Thingsmith was created for, and one first place at, CodeDay Portland: a 24 hour hackathon hosted by StudentRND. Time, not quality, was the priority. Also please note that I was just learning Rails at the time of this project.
ThingSmith connects makers with great ideas to people who have the 3D printers and laser cutters necessary to make their ideas a reality.
With tools like Makerbot's Replicator 2, desktop 3D printing is slowly creeping into the mainstream. However even the basic Replicator is $2,200 - way too expensive for most hobbyists to justify purchasing. That's why we have hacker spaces with communal machines. We think they're awesome, but a little inconvenient and inaccessible.
Let's say you want to print out a 3D companion cube as an awesome gift. Just post your model on ThingSmith and specify a desired cost, material and completion date. Then, wait and watch as potential producers bid for your business. Once you've found a satisfactory producer, just accept their bid and wait for your epic creation to arrive.
It's as simple as that.
Moderns fabrication equipment is expensive. However with ThingSmith it can pay for itself.