3D printer from Mattel

**Isaac** · #1 02-16-2016, 01:20 PM

Mattel is ready with a $300 US 3D printer.

Mattel unveils ThingMaker, a 3D printer for kids - CBS News

Interesting to see if it will make some parts we need.

Wheels
Rounded nose cones
Fuel tanks
External load
Pitot tubes
Canopy molds for vacuforming

Isaac

**airdave** · #2 02-16-2016, 02:46 PM

I had a Thingmaker back around 1969.
I used to make bugs and creepy crawlies things with "goop".
What a dangerous toy that was! lol

This looks amazing, and I might buy one just for fun.

I want to say yes, to making parts for my models.
But I don't want to add plastic bits to my paper models!

If I could make plugs for canopies though....

**JohnM** · #3 02-16-2016, 02:59 PM

There's some pretty impressive design software to go with it too ...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mw8w7cTKEHI

At £250 / $300 it starts to look achievable, but no one mentions the the cost of a suitable tablet to run the software on. Perhaps it will run on a humble PC, but I bet Apple will get in on the act somewhere.

Second hand machine in five years time? ... maybe if I live that long!

**goodduck** · #4 02-16-2016, 08:26 PM

Price really getting more affordable, hope the print quality get better and faster too.

**thehaggard** · #5 02-16-2016, 09:55 PM

I have had my Flux 3D printer now for a little over ten days. These things are great and may pull me away from paper models. However, there is a learning curve and lots of things that have to work together perfectly. I can achieve 0.02mm thickness layers for great detail... But a one inch my one inch model of a wooden crate takes 1.5 hours. A full sized Star Trek phaser 1 (the pocket phaser) takes 6+ hours. I doubt many young people are that patient. Unless Mattel is going for a less quality model in a faster make time... Which will have its own disappointment. Right now, a decent 3D printer that would satisfy the modeling community will run you between 400 to 900 dollars depending on size of print area and quality of print.

**dto** · #6 02-17-2016, 01:03 AM

Airdave, I also had a ThingMaker waaay back when. It was just a fancy hot plate with metal molds that "cooked" a vinyl solution. I wonder how many kids burned their fingers before that hazardous toy was discontinued.

Still, I have fond memories of that old toy, and I'm glad Mattel has resurrected the "ThingMaker" name in a 21st Century incarnation. Even if this 3-D printer may be limited, I'm sure a new generation of creators will be as excited as I was that long ago Christmas morning...

David T. Okamura

**jleslie48** · #7 02-17-2016, 07:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dto

Airdave, I also had a ThingMaker waaay back when. It was just a fancy hot plate with metal molds that "cooked" a vinyl solution. I wonder how many kids burned their fingers before that hazardous toy was discontinued.

Still, I have fond memories of that old toy, and I'm glad Mattel has resurrected the "ThingMaker" name in a 21st Century incarnation. Even if this 3-D printer may be limited, I'm sure a new generation of creators will be as excited as I was that long ago Christmas morning...

David T. Okamura

Its like anything else: uninvolved parenting is the problem. My kids were cooking on the stove at age 3, properly supervised, and learned how to handle hot plates, flames, etc. Its a question of teaching and the thingmaker/creepy crawler toy was the same thing. The thingmaker was and in my house STILL IS, a great fun weekend project. I have some 40 molds, including the rare MINI-DRAGONS set. I can't tell you how many rainy weekends were filled with fun making creepy crawlers. We actually didn't even bother with the ovens that it came with and used the regular kitchen oven and cookie trays.

**airdave** · #8 02-17-2016, 07:57 AM

Watching that video that JohnM posted, I found the machine and its software very impressive.
But 50 years ago, a Thingmaker made small rubbery 2D /3D figures and objects
by having you pour "goop" solution into a 3" x 3" metal tray mold
and then "cooking" the tray (and solution) on top ofthe Thingmaker's heating element.

You could play with mixing colours, but you were restricted to molding
the objects in whatever trays you had purchased.
There is only so many times you can pour and cook the same object
and you got bored with it real fast.

Since I come from an age where we actually used our imaginations
and having never experienced a toy like this before,
it managed to keep my attention for some time.

But todays kids are quite different and have been spoiled with technology.
They can't think for themselves any more
and expect to see everything come to life at the click of a mouse.
And each "thing" has to be bigger and better than the last one.

This "thingmaker" has a huge problem with only being able to deliver one thing
...and one thing at a time.
And it takes days to do it!
In that video, a little bendable toy figure takes over 10 hours to produce.

The first one might be interesting to a kid..."look what I made!"
but after that, its gonna be " can we go to the Store so I can buy some figures?"
Or "whats on Netflix?"

**jleslie48** · #9 02-17-2016, 08:01 AM

I spend quite a bit of time this summer with 3d printing, trying to convert some of my paper model designs to be printed on 3d printers. I had access to $400-$6000 printers, 4 different ones. All of them had problems either mechanically or as a result of a 3d design that was "improper". I spent lots of time re-designing my 3d models to accommodate printer limitations and concepts rather than my design (3d printers have to make bridges and lattice supports for things that don't have a structure underneath it: think like if you printed an open umbrella. Also the software is easily confused about what is the inside of a structure vs the outside if its made up of different polygons. for example If you make a cube from a 6 sided polygon no problem, but if you take 6 2 dimensional squares and orient them to be a cube by rotating and aligning them, the software doesn't understand.)
Anyway, my success rate on printing was dismal. I'd be very suspect of a $300 printer.

**jleslie48** · #10 02-17-2016, 08:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by airdave

Watching that video that JohnM posted, I found the machine and its software very impressive.
But 50 years ago, a Thingmaker made small rubbery 2D /3D figures and objects
by having you pour "goop" solution into a 3" x 3" metal tray mold
and then "cooking" the tray (and solution) on top ofthe Thingmaker's heating element.

You could play with mixing colours, but you were restricted to molding
the objects in whatever trays you had purchased.
There is only so many times you can pour and cook the same object
and you got bored with it real fast.

Since I come from an age where we actually used our imaginations
and having never experienced a toy like this before,
it managed to keep my attention for some time.

But todays kids are quite different and have been spoiled with technology.
They can't think for themselves any more
and expect to see everything come to life at the click of a mouse.
And each "thing" has to be bigger and better than the last one.

This "thingmaker" has a huge problem with only being able to deliver one thing
...and one thing at a time.
And it takes days to do it!
In that video, a little bendable toy figure takes over 10 hours to produce.

The first one might be interesting to a kid..."look what I made!"
but after that, its gonna be " can we go to the Store so I can buy some figures?"
Or "whats on Netflix?"

That is what is so great about the mini-dragons. Also having 40+ molds. I even have molds where you put a piece of wire in it to make bend-ables like gumby and pokey.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/astron...984310/?page=2