I’m really not supposed to say this, but not everyone gets their 3D printing news from 3D Printing Industry. In fact, my dad gets all of his 3DP news from The Wall Street Journal. Then, he scans the paper and emails the clippings to me, when he could really just go to the WSJ website and email me the link. Aside from luddites and treekillers, though, there are those who get their 3D printing news from sources that cater specifically to their niche perspectives and interests. Here, I’m talking about the Makers on the RepRap Forums who have published a magazine devoted specifically to the wonderful world of self-replicating 3D printers.
RepRap Magazine is edited by Paulo Gonçalves and is currently put together by Richard Horne (aka RichRap), Gary Hodgson, and Viktor Dirks, with volunteer help from the RepRap community. Now in its third issue, the magazine tailors specifically to the RepRap crowd, a pretty elaborate community that hatches, repairs and maintains projects on the RepRap Forums. In fact, the magazine itself was born there and has its own subforum where users discuss ideas for content. You can even witness the editorial process at work, as the magazine reflects the open source nature of the larger RepRap project. Each issue begins with a masthead describing the magazine’s mission:
To the readers
We want to have a close relationship with our readers. For that we encourage you to participate in this project. Send us photos of your best prints and your setup for possible publication to our email at [email protected]. Also take part at the discussion at the http://forums.reprap.org/list.php?305.
To the contributors
This is an open magazine, and for that we encourage you to submit your articles for possible publication to our email at [email protected]. If you are also a developer of a tool that RepRap users use you can also send an email to be in our database for future contacts.
Independent
We are 100% independent. The manufacturers of the products featured do not determine our content nor our opinions.
Their publication has covered topics important to the 3D printing community, such as different slicing and printing software, pro-tips for successful prints, reviews of electronics boards, as well as new RepRap machines that RepRappers have been working on, examples here include the RepRap Morgan by Quentin Harley and the variety of crazy machines that Nicholas Seward is working on. Also included in issues of the magazines are interviews with individuals like the founder of RepRap, Adrian Bowyer, and RepRapper Nophead, an early member of the RepRap community responsible for many of the machine adoptions taking place in RepRap designs at the moment. They’ve also run a contest eliciting designs for objects that improve the overall quality of life for humanity. The prize? You guessed it: a RepRap!
RepRap Magazine is thorough, often times technical, and obviously reflects the intelligence and ingenuity of its community. I have to give it up for the team behind the magazine, as they’ve put together something really amazing. More importantly, I have to give it up for the RepRap community because, if it weren’t for them, I probably wouldn’t have a job and 3D printing would be trapped by IP behind the walls of secretive businesses. Already developing plans for their fourth issue, the magazine is only beginning to find itself and I can’t wait to see what it comes up with.
Source: RepRap Forums
