Back in February of this year, we reported that the new $35 Raspberry Pi 2 would include a copy of Windows 10 for free – we just didn’t know when. Well, today is that day. In a new post on the Windows Blog, Steve Teixeira, Microsoft’s Director of Management for Microsoft’s IoT Team, announced that…

For most of us, a dropped ceramic mug or plate might mean a one-way ticket for the broken vessel to the trash bin. For Tokyo-based designer Yusuke Seki however, they would likely be added to his collection of ‘shinikiji’ – the Japanese term for flawed pieces. Recently, the Japanese designer – who has worked with…

When it comes to model making, every architect, designer or engineer has their own proven method – whether it starts with a simple sketch and moves to foam core or with various found materials. Regardless of how they got there though, the model that client sees is likely to be considerably more polished – and…

Since being founded in the spring of 1906 by Charles Stewart Rolls and Sir Frederick Henry Royce, British car manufacturer Rolls-Royce Limited has always been known for superior handmade quality and superior engineering that has led to multiple land and air speed records. Even as more automakers continue to turn to automating their assembly lines…

When it was first bottled under contract in Chattanooga, Tennessee in 1899, Coca-Cola was sold in straight-sided bottles with a metal stopper that looked more like vessels for whiskey rather than a refreshing thirst quencher. Over the next two decades, the soda would become so popular that it spawned an entire new industry of competitors…

If there’s one toy that’s been able to stand the test of time amongst the classics, Nerf blasters would certainly be somewhere near the top of the list. These days however, many kids (or manchildren) have taken dart blasting to new heights (and distances) with a number of hacking mods that include everything from over-pressurizing…

After being popularized by Buckminster Fuller in the 1940s, the geodesic dome has been used to construct everything from small garden shelters in backyards to large sports arenas in major cities. Among other reasons for its choice as a shelter, the dome is an extremely strong structure for its weight while also possessing the greatest…

While some of us may pride ourselves on successfully crossing our t’s and dotting our i’s with any sort of consistent grace – both figuratively and literally – professional artist and certified Master Penman Jake Weidmann lives for it. The Denver-based ink master, who is the world’s youngest certified Master Penman by three decades, has…

Walls. Love ’em or hate ’em, they just look better with something on them. Unless you’re still 15 years old, that Pearl Jam poster just isn’t going to cut it anymore. For those who’ve been wondering what the heck to put on their walls, we just might have the solution – and best of all,…

Despite the seemingly endless amount of project management and instant messaging apps, spitwads and Nerf darts are oftentimes still used as a form of communication between some engineering and design teams. Whether you have an ongoing game of office warfare or not, it also never hurts to be prepared. For those who simply just want…

When it comes to getting up in the morning, everybody has their own technique for rising from slumber. While some may prefer setting a quick and easy alarm on their smartphones or a jolt from a heavy metal radio station, others prefer the smoothing sounds of jazz or a waterfall. Whatever your method is, none…

If Zoolander was an actual person and came across Lance Abernethy’s miniature tool collection, there’s a good chance that he would ask “what are these? tools for ants?” – and for good reason. Abernethy, who resides in New Zealand, has been actively building miniature ‘micro-machine’ replicas of his power tools for the past year that…

For the past two months, Lexus has been gradually releasing details regarding their “Amazing” Slide hoverboard – but of course, never the technology inside of it. Today, the Japanese automaker finally released the details behind the Slide hoverboard and why they set out to do it. As expected, the board was a publicity stunt for…

While today’s tablet sketching apps are a dime a dozen, only very few of them actually get the user experience right – particularly when it comes to truly being useful rather than being an interface to digitally doodle. While few things could ever replace a simple back pocket sketchpad and a favorite pen, this generation’s…

Invented by naval engineer Richard James in the early 1940s, the Slinky has provided generations of kids and adults with a never-ending supply of satisfying levitating tricks and was even declared as the official national toy of the United States after having been declared “a recreational device that exemplifies the inventiveness of the American spirit”.…

When it comes to the near future of immersive 3D viewing platforms, the science behind the holographic and virtual reality experiences can oftentimes be replicated using only the basic of supplies. Among others, Google Cardboard has proven that anybody can experience VR for next to nothing (seriously, the cardboard viewers are given out for free…

As the Head of Research & Development at Sugru, UK design engineer Jude Pullen has undoubtedly spent more time kneading the ‘moldable glue’ than most of us – and thanks to his uncanny ability to create fun and educational projects involving various prototyping methods and materials, we all get to benefit from it. Previously, Jude…

