Tying the knot with MakerBot

posted Oct 16th 2009 11:00am by Phil Burgess
filed under: cnc hacks, wearable hacks

makerbot-ring

De Beers would have you believe that only diamonds will do, but hackers are hardly ones to follow convention. How better to say “I love you” than with a MakerBot-extruded black ABS engagement ring? [Adam Elkins] did just that, creating the design with a combination of GIMP, SketchUp and Blender, then producing the final output on a MakerBot at Philadelpha hacker space Hive.

From the steampunk wedding at the 2008 Maker Faire, to the science-meets-romance web comic xkcd, hackers certainly have some unique ways of expressing their devotion. What are some of the wildest or most charming that you’ve seen? Comments are open…speak now or forever hold your peace.

Oh, and the engagement ring? She accepted. Congratulations to the lucky couple!

[via MakerBot blog]

Comments [49]

tagged: engagement, love, makerbot, marriage, proposal, ring

Reader Comments

hurf durf guys look at me i have a 3d printer am i cool now

common whats next in the line of “omg guys look what i can print out” line of stories. We get it you can use photoshop and CAD you don’t need to post a story about this

Posted at 11:06 am on Oct 16th, 2009 by kirov

Holy crap, Hive 76 looks amazing, anyone know if there is a place like that in Boston?

Posted at 11:27 am on Oct 16th, 2009 by Rob

@kirov

You missed the point of the story.

Congratulations :D

Posted at 11:31 am on Oct 16th, 2009 by babble

@Rob

http://willoughbybaltic.ning.com/
http://midnightresearch.com/

Are the above ground ones, other than those, join Dorkbot, meet some people, start a space.

Posted at 12:29 pm on Oct 16th, 2009 by BitBot

What about the RJ45 socket rings?
http://www.pixdaus.com/pics/12088882042myDV2e.jpg

Or the PC re-purposed into an urn with a Star Trek quote on the front(I know you all read gizmodo no need for linking[besides, they banned me from commenting for calling them Apple Fanboys]).

Support your local hackerspace! http://archreactor.org/ – St. Louis hackerspace

Posted at 12:38 pm on Oct 16th, 2009 by Skitchin

@Rob: http://hackerspaces.org/wiki/Boston

Posted at 12:39 pm on Oct 16th, 2009 by Skitchin

..hackers certainly have some stupid ways of expressing their devotion.

*fixed*

Posted at 12:39 pm on Oct 16th, 2009 by Clyde Cash

What kind of stupid bitch would accept a shitty plastic ring? Fail.

Posted at 12:43 pm on Oct 16th, 2009 by Bob Slim

My two cents on this, the ring doesn’t matter is the effort that he went thru to come up with something original that she will appreciate. For all what I know, he may get her a diamond ring later.

Another way of expressing your geeky love: My friend married during defcon wearing a white baseball hat saying white hacker and she wore the black one. This was years ago when defcon was still in alexis park, and they still happily married.

Posted at 12:52 pm on Oct 16th, 2009 by owl

@Bob

i think the plastic is supposed to be symbolic of the durability of their relationship…

Posted at 1:00 pm on Oct 16th, 2009 by tratto

Takes more effort to do this than just go out to a jewelry store and spend some money on a ring.

Posted at 1:01 pm on Oct 16th, 2009 by Peter

@Bob Slim: If the woman in question bases her decision regarding whether or not the relationship should continue on a bloody ring she can go on her merry way.

Posted at 1:04 pm on Oct 16th, 2009 by sneakypoo

Hack a Day really needs to do something about the trolling in their comments (and lately their posts). Holy crap.

Next time I make a video for one of my projects it’s ending with a statement on this.

It seems like the worst of it is composed of those who can’t (or won’t) build things, but instead like to put down the work of others. I’m sick of it.

Posted at 1:08 pm on Oct 16th, 2009 by Ian

*sick of it too*

Posted at 1:15 pm on Oct 16th, 2009 by babble

I would happily authorize comments on a volunteer basis.

Posted at 1:16 pm on Oct 16th, 2009 by babble

We don’t censor stupid. We delete stuff that is spam, or extremely offensive.

Leaving someone’s stupid comment there is almost better punishment.

I think we all agree that “bob”’s comment has no value, but it will remain.

