Page 12 - Making things move_ DIY mechanisms for inventors, hobbyists, and artists

Introduction

What This Book Is
In a conversation I had with Bre Pettis, one of the creators of the CupCake CNC at
MakerBot Industries (www.makerbot.com), I asked if any of the creators were
mechanical engineers by training. He replied “No, if we were, it would have been
impossible.” The CupCake CNC is a miniature 3D printer that uses computer models
to create real 3D objects about the size of a cupcake out of melted plastic. The
MakerBot team members were able to build it from available materials with the tools
they had on hand. A trained engineer would have known how difficult this project
would be and might not have attempted it without the proper resources or funding,
but the MakerBot team members didn’t have the experience to know what they were
getting themselves into. They just kept their goal in mind and figured out a way. This
book is written for anyone who wants to build things that move but has little or no
formal engineering training. In fact, as Bre said, not having engineering training may
help you.
In this book, you will learn how to successfully build moving mechanisms through
nontechnical explanations, examples, and do-it-yourself (DIY) projects. Maybe you’re
a sculptor who wants a piece of art to come alive, a computer scientist who wants to
explore mechanics, or a product designer who wants to add function to complement the
form of your product. Maybe you’ve built projects in the past, but they fell apart easily.