I’m in the Boston airport on Friday writing this newsletter, and the loudspeaker repeats the message that you should let security know if you are suspicious of a package: if you see something, say something. Well, I’m suspicious that that there are many people who are making things and not telling anyone about it, and not telling me. We want you to share.
Early on in this journey of mine, I’d visit makerspaces and see some incredible projects and I’d ask the makers the question: why don’t I know about your project? I’d get three variations of same response:
I didn’t think anyone would be interested.
I haven’t quite finished it.
I don’t think it’s cool enough.
Let us decide. At Make:, we are always looking for new projects from makers but we don’t know about your project unless you tell us. In 2027, Make: is publishing its 100th issue and we are working on it now. It’s a great time to tell us about your a project for this issue. Are you building robots or new devices, using Home Assistant, figuring out what AI is good for or not, or integrating technology into art? If so, say something.
Casey Johnson and Cassie Lowell of Studio 3e8 beside their metal 3D printer
Table of Contents
Metal 3D Printing
I met Casey Johnson and Cassie Lowell of Studio 3e8, who have offices in Greentown Labs in Somerville CA. They are working on a desktop metal 3D printer that will launch on Kickstarter on December 1. I saw it in action.
The area in orange is where copper is being printed.
Casey Johnson has been working on this project for about three years. He grew up in rural Pennsyvania and began building his own 3D printers in middle school. He went to MIT and ended up in industrial design. When Covid hit, he said that he didn’t want to do MIT on a screen so he dropped out. He got an internship at FormLabs where he met Cassie who was his boss. Then he worked at Markforged for several years until he left to see if he could build a better metal 3D printer — more affordable, safer and more capable. He worked for a year in attic before getting space at Greentown Labs. Cassie’s background is in materials science.
Commercial metal 3D printers are expensive and complex, costing over $250K and having three different machines to build the object, heat it and then wash it. The machine Johnson and Lowell are working on with about 3 other team members is a single machine. The metal powder comes in replaceable cartridges (in the photo above, one is sitting to the left of the machine, and there are three slots for different materials). Like any 3D printer, the machine’s extruder builds up the object slowly, layer by layer. Then when the object is finished, it drops into a small oven at the bottom of the machine where it is heated.
I’ve asked Casey and Cassie to write an article about their 3D metal printer and the challenges that they’ve faced developing. They are really nice folks on a mission and it’s people like them that keep the maker movement growing.
“Make sure the next generation of things are made here.”
On the day, I went to visit Casey and Cassie, I read in the Boston Globe about a Framingham startup that had raised 2.1 billion dollars, the most of any Massachusetts startup in history. What stood out was that it wasn’t an AI startup but a new manufacturing firm. According to the Boston Globe, they’ve “acquired a series of small engineering and manufacturing firms - 13 so far — to create an ecosystem that can help customers design products around how they will be made instead of tossing a design to the manufacturing team and saying, "Here, you figure out how to mass produce this."
The article quoted cofounder and CEO, Miles Arnone:
"Our goal isn't so much to bring back what was being produced off-shore. It's to businesses to make sure the next generation of things are made here."
That’s exciting news, I thought. It’s not something we are seeing happen in California or other parts of the country.
Later in the day, I happened to ask Casey how he was going to go from prototype to production. I wanted to know how he planned to manufacture the metal 3D printer. “We’re using Re:Build,” said Casey.
Elliot Langston - Young Maker
Elliot Langston at Maker Faire Bay Area
After Maker Faire Bay Area in September, we received a really nice note from Jacquie Langston, the mother of Elliot, who presented at Maker Faire Bay Area. They came out to the West Coast from Providence RI so that Elliot could participate. I wanted to share her note and say how proud we are that Maker Faire provides this kind of opportunity for Elliot and other young makers.
What an amazing achievement it was for Elliot aka KaijuAlotl.com to give a talk at the LeTigre Theater at Maker Faire Bay Area on Friday, September 25. Talking in front of people is extremely hard for him, and he was very nervous. But he talked about something he loves, engaged with the audience, made eye contact, and did an amazing job. Most importantly, when it was over, he was incredibly proud and happy that he had done it. Watching him made me think about where this journey started just two years ago.
Elliot is now a junior in high school. When he was a freshman back in 2024, we brought him to the Coney Island Maker Faire with his pipe cleaner sculptures. It was really an experiment. We hoped his art might give him a way to connect with other people and build his confidence. At the time, we were not sure he would be able to do a second Maker Faire. In the beginning he only would walk around in a Godzilla costume because he didn’t want to engage with people.
Instead, over the past two years, Elliot has become part of this incredible Maker Faire community. Faire after Faire, he has had opportunities to show his work, meet people, answer questions, and become more comfortable sharing his ideas with the world. The growth has been incredible.
He isn't just making his pipe cleaner creatures anymore. He is designing and creating his own original 3D-printed art, making animations and digital design, and finding new ways to bring the creatures and worlds in his imagination to life. He has a 5 foot tall KaijuAlotl made out of 20K pipe cleaners featured at The Big E State Fair in Springfield MA.
Maker Faire has helped his confidence so much, he engages with people so much more now. He is focusing on going to college. He has learned how to interact with people he doesn't know, answer questions about his work, and share something he genuinely loves.
We never could have imagined two years ago where that first Maker Faire would lead. So, we wanted to send a HUGE thank you to everyone who has been part of Elliot's journey. Thank you for welcoming him, stopping at his table, asking about his creatures, inviting him back, and giving him opportunities to try new things and challenge himself. Thank you for creating a community where creativity, curiosity, passion, and being completely yourself are celebrated. Every Faire, every conversation, and every person who showed genuine interest in what Elliot was creating helped him build a little more confidence. Visitors built so many kaijus at his booth at Maker Faire Bay Area, we went through 5 thousand pipe cleaners.
Thank you for helping Elliot find his voice and giving him the confidence to share it at Maker Faire Bay Area. I can't thank all of you enough for being part of his journey and helping make that moment possible.
Elliot has plans to participate in other Maker Faires.
BeAM Makerspace celebrates 10 years
The Be A Maker (BeAM) makerspace at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill is celebrating 10 years. I visited the campus makerspace in 2017 around the time it opened and met with Glenn Walters who was leading the effort. I recall Glenn telling me at the time that the project had the support of the University’s Provost because a makerspace made it possible for people from different fields or departments to meet each other and work together. BeAM has grown from one makerspace to three, including one in a student dormitory.
Read more: BeAM marks 10 years in the making.
Maker Faire Rome Report
Make:’s Editor in Chief wrote a full report on Maker Faire Rome on Makezine. He really enjoyed seeing so many makers in one of the greatest cities of the world.
Maker Faire Orlando
Maker Faire Orlando is this weekend. Best of luck to the show’s all-volunteer organizing team.
The Orlando Sentinel has a story about Friday.
Make Things is a weekly newsletter from Make: for the Maker community. This newsletter lives on the web at makethings.make.co
I’d love to hear from you if you have ideas, projects or news items about the maker community. Email me - [email protected].