Posted at 1:43 pm on Oct 16th, 2009 by Caleb Kraft

@Skitchin and RJ45 socket rings “nice” had to google…

those make one think – why didnt I think of that.

great idea

Posted at 2:06 pm on Oct 16th, 2009 by stinkymonkey

This is very nice. Congratulations! I like the comment by Lenore on the thing universe page

http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1097

That way when it comes time to tie the knot they can truly design there own rings and have a jeweller cast them.

Posted at 2:26 pm on Oct 16th, 2009 by John Berube

This is just plain awesome!

Posted at 3:02 pm on Oct 16th, 2009 by Ayush

I think the whole point of this is he actually got off his ass and MADE something. unlike some of us here :-/

(only speak for myself)

Posted at 3:08 pm on Oct 16th, 2009 by vash

Thanks everyone! (most of you anyway)
There’s more info about how it went down here: http://www.obscurereality.org/2009/10/14/im-engaged/

Also, who ever shopped the photo to add the sparkle, well played ;)

Posted at 3:54 pm on Oct 16th, 2009 by fynflood

Friend of mine a few years back spent a couple months straight working and re-working a ring design for an engagement ring in wax — he had never done any sort of carving/shaping. He ended up coming up with a design. After coming up with probably 12 different decent-looking designs (some to fit a stone, some just a band), he decided on one and presented a plastic (I think, I may be wrong) positive to his girlfriend (he didn’t have the money to afford to get it casted, yet, as a poor grad student). It wasn’t perfect (it was made by hand by a dedicated but inexperienced individual, after all), and it actually didn’t quite fit right. She accepted before he even told her that he was saving to get an actual casting of it made (which she ended up telling him not to do, ’cause he really didn’t have the money). They ended up getting married about a year after, and last time I saw her she was still wearing that prototype on a chain. Her wedding ring actually ended up being a jeweler’s cast of one of the other designs he had come up with, slightly modified so it actually fit.

Posted at 4:24 pm on Oct 16th, 2009 by mrasmus

The way he went about it (with making the ring and all) is what really matters. Although, if it were me, I would have used a different medium, like a small block of precious metal, a CNC machine, and a rock I hounded and cut/polished myself.

Posted at 5:19 pm on Oct 16th, 2009 by napalm

Thats awesome! I wish I had the free time to hack a gameboy game or make my woman a ring, though in the near future perhaps I will. I love working with stones and perhaps I can come up with something.

Hack away!

Posted at 5:21 pm on Oct 16th, 2009 by /Life2Death/

The idea is romantic and lovely! Time and effort well spent! Glad the crazy lady said yes. Can’t wait to see what u do next. Grats!!! ;)

Posted at 5:34 pm on Oct 16th, 2009 by cavingchick

“science-meets-romance web comic xkcd”

xkcd is namedropping-latest-internet-meme-meets-awkward-sexual-reference. Don’t associate the hacker community with that crap.

Posted at 5:41 pm on Oct 16th, 2009 by pedant

@bob you’ve clearly missed the point, it was something he made for me. It was very sweet and I loved it! Anyone who would turn down their love because the ring wasn’t a giant diamond doesn’t deserve the commitment. I’m guessing you don’t have your own ’stupid bitch’ so you’re bitter. Turns out you’re the stupid bitch.

Posted at 6:21 pm on Oct 16th, 2009 by t0astbandit

@pedant- I don’t think you should think of communities as a closed circle that people are either in or out. I think they are more of a venn diagram, as it is perfectly possible that someone finds both xkcd funny and be a hacker/maker/whatever…

Posted at 6:28 pm on Oct 16th, 2009 by Sam

I showed this to my girl. She says “thats cool, but its not a diamond.”

Posted at 7:51 pm on Oct 16th, 2009 by redleader36

heh. that’s my photo you’ve got linked there. (yay)

Posted at 8:40 pm on Oct 16th, 2009 by roens

“My two cents on this, the ring doesn’t matter is the effort that he went thru to come up with something original that she will appreciate”

Um…he couldn’t even be bothered to make the 3D model himself. He had to have a friend do it for him, after he “sketched” the design in Gimp. When I read the description, I thought “oh, must be some intricate design, I wonder how they made an intricate design from those crappy-res FIY 3D printers”…and then I get a closer look and I see it’s about the ugliest, simplest design you could possibly come up with. How long did it take him to sketch that? 5 minutes?