Although manufactured toy construction sets – such as Tinkertoy – have been in existence for over a century now, it wasn’t until the desktop fabrication revolution a few years ago when we started to see how the design and production of similar sets can be created at home by the consumer – in fact, it…

Having made knives from everything from an old Jeep spring to a railroad spike, custom knife craftsperson Trollsky has proven time and time again that he can upcycle just about anything that’s made out of metal into a razor-sharp edge. For his latest trick, he looked no further than the toolbox in his workshop to…

Since it was founded in Amsterdam in 2013 by co-founders Brian Garret and Bram de Zwart, 3D Hubs has grown into the largest network of 3D printers with over 15,000 locations in over 140 countries, providing over 1 billion people access to a 3D printer within 10 miles of their home. The company is often…

When it comes to bicycle frame design, the decision to use a light-colored wood such as white ash isn’t always a feasible design decision – but who the heck needs feasible when you can ride around town on a bike that looks like Keim’s Arvak? Since unveiling their Arvak frame design in April of 2014,…

With hundreds of officially licensed figures ranging from the Alien franchise to Mars Attacks!, Hong Kong-based Hot Toys Limited has been the go-to production house for ultra-detailed media property figures that fetch hundreds to thousands of dollars from loyal toy collectors. Established in 2000, the company began by producing high-detailed 1:6 scale U.S. military special…

Since announcing that they were working on an actual working hoverboard late last month, Lexus has been sporadically teasing Back to the Future fanatics and the curious general public alike with quiet updates on the board’s development. So far, what we know about “Slide” is that it uses magnetic levitation and liquid nitrogen cooled superconductors…

Although some of us may refer to 3D printing as “a tool in our toolbox” for when the need to rapid prototype arises, one Florida design engineer recently took the saying quite literally. Chad Bridgewater, an employee at Florida’s Boca Bearings, recently modded an old vintage Huot toolbox to create an expandable 3D printer that…

Although existing cutaway and section view tools that exist in today’s CAD tools are incredibly reliable, they pale in comparison to the hand drawn detailed cutaway drawings that were – at one time- the most advanced form of communication for designers, engineers and manufacturers. Although cutaway illustrations have been used for centuries for everything from…

Between the Evolution Door from Klemens Torggler to the Fletcher Capstan Table from Fletcher Burwell-Taylor, kinetic furniture designs have been slowly finding their way into the mainstream thanks to their mesmerizing shape-shifting characteristics that are the result of some tedious engineering. More recently, New York-based kinetic artist Ian Stell has created what is likely to…

It’s no secret that SolidWorks is still among the most widely-used CAD applications in the product design industry. Yet despite its widespread use and popularity, a number of alternative CAD offerings have been coming out of the woodwork within the past few years that leverage cost (oftentimes in a freemium or monthly subscription business model)…

As is the case for many architects, 77-year-old Renzo Piano’s career started while building sandcastles near his childhood home on the shores of Genoa, Italy. Since the days of his earliest structure designs, Piano has gone on to design some of the world’s most famous buildings including Paris’ Centre Pompidou, London’s Shard, and more recently,…

If you’ve been paying any attention to Japan’s Olympic stadium woes in preparation for the upcoming Tokyo 2020 games, then you’ll know that the situation has become a complete mess. The original design of the $2 billion stadium by Zaha Hadid was met with fury by many of the country’s own architects who said it…

While there are plenty of upcycled designs that can be made from discarded skateboard decks, a custom handmade guitar isn’t necessarily the first possibility that comes to mind. Yet for 22 year old self-taught woodworker and industrial design student Nick Pourfard, combining his passions for both music and skateboarding was a no-brainer. Based out of…

Although there are plenty of iconic furniture designs that are so recognizable that even non industrial designers can easily call them by name, few are as recognizable as the original Eames Lounge Chair and Ottoman, which was released in 1956 by designers Charles and Ray Eames. The chair and ottoman set, which is the result…

Since they started coming up in CAD in the Cloud discussions earlier this year, Frame (fra.me) has shown no signs of slowing down their pursuit of allowing users to put any Windows application in their own personal Cloud. Among other reasons why the platform has been of interest is because it will allow users of…

