Video summary
The Midwest RepRap Festival, commonly known as MRRF, is an upcoming 3D printing event scheduled for June 13th and 14th in Goshen, Indiana. Originally started by a couple of enthusiasts in a garage many years ago, this gathering has evolved into the original festival that set the standard for similar events like the Rocky Mountain RepRap Festival. Unlike more structured conventions such as 3D Printopia or its own predecessor in Colorado, MRRF is designed to be an unorganized family reunion where makers can simply show up with their projects and cool creations without strict scheduling. The atmosphere focuses on community interaction rather than rigid organization, allowing attendees to hang out, network, and enjoy the weekend at a relaxed pace.
For those traveling from outside the immediate area, Goshen is located in Amish country, offering visitors unique cultural experiences including locally made furniture, regional food, and horse-drawn buggies on backroads near the fairgrounds where the event takes place. Accessibility for attendees flying into Chicago or other nearby airports involves a roughly two-hour drive from the city center, though some closer options exist depending on flight paths. Accommodation is available through local hotels with reasonable prices and various Airbnb rentals, including one secured by the host just minutes away that has been used successfully in previous years. The venue typically keeps its doors open late into Saturday night, providing ample opportunity for networking and socializing after official hours before guests are asked to leave around midnight.
This year brings a notable change with the introduction of an air-conditioned building specifically designated for sponsors and vendors, which differs from larger structures used in recent years but harkens back to facilities utilized as far back as 2019. While detailed information about specific activities remains scarce due to the organizers' preference for low-key communication, interested parties can find a list of participating companies on the event's Facebook page linked in video descriptions. The host is particularly excited about potential food trucks returning after past appearances and looks forward to seeing friends like Dan Adams prepare his signature jambalaya outdoors. Additionally, there will be special family-focused activities, including plans for Tristan to race his first death racer while being filmed by Jim to capture the event from a child's perspective.
Ultimately, MRRF stands out as "the godfather of 3D printing events," serving as a vital hub where enthusiasts can showcase new products, test custom builds like SLS nylon printers and CNC machined parts, and celebrate their shared passion in an informal setting. The host emphasizes that the true value lies in the community itself rather than just the technology on display, encouraging attendees to introduce themselves by social media handles if they do not know each other personally. With only about three weeks remaining until the event, organizers hope that both local residents and those within driving distance will make a weekend trip out of it to experience this unique gathering firsthand. By promoting direct engagement with fellow makers and highlighting upcoming projects like Tristan's race car build, the video aims to inspire viewers to attend and contribute to what promises to be another fun-filled celebration of 3D printing culture in Indiana.
Read the full video transcript
There's a 3D printing event coming up in
just a few weeks and I bet you don't
even know about it. My name's Jim and
this is the Edge of Tech.
That's right. There's actually a big 3D
printing event coming up in Indiana in
just a few weeks. It's called MRRF or
the Midwest RepRap Festival and it's
over the weekend of June 13th and 14th.
If you don't know what a RepRap Festival
is, we just had one at the Rocky
Mountain RepRap Festival. It's basically
a big gathering of vendors and sponsors
and makers and all sorts of crazy 3D
printing things all put into one big
event. This one's actually called MRRF
or the Midwest RepRap Festival, like I
said, and it was actually the original
3D printing festival. A couple of guys
started it in a garage many years ago
and it kind of evolved to what it is
today. Now, that doesn't mean if you
went to the Rocky Mountain RepRap
Festival that this is going to be the
same. It's not the same. It's not
supposed to be the same and it's never
going to be the same. But, what it is is
a lot of fun. MRRF is like a big giant
family reunion of us 3D printing
enthusiasts that just get together and
hang out for the weekend. I I mean, it's
kind of like a big free-for-all. You
just show up, you get yourself a table,
and you show your cool stuff off or you
just show up and check stuff out. If you
have death racers, there's going to be
death racers there. If you have drag
racers, there might be drag races there,
I think, maybe. I don't know, but I
heard there might be. But, one thing
about MRRF is that it's much less
organized and put together than uh the
Rocky Mountain RepRap Festival or even
3D Printopia, which is another awesome
event coming later in the year. The
organizers of MRRF just don't want it to
be that. They want it to be the place to
come and hang out and show your cool
stuff off, see some new products from
the vendors and sponsors and just all
around a good time for 3D printing
enthusiasts. Again, the dates are June
13th and 14th, So, it's only like 25, 23
days away or something like that. You're
in the Goshen, Indiana area. That's
right, I said Goshen, Indiana. Then come
by and check it out. You can get there
by flying into a few different airports
around like like Chicago. It's about a
2-hour drive from Chicago. I think you
can fly into some other ones that are
closer, too. Um this one's actually the
closest for me, so I drive down. It's
about 4 hours, but it's totally worth
it. The whole weekend is just a ton of
fun hanging out with everybody. And by
hanging out, I mean literally, it's just
a big hangout. Again, a big family
reunion to see all of you guys and just
hang out. I keep saying hangout, but
that's what it is. It's a hangout. Also,
what's different this year is they are
going to have an air-conditioned uh
building that you can go check out. I
don't know how big this building is. I
don't know if it's just for the sponsors
or what. It's not the really big
building we've been in the last uh few
years, but it's the one that they used
previously like in 2019, I believe.