Posted at 9:52 pm on Oct 16th, 2009 by lazy

What type of stone is is mounted in it?

Posted at 10:41 pm on Oct 16th, 2009 by ChalkBored

$10 Dollar ring married for life $1000 Dollar ring heading for strife!

People need to be more supportive of one another round here, wheres the love? Hmm bad troll!

Posted at 3:12 am on Oct 17th, 2009 by grovenstien

Showed this to my wife. She thought it was a great idea.

Posted at 3:34 am on Oct 17th, 2009 by sly

@pedant

agreed. xkcd just isn’t funny.

Posted at 4:54 am on Oct 17th, 2009 by cantido

Is that the sound of dishes and silverware clanking together?

-because I think Bob just got served.

The ring is a unique and creative effort borne of love, dude.
Don’t dis ‘em for finding their thing. So few do.

Congrats to the happy couple!
I hope your marriage is filled with wonderful things for you both! :D

Posted at 5:45 am on Oct 17th, 2009 by strider_mt2k

Darnit I didn’t mean Bob. I meant kirov.

Still though….served.

Posted at 5:47 am on Oct 17th, 2009 by strider_mt2k

@redleader36: get a new “girl”…..

Posted at 7:25 am on Oct 17th, 2009 by DeusExInfernus

looks good

Posted at 8:16 am on Oct 17th, 2009 by Shekhar

now that’s funny! earlier today i thought of this creative artifact of eternal union:
An adjustable hose clamp, instead of a ring. But made of gold/gold plated. And then for the little fastener that adjusts the size of the clamp, normally a hex bolt+phillips slot head, it would be a wing-nut-ish pin head, made of diamond.

Posted at 12:40 pm on Oct 17th, 2009 by g-rigga

This is a very good idea, I find it romantic, and it seems to show more about the dedication on his part. Seriously if a guy or girl just goes to a jeweler that’s just money, putting you heart into something you build yourself that’s commitment.

Posted at 1:06 pm on Oct 17th, 2009 by Potterda42

Very nice piece. It shows that you don’t have to buy a woman with a ring. The ring I gave my fiancee was actually re-made from an old ring her grandmother had given her. I had the chance to work with the jeweler and get a custom design, while not as far off the norm that everyone expects.

Custom work takes time, even if it’s just the design. It shows you care. Who cares what material it’s made of? My fiancee wants me to buy her a cheap ring she can wear when we go rock climbing/camping/whatever. If it were PVC, she could ruin it and I’d just make her another, bigger, more intricate design.

Congrats to the couple and may you have many years of happiness together.

Oh, and XKCD rules!!! Guess you have to be smart enough to enjoy it :-).

Posted at 2:34 pm on Oct 17th, 2009 by Daryl

but.. will it blend?

j/k, excellent idea :)

Posted at 3:00 pm on Oct 17th, 2009 by bothersaidpooh

Sorry boys – as interesting as this might be – DIAMONDS and PLATINUM are STILL a girls best friends… (my man certainly knows that) nice try though! :)

Posted at 3:11 pm on Oct 17th, 2009 by Hackerbabe

Back in my day we called this a washer…

Posted at 12:19 am on Oct 18th, 2009 by spacecoyote

If only I had thought of this. I could have paid the same price but ended up with a wife AND and 3D printer.

Posted at 9:16 am on Oct 19th, 2009 by Mike Szczys

I made the engagement ring for my fiance by carving it out of wax then having a mold made from the wax which was then used to cast the ring in white gold.

The whole process took a little over 100 hours of work (including failures) but the quality is high.

http://mechanicallyinclined.net/blog/?p=201

Posted at 9:56 am on Oct 19th, 2009 by Shane Wighton

@Hackerbabe

I don’t recall to well, but are the marriage vows “… for richer or poorer…” or “… so long as your wallet is fat and stocks high…”

Posted at 12:23 am on Oct 20th, 2009 by Morquan

Nice way to gett off with a nerd:

the moment of a friend of me and his girlfriend was on an train stion platform at a candy automat,
he pay’d for 1 thing and got 2 his comment “whow, how crazy” was answerd with “just a luckshot” from his current girlfriend ^^

Posted at 2:50 pm on Oct 21st, 2009 by Clive

Tying the knot with MakerBot

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