It’s no secret that cardboard is among one of the most effective materials for building prototypes, yet the material rarely ever moves past prototyping stage for obvious reasons. Ernest Packaging, a nationwide custom packaging solution company that was started out of a Los Angeles garage in 1946, has been spending the past year pushing the…

When it comes to seamlessly blending the pleasures of film fanatics who have a fascination with how the forged weapons from their favorite movies are made, the Man at Arms crew always delivers. The Man at Arms team, which consists of expert blacksmiths and craftsmen with a penchant for keeping things interesting, have been regularly…

Thanks to a growing network of designers and engineers who been actively donating their time, energy and 3D printers towards the development of low-cost (or free) customized prosthetic devices, those who rely on the devices have never had as many options as they do today. Among others, e-NABLE has been actively establishing a global network…

When it comes to the near future of how things get made, generative design tools are slowly but surely becoming yet another useful component of the modern day designer and engineer’s tool kit. The generative design process, which centers around infinite computing power to find optimized design solutions based on parameters that are set by…

When it comes to learning 3D CAD tools in today’s age – be it SolidWorks, Rhino, Catia, Fusion 360, MODO or most any other – motivated self-learners have more options than ever before ranging from random tips and tricks videos on YouTube to more organized online courses from multiple providers. But as educational tools as…

It’s been said (and proven) repeatedly that those with a background in design can offer the most useful feedback in ways outside of a traditional design studio – whether it’s in an executive business meeting setting or even a high school classroom. For most, this comes down to putting a tried and true user-centered, prototype-driven…

Making primitive huts and tools from scratch using only natural materials found in the wild is a skill that many may wish they had, but rarely ever have had the opportunity to learn. For new YouTuber Primitive Technology, making these huts and tools appear to be a part of his everyday life – and now…

Although the latest camera technologies have allowed both professional and amateur photographers to have more control than ever over their photography techniques, many of today’s camera body designs lack a particular timeless charm that analog film cameras once had and – more often than not – leave a lot to be desired in the material…

Considered by many to be among the best desktop 3D printers for creating high resolution parts, the SLA-based Form 1+ from FormLabs is also unique in that it is capable of using a variety of resin materials to satisfy different print needs. Currently, the FormLabs lineup of resin materials – which come in 1-liter bottles…

Although using the visual data from sound waves to create a number of designs – both 3D and 2D – isn’t necessarily a new concept, the clickity-clack process of gathering and making use of the usable data hasn’t been as easy as one might expect. For Brooklyn-based artist and creative technologist Blair Neal, this was…

It’s no secret that CAD tools are among the most complex pieces of software to learn and – perhaps most importantly – use effectively with intent. Unsurprisingly, learning these tools has been a brutal experience for many that can test even the most patient of learners and take them to their limits. More recently, video…

Although the Lego brand hasn’t yet found a solution for the inevitable rogue Lego brick that somehow always ends up being stepped on with a bare foot, the company has been actively looking into ways of making their seemingly perfect toy bricks a better product. Among other ways they can make Lego bricks better? Make…

Although product designers have been using various additive manufacturing technologies to create rapid prototypes for decades now, few objects have ever been bigger than a traditional consumer electronic product. Thanks to recent developments in the past few years though, the scale of 3D printing – through FDM 3D printing methods, to be exact – has…

Considering how much time we spend at our keyboards (well, many of us anyways), even the slightest of design changes can make a world of difference in how we interact with our digital toolkits – good or bad. Apple understands this and has even brought their latest keyboard technologies front and center for their latest…

Although a large amount of attention over the past few years (and especially the last two months) has been focused on the bevy of digital streaming music services including Spotify, Apple Music and Tidal, another kind of listening experience revolution has been quietly brewing as well – yet it’s been in front of us for…

The last time we checked in with Frame – the cloud platform that lets users run any software from within their browser – we had the chance to chat with the young startup’s CEO and founder Nikola Bozinovic about the near-future of CAD in the Cloud and how his platform could revolutionize the workflows of…

Despite the deep connection to Earth that can be found through surfing waves around the world, the process of creating a typical surfboard is anything but earth-friendly; among other materials used in the traditional surfboard manufacturing process include polyurethane blocks and various glassing chemicals whose waste gets tossed into waste bins once the finished board…

For all of the ‘making of’ videos that go behind the scenes of how a product comes to life, it’s easy to forget that the product’s lifecycle goes far beyond where most of these videos end – which more often than not is somewhere between coming off the production line and packaging. In what is…