“You know the thrill of walking down a back alley in hopes you might find something amazing? I fucking live for that.” This is how US traveler Scott Allen opens up the About page on his website devoted entirely to hardware hacking and documenting his strange-but-true stories straight out of the world of technology and…

Who doesn’t love falling asleep to the muffled growl of a V8 engine? If you’re the type of car-loving family that has motor oil running through your blood, you may be the ideal candidate for a new crib for your youngest, thanks to Ford Spain (assuming it’s not an April Fools’ joke a few days…

While 3D printing may still be in the midst of having an identity crisis in the world of mass production (although the recent Adidas and Carbon partnership looks promising), there is no shortage of applications for custom parts in the aviation industry. Although airline manufacturers have been using a variety of additive manufacturing methods for…

Few examples of product packaging have had an upcycling history quite like the iconic Altoids Tin. From wallets and first aid kits to even a mini bbq stove, the applications people have come up with for repurposing the cheap tin containers are as wide-ranging as they are ingenious. And in the age of DIY electronic…

For the hardcore pen fanatics out there, the ability to accommodate a particular type of ink refill can make or break the purchase of an otherwise perfect pen. Further, few people enjoy being locked into a propitiatory refill—forced to buy only one particular kind of ink. Enter the Ti Pocket Pro—a titanium pen that adjusts…

For an industry responsible for wrapping material around a human foot for athletic performance purposes, it’s been a long hard road for shoe manufacturers to take 3D printing seriously as a viable form of bespoke manufacturing on a grand scale. And while companies ranging from Under Armour to New Balance have been keeping pace, it…

Corn. It’s not just for soaking in butter or rotating on a drill at 2500 RPM. While Nike has made huge strides to minimize their environmental footprint, and Adidas has been introducing shoes made from plastic sourced from ocean waste, Reebok is the latest footwear company to get in on the sustainability action with the…

Whether it’s the 1991 film The Rocketeer or any of the more recent Iron Man movies, Hollywood has been teasing us with the jet pack for years. After all—who wouldn’t want the chance to fly? As a result, dozens—if not hundreds—of dreamers have built countless prototypes in an attempt to build the most viable solution…

One of the most remarkable things about the Raspberry Pi isn’t just in what it’s capable of doing—but how affordable it is. As a result, many users never think twice about building out fun side projects—many of which are some of the best examples of the single-board computer in-use. The LEGO Macintosh Classic with e‑paper…

When it comes to ‘garage inventors’, few people carry the title as well as Colin Furze. The plumber-turned-viral YouTube video star out of Stamford, Lincolnshire has created everything from the world’s fasted pram to a hoverbike in his humble UK-based garage workshop. And while he probably worries his friends and family sick, he’s showing no…

From brewing methods to bean varieties, coffee connoisseurs have never had as many choices for their daily cup of brew as they do today. And while some may swear by the simplicity of the good old-fashioned French press, brewing technologies have been slowly seeping their way into the mainstream; be it in the form of…

There is something zen-like about products that require no hardware to assemble (we’re looking at you, IKEA). It’s as if those materials and parts were created for the sole purpose of existing as the components of a seamless assembly. The Lo1 lamp from Chilean industrial designer Emmanuel Gonzalez is one of those products. With a…

When it comes to testing out new toy inventions, nobody can beat the opinion of an honest kid. Better yet, a panel of kid judges. In a new spin on the Shark Tank show format, where inventors and budding entrepreneurs pitch their ideas to investors including Mark Cuban and Barbara Corcoran for advice and hopefully,…

You know something has gone mainstream when IKEA starts to sell it. And no, I’m not talking about fried onions and cream sauce. Try smart home products. Called Trådfri, the internet-connected smart lighting system is the company’s first foray into the home automation market—which is currently dominated by products including Philips Hue and Nest. At…

They may have had their heyday in the 1980s, but cassette tapes, like vinyl records, are making a huge comeback in the digital age. While streaming music services such as Apple Music and Spotify have more monthly subscribers than ever before, there is an equally popular need for tangible, physical music, too. And unlike vinyl…

It’s very much a first world problem, but a problem that plagues desktop workers all the same: cold hands. While the problem is more prevalent for computer gamers, cold hands are a very real problem for those who sit at their workstations all day—in fact, it’s just plain science. As a result—whether the office thermostat…

When you’re a kid, few things go better together than tools and a build-it-yourself project. Ok, maybe peanut butter and jelly. But for the young mechanic in the family, this engine repair set from Hammacher Schlemmer will take care of the former—and safely, too. Featuring a somewhat detailed engine in the body of a fake…

