The world of 3D printing is an exciting and revolutionary community to be a part of. With that said, we want to keep you updated on all the interesting and fun events that we host and attend - see what we've been up to the past few weeks, and where you can find MatterHackers next. 

MatterHackers HQ Meetup

The meetup at MatterHackers HQ was our biggest and best yet! Huge thanks to everyone who came out, especially our friends from YouTube like Joel Telling (3D Printing Nerd) and Angus (Maker's Muse). It was great celebrating the 100,000 subscriber milestone with Joel and witnessing Angus break 100k at the event!

Another first at the meetup was the live stream to our YouTube channel through the event. One of our favorite parts of hosting meetups is opening our doors to let everyone get a glimpse of where we do business every day, and this time we got to extend that to everyone at home. The live event featured talks with MatterHackers' founders, an AMA with Joel and Angus as well as other YouTubers throughout. In case you missed the meetup broadcast we’ll have some highlight videos up on our YouTube channel.  We love hosting meetups here at HQ because it gives us the opportunity to say hi and hang out with all of our friends in the 3D printing world, so if you haven’t made it out for one yet, be sure to stay tuned to our social media channels for future dates - we want to meet you!

MatterHackers Lounge at Bay Area Maker Faire

Bay Area Maker Faire was just last week and it was so much fun getting to hang out and talk shop with our favorite makers and friends from around the globe. Conventions like BAMF are great because they give everyone the opportunity to meet and talk with the people you usually only get to interact with online through videos or forums, and the MatterHackers booth is the best place to hang out. The 3D Printing Nerd was recording interviews with tons of internet personalities all weekend, and it was our pleasure to host the space. Thank you to everyone who came out for Maker Faire - mark your calendars with out next couple events; ALA in Chicago, June 23 -26 and ISTE in San Antonio, from June 26 - 29!

It was great meeting everyone - see you at the next show!

3D Printing Nerd, Barnacules, and Maker's Muse hanging out at the MatterHackers booth!

Envision the Future Design Challenge

What we love about 3D printing is seeing the new and exciting ways people leverage the technology to enhance the lives of others - and the Envision the Future design challenge was a perfect example of that dream coming to life. We invited designers everywhere to submit tactile educational models or assistive devices to help people who are blind or visually impaired. The submissions were printed at MatterHackers and taken to the Junior Blind school for the visually impaired where we presented them to the students and contest judges. The contest is now over and we have announced our winners, but be sure to check out all the submissions! We were very impressed with the amazing creations submitted by makers everywhere and getting to see your designs in use was excellent. Thank you so much to everyone who participated in our Envision the Future design challenge!

Envision the Future winners!

Here are some of the winning designs from the Envision the Future design challenge, including the 1st prize winners from the 18 and over category as well as the youth under 18.

Under 18 - 1st Prize

This map of the United States puts the states at different elevations, so students can feel their borders and also understand which states are big or small, as well as the layout of the United States. Each state is also labeled in Braille. Congratulations to samsuchin on the first prize win, and thank you for such a useful design.

A map of the United States with the states at different heights to feel their borders

Over 18 - 1st prize

Everybody loves (trying) to solve a Rubik's Cube - getting each side to be only the same color tiles can be quite t, e challenge. Well Jonathon Gorges created 3D printed add-on tiles that put braille on the sides of the Rubix cube so those who are visually impaired can take part in the fun (frustration) as well!

Braille Rubix Cube panels

As you can see, the 3D printing community is constantly evolving to grow the community and to help others. Be sure to check the MatterHackers Forum Announcements for any upcoming events in your area!