I am a firm believer in the power of a cat/dog/goat video/picture/story to turn a day around, so of course when I got an email from Portsmouth Middle School teacher Erin Bakkom asking if we could work together to design and 3D print a cat wheelchair for a disabled kitten, I jumped at the chance.  … More Practical Magic: The Cat’s Outta the Bag

In 3D Printing Land there are two main types of filament—the material printers use to create your many and varied designs—ABS (Acrylonitrile-Butadiene Styrene) and PLA (PolyLactic Acid). ABS is an oil-based plastic, very tough and robust, good for everyday objects, and chances are good that if you pick up the closest plastic object to you, … More Practical Magic: Different Stripes

To set the scene: I sit staring blankly at my computer screen, Chvrches (borrowed for free through the library’s hoopla service—check it out, it’s awesome) blaring in my earbuds, tapping my keyboard, adjusting the volume, picking up the failed 3D prints that litter my desk, putting them down somewhere new…picking them up again.  Picking up … More Practical Magic: Can’t Sit Still

‘Tis the season of hot coco, snowflakes, candles, snowmen and absurdly early sunsets.  To keep your spirits up and offer a little gift inspo, here are a few of our very favorite wintertime 3D prints—submit a request by December 16th and have your prints in time for Christmas and Hanukkah! Snowflake by jonmonaghan – The two slitted flakes … More Practical Magic: Holiday Gift Guide

All right, so we already offer black as an option for printing filament, but I can never pass up a good song reference/perfect title combo.  Did you know we can also print in white, opaque red, royal blue, translucent purple, translucent yellow, neon pink and neon green?  We can even print in two different colors … More Practical Magic: I Want it Painted Black

With the first day of school looming on the horizon (say it ain’t so!) we on the 3D printing team are looking forward to a new adventure. If you’ve been curious about 3D printers but never had a chance to see one in action, or saw one from a distance once but still have questions, … More Practical Magic: Class is in Session

We dove into 3D design right before the end of last year, playing around with MakerBot’s Printshop iPad app and getting you guys thinking in 3D.  Printshop is great, but it is a little limited if you had something in mind beyond a bracelet, a vase, a medal or a ring. Enter Tinkercad, a great tool for … More Practical Magic: Tinker, Maker, Creator

In the world of 3D printing, this question dose have some merit.  However, more frequently, if filament stops coming out of the extruder, it is likely to be the dreaded “j” word and therefore not fixable by normal means.  That’s right, a jam.  I shudder at the thought, and Ada had both extruders jammed and … More Practical Magic: Have You Tried Turning It Off and On Again?

So you don’t quite have the knack for 3D design.  Maybe what you have in your head comes out more a misshapen blob or distorted block with too many angles—we’ve all been there a few times.  But if you have the desire to take some of the awesome things on Thingiverse and make them more your … More Practical Magic: Customize It

You’ve heard the talk: Ada’s the new printer in town and she came packing two extruders.  But what exactly does that mean? First, the basics: The extruder is the part of the printer most closely related to the printhead and cartridge in a regular ol’ desktop printer like the one you might have at home.  … More Practical Magic: Dual Extrusion