The Makeraser Smooths 3D Prints

A new startup offers something called "The Makeraser". It's a handheld tool that can smooth your unattractive visibly-layered 3D prints into beautiful smooth objects. 
 
Current technology for smoothing ABS 3D prints involves suspiciously dangerous acetone vapor chambers or massively expensive commercial smoothing devices. That, or you spend many hours with sandpaper. The Makeraser hopes to change those options. 
 
The Makeraser includes a small quantity of acetone in a reservoir that is applied through a felt tip, much like a marker pen. As the minute amounts of acetone touch your ABS print's layers, they slightly dissolve and flow into the cracks, leaving a smoother surface. It may be a bit of work to smooth a complex or large object, but it's likely a lot safer than having a jug of flammable acetone vapor being heated in your workshop. 
 
But wait - the Makeraser does more than just smooth prints. It can also glue them together by applying acetone to two surfaces and pressing them together. 
 
It also claims to solve the ABS warping problem. Apparently you can dissolve a small amount of ABS in the acetone reservoir, creating something they call "ABS Juice". This substance is applied to your print bed, where the acetone quickly evaporates, leaving a well-stuck ABS layer on which your print can build. How then, we wondered, do you remove this super-stuck ABS from your print bed? Well, they do include a scraper accessory, but we suspect you could simply use the Makeraser again to dissolve and clean the print bed. 
 
Theoretically you could put other chemicals in the reservoir to perform the same miracles on PLA and other printable materials. 
 
It's not clear how much the Makeraser costs as they have not yet launched their Kickstarter campaign. However, judging by the complexity of the device we cannot expect it to cost very much and therefore it could become an essential accessory for anyone printing ABS. 
 
Via Makeraser
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Google Class: Modded By 3D Printing

A new Kickstarter project uses 3D printing to produce "cap" for your Google Glass. GlassKap, a project launched by Todd Blatt, hopes to raise funds to start production of this handy add-on. 
 
Google Glass, for those unfamiliar, is a wearable computer in the form of "glasses" that can provide instant geo-relevant information directly to your eye. It can also take pictures of whatever your head happens to be pointed at.  
 
Hold on - why does Google Glass need a cap? What is a cap? 
 
The cap is an add-on that covers the image sensor on Google Glass, visibly demonstrating to everyone in the vicinity that you are not and cannot be capturing images or videos.  
 
Unwanted video and image capture turns out to be a significant social barrier to the adoption of Google Glass, as you can see by reading "Using Google Glass: A Series of Awkward Encounters". 
 
The GlassKap hopes to solve this modern social dilemma. Will it work? Only if people are sufficiently observant to notice the cap and understand what it does. 
 
While the original intent of GlassKap prevented image capture, the concept led to a variety of other 3D printed add-ons for Google Glass: 
 
  • An indicator that you are in fact capturing video (see image above)
  • A pencil holder to avoid using your ear for that purpose
  • A shield to ensure you can see the tiny screen in bright lighting conditions
  • A scratch protector
  • and more for a total of nine functions
 
The GlassKap accessories are 3D printed in nylon on an EOS machine and could be yours for as little as USD$25 for one or USD$95 for all nine varieties. 
  
Via Kickstarter
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