Jun 2 2010Suck It, Hewlett Packard!: Functional Felt-Tip LEGO Printer Actually Does An Amazing Job
Note: Video is after the jump because the government implanted a chip (restaurant style tortilla) in my brain that makes me pee myself if I post videos on the front page.
This is a printer made out of LEGO blocks, a felt-tip pen and some homebrew electronics. It's seriously impressive. Like my natural pheromones, if it could also make women pass out while driving and flood their cars with moistness.
"Lego felt tip 110" printer connected to an Apple Mac. This is not a kit you can buy and does not use mindstorms. I designed/built/coded it all from scratch including analog motor electronics, sensors and printer driver, the USB interface uses a "wiring" board.
The video's only 1:30, so I highly recommend hitting the jump and checking it out. I watched it twice and I've just been sitting here ever since marinating on the fact I could never make anything half as cool. *eying son* A quarter as cool.
Hit it, you'll be impressed.
Thanks to Lucy and altaria1993, who still print with old-fashioned Lincoln Log models. GET WITH THE TIMES, GOD.
Reader Comments
1. Second - June 2, 2010 10:15 AM
LAST
2. Cuckoo - June 2, 2010 10:18 AM
Third!
3. Truk - June 2, 2010 10:19 AM
Wow- beats the hell out of the other lego projects people have been doing lately. Very cool, thanks for sharing this.
4. poop - June 2, 2010 10:23 AM
Wow. That's actually really amazing. I love all of the lego people that are "making it work". Haha.
5. JADE - June 2, 2010 10:35 AM
Even though it was cool, somebody has waaaaay to much time on their hands.................just sayin
6. Butte Force - June 2, 2010 10:36 AM
The music, however, made me puke into my bed.
7. Justin - June 2, 2010 10:40 AM
Great Job!
8. Catriona - June 2, 2010 10:54 AM
HOLY SHIT. love it
9. Addsenior - June 2, 2010 10:54 AM
That's amaaaazing!
10. your mom is my whore - June 2, 2010 11:32 AM
BEST PRINTER EVER !!!!!!
11. Al - June 2, 2010 11:35 AM
@5
Orrrr someone manages their time well enough to maintain a hobby.
12. twellve - June 2, 2010 11:42 AM
ahhh, reminds me of old dot matrix printers, minus the irritating screech.
13. Science_GUY95 - June 2, 2010 11:54 AM
@5 actually no, this person is going to have one hell of a resume some day, and a dismal future awaits those who do not have a broad set of technical skills like this project took to make. I hate to be brutally honest here but that is the way it is. If you're not really, really smart, you better be really, really, ridiculously good-looking (with no values or boundaries); otherwise, I hope you like pumping gas.
So how about let's stop knocking the geeks. You know they're going to be your boss some day.
14. Jaja - June 2, 2010 12:07 PM
Love it
15. Jim - June 2, 2010 12:10 PM
TONY STARK.. BUILT THIS.. OUT OF SPARE ( lego) PARTS..!! Im not Tony Stark sir.. [ clumsily ripped from 1st iron man movie] Im just saying this raises the bar on home brewed 'make', phenomenal use of resources
16. AlienGuardian - June 2, 2010 12:29 PM
@13
Absolutely true.
17. dparks - June 2, 2010 12:41 PM
@13 - Your "learn to pump gas" anecdote needs a lil updatin'; I mean who pays anyone to pump gas anymore? Might I suggest "learn to flip burgers"?
Peeps will be flippin' burbers until the Robot Apocalypse.
just sayin'
18. Awe struck - June 2, 2010 12:46 PM
Most amazing thing I've ever seen thus far, Kudos to the man who made that, kudos indeed
19. PassiveResistance - June 2, 2010 1:00 PM
Wowww. that's insanely creative. Amazing job! Heheh... maybe he should have used a purple pen if he wanted to simulate a dot-printer :D
20. JADE - June 2, 2010 1:05 PM
@13 uuummm ok.
21. bar room hero - June 2, 2010 1:28 PM
L E G I T
22. Kingoftime - June 2, 2010 1:44 PM
@13 thank god dude... I'm incredibly intelligent AND sexy :) it's good to know that
23. Jim - June 2, 2010 2:06 PM
i work at radioshack, im already kind of a big deal.
24. Guvius - June 2, 2010 2:14 PM
@12 haha me too man!!!
Kudos for this, best post in a while =)
25. somefamousguy - June 2, 2010 3:39 PM
Um... I'm 100% positive that if this printer was mine, I would use it to convince my friends I was a talented felt tip artist, because lying to your friends is an effective way to get laid.
26. Roberto - June 2, 2010 3:41 PM
C L E V E R
27. jyd - June 2, 2010 4:16 PM
raze the bar - it's a whole new level
28. Kill - June 2, 2010 4:43 PM
I can think of 10 ways to better spend my time, all of which include alcohol.
29. Righteousjoana - June 2, 2010 4:50 PM
really awesome, I wonder if he's going to try to up the speed on it
30. Bill Gates - June 2, 2010 5:26 PM
Man, i bet that was an ass to build
31. Basically It IS a Dot Matrix? - June 2, 2010 5:26 PM
Right? That's why we got cute lego's to look at while it takes an hour to print? Just a hacked ol' printer. Still takes some skillz, I do agree. :-)
32. Shoka - June 2, 2010 5:33 PM
@29.
I bet you couldn't make a system like that go much faster and stay accurate. Look at the rotating worm gear thing, it's already going around so fast it's a blur. Still, be awesome for him to prove that wrong.
33. Fragmeats - June 2, 2010 7:17 PM
@13
bill gates quotes at their finest
34. Spirit - June 2, 2010 7:40 PM
Fresh Garbage... very nice.
35. ubflamed - June 2, 2010 8:14 PM
Treekiller.
36. bago - June 2, 2010 11:02 PM
@13 good thing i'm very very ridiculously good looking!
37. goback - June 3, 2010 1:05 AM
impressive. whoever did it is a genius.
38. chon - June 3, 2010 3:23 AM
McGyver did that, using only a chocolate wrapper and a copper wire. :D
but this is really amazing. keep it up!
39. TxGator - June 3, 2010 2:29 PM
FINALLY! A printer that costs MORE than the INK!!!
40. Liwaldo - June 3, 2010 5:51 PM
FAKE!!! This is obviously a fake. It's just like that scene in Office Space when Peter, Michael and Samir take out their favorite office equipment, ghetto-style. Michael totally loses it and begins punching the printer. Only this clip was edited with really bad music
41. gareth - June 7, 2010 1:45 PM
Whats up with the crappy music?
42. zanz - June 8, 2010 5:35 PM
@20 haha way to make his point
43. hey der - June 21, 2010 4:43 PM
THATS THE MOST AMAZING THING I'VE EVER SEEN, AND I'VE SEEN FEBREEZE YOU CAN PLUG INTO A WALL ;D
44. hey der - June 21, 2010 4:45 PM
THATS THE MOST AMAZING THING I'VE EVER SEEN, AND I'VE SEEN FEBREEZE THAT PLUGS INTO THE WALL! ;D