While 3D printing might have lost its magic in the mainstream, there’s no denying that those that are still in the thick of it are coming up with ever more impressive ways of extruding melted plastic into functional objects. And for some, 3D printing is still a viable way for not just prototyping but also…

The pull between the pen and the pixel has plagued designers since the early days of digital design software. While a finished product always ends up as data, it’s more logical to test out ideas on paper before committing to a digital plan of action. Sure—hardware like the iPad Pro and Microsoft Surface have created…

As futuristic as it sounds, we all knew that the day would come when all of our ‘smart’ wearables are embedded into … well, the things that we’re already wearing. While MIT students and various tinkerers have been experimenting with ‘smart’ fabrics for years now, few concepts have been viable enough to bubble up to…

No matter how you spin it, headphones can be a nuisance when it comes to desktop organization. Despite the array of headphone storage options out there, it’s still all too common to just place them wherever is convenient on the desktop But what if headphones could actually be a centerpiece of your desktop (after your…

In the arena of tablet styluses, ranging from basic nubs to advanced pressure-sensitive offerings from Apple and Wacom, little consideration has been put into making the writing devices look at all analog. Instead, the majority of digital sketching styluses are futuristic interpretations of what a writing instrument could be. With the launch of the Noris…

It’s one of the most recognizable and versatile shoe designs ever created—yet how it’s manufactured has remained a mystery to many over the past 40 years. The Nike Air (bag), which is used in everything from the company’s basketball shoes to even golf and skateboarding shoes, was a pioneering idea that helped establish Nike as…

It’s been years in the making and one of the last dreams of Steve Jobs before his passing in 2011, but the new Apple heaquarters—Apple Park—is finally set to open next month. As one of the most future-forward buildings in existence, the ring-shaped headquarters is a modern marvel in sustainable architecture and operations, with solar…

Headphones. They’re a modern necessity for many of today’s workers and, in many cases, have become the universal sign for “don’t bother me right now.” But as convenient as they are, they can be kind of annoying when it comes to keeping your desk uncluttered. Headphone stands usually tend to do the trick, but how…

For $5, the Raspberry Pi Zero has been a remarkably capable computer for all your hardware tinkering needs in a bite-sized package – assuming you haven’t needed Bluetooth or WiFi connectivity. While a number of accessories have been available to provide additional connection options, they greatly sacrificed the small size of the Zero, which was,…

While Nike and Adidas consistently pull out all the stops when it comes to promoting their latest footwear innovations, other footwear manufacturers have taken a much quieter route in promoting their technologies—but that doesn’t necessarily mean that they don’t have them! While it may have been 30 years in the making, this epic mini-documentary from…

With sales of vinyl records in 2016 reaching a 25-year high (3.2 million LPs sold), it comes as little surprise that more musical artists want their albums pressed for a growing base of fans that are treasuring physical music formats once again over streaming services. Yet, because of the downfall of vinyl in the age…

It’s become so common in our workflows that we usually don’t even think about it anymore. But let’s be honest here: working with different 3D file formats between all the various tools we use these days is a royal pain in the ass. But what if working with 3D files could actually be seamless? What…

No matter how you crease, fold, cut, or throw them, paper airplanes are a ridiculously fun way to learn the basics of aerodynamics at any age. For Sao-Paola based designer Arthur Sacek, they were also the inspiration behind his latest LEGO build: an automated paper airplane manufacturing contraption that can take a single sheet of…

While smartphones and the Cloud have made note taking and inspiration gathering easier than ever, effectively organizing all of that new incoming information has been lackluster at best. Although robust note-taking apps like Evernote and even native note apps on iOS and Android perform all of the basic functions, making logical sense of it all…

From mechanical wings to jet packs, man’s desire to fly stretches back centuries. But, like flying cars and teleportation, it’s a concept that’s still just beyond our grasp. But for the particularly gutsy extreme sports enthusiast, Hoversurf’s Scorpion 3 Hoverbike just might carry over any fleeting flying desires in the meantime. Built as a combination…

No stranger to modding things to his liking, ex-Mythbusters host Adam Savage has documented the process of created everything from custom tool storage in his incredible workshop to even a working replica of the Star Trek Captain’s Chair. Not surprisingly, the results are always entertaining. For his latest, Savage is sure to make Nerf fans…

