[dorkbotdc-blabber] RepRap Build-a-Thon this weekend!

[R. Mark Adams, Ph.D.]

Reminder-

Open invitation to anyone interested in rapid prototyping!  HacDC is 
holding a free RepRap Build-a-Thon at HacDC this weekend, Saturday and 
Sunday, starting at 10:00am.  It is located at the HacDC world 
headquarters at 1525 Newton St NW in Washington DC (Near corner of 16th 
and Newton NW).

A bunch of interesting activities are going on:

Saturday

Main Auditorium
10:00am     Welcome and introductions
10:30am     Plenary: "The RepRap Project"  by Zach ‘Hoeken’ Smith, 
Director, RepRap Research Foundation
11:15am     RepRap Technology Overview from Local RepRap Builders
11:45am     Activities Outline by R. Mark Adams
12:00pm     Break for Lunch
1:00pm       Build the Cartesian Robot with Zach ‘Hoeken’ Smith

HacDC Offices
1:00pm     Assemble the RepRap Electronics
1:00pm     Learn to Solder Breakout with MAKE:DC's Adam Koeppel
2:00pm     Arduino Basics Breakout with HacDC's R. Mark Adams
3:00pm     3D Modeling for the RepRap with Balt/Wash RUG's Brian Dolge
5:00pm     Close for the day/adjourn to local restaurant for group dinner

Sunday

HacDC Offices
10:00am     Complete Electronics Assembly
1:00pm      Video Address by RepRap founder Adrian Bowyer, Senior 
Lecturer at the University of Bath (invited)
2:00pm      Assemble components and print a minimug!
3:00pm      Meeting Close

For more details on RepRap and HacDC, see the press release below.

Hope to see everyone there!
-Mark

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Local Technology and Arts Collective Holding Weekend Seminar on
Self-Replicating Tools

Washington, DC – January  24-25, 2009.   HacDC the Washington, DC-area
technology and arts collective, is presenting a free, open to the
public two-day event over the weekend of January 24th – 25th.
Attendees will participate in the construction and use of a remarkable
open source tool, the "Replicating Rapid Prototyper" or RepRap.
Anyone can make a RepRap machine, using parts made by another person
with a similar machine, and a few additional parts that can be found
online or from a local hardware store.  RepRap is capable of making a
nearly complete copy of itself, given a small amount of (possibly
recycled) plastic.  Once the machine is made, the user can download
designs for other objects from the Internet or create their own
designs, which can then be printed with the RepRap machine.

The two-day sessions will include talks by RepRap founders and
pioneers, as well as demonstrations by local experimenters who have
built their own RepRaps and contributed to the development of the
system.   After the talks, the seminar participants will participate
in the construction of a RepRap from the ground up.  Attendees will
complete this process  during the seminar, providing a great
opportunity for everyone to get some experience assembling and using a
RepRap.  Smaller breakout sessions on related topics, such as stepper
motor function, microcontroller programming and 3D modeling will be
presented, in order to provide the attendees with the skills needed to
construct and use the RepRap system.

The event will take place at HacDC's headquarters at 1525 Newton St.
in NW Washington, DC.  The events will start at 10:00am on Saturday,
January 24 and end on Sunday the 25th at 3:00pm.  For more
information, see the HacDC website at:
http://hacdc.org/2008/12/11/reprap-build-a-thon/.

The process of "desktop manufacturing" is coming of age- like the
personal computer in the 1970s, such systems are either very
expensive, or the purview of a few hobbyists in their garages.  But
like the personal computer before it, the desktop manufacturing
revolution is breaking out.  The RepRap, like other open-source
projects such as the Linux operating system and the Firefox browser,
is allowing anyone with the patience and interest to participate.
HacDC and other organizations throughout the world want to see that
this technology can be widely understood and utilized by the public.
As a result, HacDC (along with other area technology groups such as
B/WRUG, Make:DC and DC Dorkbot) are presenting this event, and making
it free and open to the public.


ABOUT RepRap

The RepRap Project is an initiative aimed at creating a largely
self-replicating machine which can be used for rapid prototyping and
manufacturing. A rapid prototyper is a 3D printer that is able to
fabricate three dimensional artifacts from a computer-based model.

Project authors describe 'self-replication', understood as the ability
to reproduce the components necessary to build another version of
itself, as one of the goals for the project.  This will allow the
number of RepRaps to increase exponentially to meet demand. The
authors further speculate that, due to the Open Source nature of the
project, RepRap will eventually demonstrate evolution, improving and
increasing its capabilities over time. This gives RepRap the potential
to become a powerful disruptive technology, similar to the Internet,
the home computer, and the automobile.  For more information, see the
RepRap website at: http://www.reprap.org

Contact:
Baltimore RepRap Users Group
Brian Dolge
briandolge at yahoo.com

ABOUT HacDC

HacDC is a District of Columbia Non-Profit Corporation whose mission
is to improve the world by creatively rethinking technology.
Specifically by building and maintaining spaces suitable for technical
and social collaboration.  HacDC collaborates on all forms of
technology, culture and craft in new and interesting ways, while
applying the results of its work to specific cultural, charitable and
scientific causes.  HacDC freely shares its research and discoveries,
using what is learned to teach others, and actively recruits and
develops talented members dedicated to these efforts.


Contact:
Nick Farr
ndf at hacDC.org

HacDC
1525 Newton St NW
Washington DC 20010 USA

-- 
| R. Mark Adams, Ph.D.       |   "Information is light.      |
| Computational Biologist    |    Information in itself,     |
| http://www.epotential.com  |    about anything, is light." |
| rmadams at epotential.com     |       - Tom Stoppard          |

-- 
| R. Mark Adams, Ph.D.       |   "Information is light.      |
| Computational Biologist    |    Information in itself,     |
| http://www.epotential.com  |    about anything, is light." |
| rmadams at epotential.com     |       - Tom Stoppard          |