Thank you so much PCBWay for sponsoring
this video. And if you're looking to
finish off your special projects for
Murph, maybe you need a custom PCB,
maybe you need something CNC'd for that
robot that you're building, or even 3D
printed like this SLS nylon 12 Death
Racer that they did for me a couple
years ago, PCBWay has got your back. The
website is super simple. Just choose
what you're looking to do. Maybe it's a
custom PCB. Upload your design. They'll
check it out, and they shipping is super
fast, as well. The customer service is
great. And again, shipping is really
fast. So, if you need something done for
your Murph project, check out PCBWay.
They're the go-to in the 3D printing
industry, as you probably see them
sponsoring a ton of 3D printing channels
out there. Thanks again, PCBWay, for
sponsoring this video. And if you look
in the link in the description below,
you'll save yourself money on that next
project. Now, let's get back to talking
about Merf. Something you need to know
about Merf is it's in Amish country. So,
that means some really good furniture,
some really good food, and horse and
buggies all over if you drive kind of
like out of the country area in the
backroads. It is at the fairgrounds
there in Goshen, Indiana, and I'll have
all that information in the description
below along with a link to their
Facebook page, which is about the only
information you're going to get about
this event. Uh to be honest, there's not
a ton of information out there and
they're not really great about putting
information out there. But, that's why I
wanted to make this video cuz I think a
lot of people don't know about Merf and
would love to come, especially if you're
in driving range or, you know, something
like that where you're like, "Hey, I
could make a weekend out of this." Check
it out. It's definitely worth it, a lot
of fun. I know we always talk about this
with these videos, but the community is
what these events are made for. I look
forward to hopefully seeing my friend
Dan Adams and his sweet jambalaya that
he makes right in a turkey fryer out the
side of the building.
Uh he he piles a bunch of it in there
and makes multiple batches for people
like both days, which is really, really
cool of him. I look forward to uh
hopefully some food trucks. Don't know
if they're going to be there, but in
years past they have had food trucks, so
that's really good. I think the taco
truck was spot-on a couple times I've
had that. So, I look forward to seeing
some of the new stuff that that some of
the companies are bringing out. In the
Facebook page I link in the description
below, you can see the list of uh
sponsors and people that are signed up
to come, so you can check out any of the
sponsors or maybe see if your favorite
company is going to be there as well.
But, overall, I look forward to bringing
Tristan. Uh he just turned six and I am
attempting to build a death racer for
the event for him, and I cannot wait to
hopefully get that project put together
and uh and get it down there and let him
race his very first death races. I think
we're We're to do a video down there,
and I'm going to let him do it again. I
I want to see all the cool stuff, but I
want to see it through his eyes because
it's such a refreshing thing when a
young person can run around and just
check everything out and show you what
they like and and talk about what's cool
and stuff like that. So, look forward to
that video hopefully in the future cuz
I'm really looking forward to him doing
that video as well. There are still
hotels around that do have availability.
Prices aren't crazy that I know of.
Also, check Airbnbs.
I secured another really great Airbnb
that's just a few minutes away
from the event and I this is the second
year staying with them. Super cool place
and I really suggest checking out
Airbnbs as well because it can be a
great alternative to the hotels and
stuff. They usually have the doors open
on Saturday till like midnight. So, if
you're part of the event or you just
want to hang out and network and talk to
people,
I mean, you can hang out till they kick
you out. So, come check that out as
well. So, all of this is a very
long-winded way to say there's a 3D
printing event coming. It was the very
first one, the the godfather of 3D
printing events, and it's called MRRF.
It's in Goshen, Indiana, June 13th and
14th, and we want you to come hang out
with us. So, I hope to see you there. If
you see me, come up and say hi.
Introduce yourself if I don't know you.
And it always helps if you tell me what
your name is like on social media, too,
because I might know you from that name
and not your real name. But, I hope you
come out. I hope you say hi, and I hope
we get to hang out over the weekend at
MRRF. If you liked the video, please hit
that like button. If you want to see
more 3D printing, CNC, and laser videos,
please hit that subscribe button. I'm on
a mission now to get to 200,000
subscribers this year, and I'm going to
start pushing pretty hard, hopefully,
and I need your help. Also, if you
haven't seen this video right here, this
is the one I did last year with Tristan,
and that's going to show you a little
bit more about what Murph is about and
all the cool things that he saw last
year. So, check that video out. I really
would appreciate that and I know he
would, too. We'll talk to you guys later
and we'll see you at Murph.