Whether or not Apple actually makes a self-driving car for the masses or not, perhaps just as interesting is what the company would envision a car in 2020 to actually look like—you know, considering that it would be chiseled away by a team of the world’s most elite industrial designers. To give them a boost,…

Unlike desktop 3D printers, which have only grown more connected and technologically advanced over the past few years, vacuum forming has remained somewhat Lo-Fi—oftentimes consisting of a homemade jig hooked up to a shop vac. But what if desktop vacuum forming finally got smart? It would probably look a whole lot like the Vaquform, which…

While 3D printing failed to live up to its hype as a viable form of manufacturing—at least, in a way that makes sense—there were a few bespoke product companies that managed to pave their way through the noise and found success using more advanced additive manufacturing technologies to produce their one-off wares. Among others was…

With online games and other interactive programs tailored to the needs of the coding novice, the days of learning basic coding principles through a traditional coding environment are long over. But what if we want to get away from the screen altogether? Such is the premise behind Musicon, an interactive wooden musical instrument that doubles…

Robots. They’re set to (maybe) take over the world. But first, they’re going to take over our…desks? If the uArm Swift from uFactory is any indication of what the future of desktop peripherals might look like, robotic arms capable of 3D printing or pick & placing may ultimately be just as common as the desktop…

From converting a cheap wood dining room table into the ultimate productivity station to repurposing lamp components into clever light fixtures, there are very few things that cannot be done with IKEA’s expansive product line and a creative mind. Despite a growing community of IKEA Hackers, however, the company has never formally encouraged these hacks—as…

Every once in a while, a new business model comes along that totally disrupts the status quo and changes the way we buy and become introduced to new products. Among others, the subscription service business model is just one of them. While these days consumers can purchase everything from socks to pre-prepared dinners and shave…

From media streaming centers to touch screen ‘magic’ mirrors, there are seemingly few things that the Raspberry Pi cannot do when put in capable hands. But in the case that you find yourself needing more power for all your DIY hacking sessions, look no further than….Asus? Yes – the same Taiwanese makers of the ZenBook,…

There’s no denying that the Apple iPad Pro and the Microsoft Surface have become extremely powerful pieces of hardware for pros on the go. That said, while they score high points for portability and ease of use, they’re not necessarily ideal for a typical design professional’s end-to-end workflow that requires a more robust software package.…

It’s no secret that e-waste is on the rise. While socially conscious companies are starting to ramp up design for disassembly or otherwise take a closer look at their supply chains, we’re still not exactly in a desirable place when it comes to a worldwide effort – as outlined in a new report from United…

For those who depend on a graphics tablet for design tasks ranging from ideation sketching to 3D modeling, Wacom is pretty much the gold standard when it comes to quality and price. Unlike the iPad Pro or Microsoft Surface, however, there’s little else the graphic tablets are capable of doing efficiently and comfortably when not…

When it comes to professionally-engineered LEGO builds, the end-goal is more often than not to recreate a real-world object as accurately as possible using square bricks. For some of the company’s most recent models, this dedication to modeling after true life has gone as far as having a build sequence modeled after the true-to-life factory…

From ridiculously complicated product lifecycle management scenarios to some of the most futuristic manufacturing tech ever seen, few industries are quite like the aerospace industry. While we may be a few years off from some really, really futuristic stuff trickling down to Coach—and even, First—Class, it’s safe to say that we’ve come a long way…

It’s hard to believe that CES is already behind us in the new year, and with it, a slew of new products and technologies that you likely won’t need for yet another year (Alexa! Drones! OLED TVs!). Okay, so maybe you actually do need an Alexa-enabled device for ordering barrels of cheeseballs and toilet paper…

Often overlooked until the very end of a design process, package design can be a critical part of branding that strongly dictates how a consumer feels about a product before they even open it. While nobody is necessarily expected to operate in the upper echelon of Apple iPhone boxes (very expensive), there are better solutions…

Since screaming onto the American manufacturing scene in 2013, lifestyle brand Shinola Detroit has expanded their product line from high-end watches to leather goods to even bicycles — all with a majority of the parts and materials sourced from local or national suppliers and assembled in Detroit, Michigan. For their latest project, the company pulled out…

Who doesn’t love a great video of giant metal parts being manufactured? Suffice it to say, we’re suckers for them around here at SolidSmack. Thankfully, the equally-obsessed fellas over at Extreme Machines Magazine have got our back—and a treasure trove of manufacturing vids, to boot. For their latest hypnotic masterpiece, the fellas took us inside…