation with New York-based industrial designer, Neil Cohen. |"Some of what I do in my work is making something that starts out one way," he says, "And then when you do something to it, it forms into something else or reveals something else."

Neil is a graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), and after college, he got on a motorcycle going around the country to see what products companies were making. After that tour, he working in Steuben glass factory, exploring ideas in glass-making. He has designed toys, which allowed him to play with shrink wrap and make gargoyles out of Alka Seltzer tablets. He talks about how sometimes it's not the banana, but the banana peel that becomes the thing you make. It's not always what you first set out to do; it's what you discover while doing it.

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David Lang, author of Zero to Maker and co-founder of OpenROV, recently decided to stop doing what he had been doing and begin looking for something new, looking for his next adventure. During a pandemic, it seems hard to think about your next adventure. Yet I suspect that many are thinking about what’s next, and preparing ourselves for a new challenge. David says it's just as scary this time as it was back when he walked into TechShop not knowing anything about being a maker. He seems to be following his interest in science and how scientists can learn from the maker movement. There is a need to encourage participation by more amateur scientists -- people who do science because it is an adventure, rather than a career. Learn more at: https://makezine.com/makecast-find-your-next-adventure

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Jorvon Moss creates companion robots for himself, working nights and weekends. I had run into Jorvon at Maker Faire Bay area as well as at the downtown LA Maker Faire. He always had one of his robot creations on the shoulder. In this interview, I wanted to learn about how he got started making and get to know the person behind the robots and the goggles. He calls himself Odd Jayy on Twitter, because some people might think he was odd, but he and his robots have become quite popular. This interview led to a story I wrote for Make: Magazine (Vol 76), which has Jorvon on the cover. See more at https://makezine.com/

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Our current framework for multiple-choice standardized testing is about 20 years old, dating back to legislation signed by President Bush called No Child Left Behind. The name has changed but testing still rules, although it has been disrupted by COVID-19. In this conversation with educators, Pam Moran and Ira Socol, co-authors of Timeless Learning with Chad Ratliff, we discuss how our education system responded to COVID-19 and how students have responded by turning off their cameras. Can we imagine a future where instead of multiple choice tests, schools offer students multiple and different ways to learn?

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As a maker, San Diego-native Scott Swaaley is a triple-threat.  He can build things; he can teach; and he can start and run his own business.  An electrical engineer who became a high school teacher, Scott started Make Safe Tools in 2018 to produce products that make workshops safer.  One of its products is the MakeSafe Power Tool Brake. In this podcast episode, I talk to Scott about his experiences as an engineer, educator and entrepreneur, and "how those experience overlap in unexpected ways." However, seeing himself as "constant learner" and willing to try things he didn't know if he could do were both reasons he became successful at each endeavor. @sswaaley

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