As the old adage goes, “You either go big or go home.”; and in the case of the University of Maine’s Advanced Structures and Composites Center, they DEFINITELY went big. Using their ginormous in-house 3D printer which has a printing space of 22 by 100 feet and 10 feet high, they were able to print…

Though LEGOs have been used to create lots of things such as robots and life-size vehicle models, they never really move as smoothly as you would want them too. It might be due to their blocky nature, but without the aid of outside parts from different manufacturers, LEGOs move in a clicky, clacky manner unique…

While applications such as Google Translate can help us understand the written word in foreign languages on the fly, there hasn’t really been such an application to help with sign language. Rather than relying on sound, sign language is comprised of a series of rapid hand gestures that have to be seen and analyzed together…

Why limit recycling to Earth when you can do it in outer space too? Space manufacturing company Made in Space recently teamed up with thermoplastic resin and polypropylene company Braskem to create a plastic recycler for astronauts stationed at the International Space Station. Using Braskem’s specialized Green Plastic (a sugarcane-based plastic made using thermoplastic resin)…

You’ve seen tons of LEGO car builds in the past (some of which can even be driven), but I bet you don’t see something like this everyday: If your first instinct was to pick up this ATV and plop it on your homemade Hot Wheels track, you aren’t alone. This is a Sherp – a…

While a large house can definitely benefit from having a ton of furniture in it, too much furniture can make a small apartment or condo unit look cramped and unsightly. Seoul-based designer HyukJoon Choi has found a nice middle ground by creating a collection of furniture which both is and isn’t there. Dubbed the “invisible”…

YouTuber BLACKHAND is a master at constructing DIY projects that allow us to experience tantalizing chain reactions. His burning matchstick pieces are wildly popular enjoying views in the millions! But just when we may have been tempted to dubb him Mr. Combustable and were itching to burn something else, he’s done gone and changed up…

If you thought mobile cases with bunny ears and googly eyes were weird, wait ‘til you get a load of what HCI (human-computer interaction) researcher and interaction designer Marc Teyssier has been working on. By laying a number of electronics underneath a mixture of various silicones, he and his team created Skin-On: a phone case…

Since the 19th century, the bicycle has undergone thousands of different design iterations for different riding styles and rider sizes. While you could say frame designs have varied based on road or offroad usage, the core design of the bicycle itself hasn’t gone through many revolutionary design changes. This is where German manufacturer Urwahn Bikes…

Despite giant leaps in smartwatch technologies, the mechanical watch still manages to be a staple accessory that people continue to use every day. Currently seeking funding on Kickstarter, Rotate takes things one step further by having users assemble their own mechanical watch from scratch. Completely devoid of batteries (because that’s what a modular watch is),…

We love seeing how everyday objects are manufactured, but it can be equally as interesting to see those same objects disassembled; bringing to light just how parts and subassemblies are required to make an object function. Netherlands-based prototype designer Daniel de Bruin also has a profound sense of appreciation for the manufactured object. Professionally, he…

The high-speed space battles, lightsaber fights, and unique stories that make up the Star Wars galaxy far, far, away has transcended space and time to give us one of the most unique fictional worlds ever made. That said, the Jim Henson-like puppeteering techniques used to bring the original trilogy space opera to life are pretty…

Another day, another radical chair design. Instead of coming up with yet another ordinary chair, designer Peter Otto Vosding collaborated with cabinet maker Dirk Vosding to make a chair with as little materials as possible. The resulting piece of furniture is simply called the “Mµ” (pronounced “mm”). The chair is made from ash wood and…

Have you ever loved something so much you would want to keep something on your person at all times to remind you of it? A memento from a loved one, perhaps. How about a tattoo of your favorite symbol? Or maybe… a ring made from a bowling ball? An avid bowler and ring maker, Patrick…

While many graphic designers prefer Adobe Illustrator or Photoshop, avid motorcycle fan and graphic designer Gareth Fowler uses Cinema 4D and Adobe After Effects to create some kickass concept 3D animations inspired by engines. Though his initial foray into Cinema 4D mostly consisted of static 3D images, his love of GIFs led him to experiment…

If you’ve ever accidentally let go of a helium-filled balloon as a kid and watched it slowly float into the sky, chances are you’ve also wondered where it goes. Does it float past the point of no return and into space, thereby giving an extra-terrestrial child the joy of finding a free balloon? Now that…

Even though it’s just as important as eating three square meals a day, not everyone practices proper dental care. On a busy day, most folks would just quickly brush their teeth (or forget to altogether) before hopping in a car and driving to work—much to the bummer of their coworkers. Encompass was made to give…

Whoever said goofing around wouldn’t lead to new discoveries must have not done it long enough. Taking inspiration from the small, spinning whirligig toy, students at the Lambert High School in Georgia have come up with an inexpensive portable centrifuge capable of separating liquids of different densities. Dubbed the 3D-Fuge, the project is actually a…

It wasn’t too long ago when the concept of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and the capabilities of generative design seemed like some far off sci-fi future. Yet, both technologies are alive and kicking in 2019—and they came together recently to test the implementation of generative design and additive manufacturing capabilities in the field of UAVs.…

Being one of the be-all and end-all applications for designing, Autodesk is expanding its Fusion 360 repertoire by adding extensions. Much like paying a premium subscription for a video streaming service, this feature will provide Fusion 360 subscribers access to more specialized tools which not everyone may need on a daily basis. Using Cloud Credits…

As mankind’s ever-growing desire to make his own stuff increases, so does the amount of materials he can use to 3D print with. Wood, metal, carbon fiber, and now… wool? Researchers at the University of Michigan’s Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning developed a new felting process—dubbed Hard + Soft—that allows for different kinds…

From the 1950s to the 1980s, Braun, under the guidance of German industrial design icon Dieter Rams, helmed a ton of firsts for the audio industry. They made the first all-wave receiver, first portable music player, first stackable Hi-Fi system, and the first wall mounded sound system, among many others. Fast forward to 2019 where…

While drilling a hole is something every CNC machine user can do easily, programming the locations of several holes takes a bit more time and effort. Instead of going through the arduous process of setting the locations of numerous holes, Autodesk recently shared how to use their new hole recognition software in Fusion 360 to…

Though VR technology has come a long way since its inception in the late 19th century *ahem* 20th century, the methods of interacting with a virtual world have remained largely the same. Through the use of buttons and controllers, using a VR headset still feels very cumbersome despite its ability to add real actions into…

If you ever wanted to create threaded fasteners for screws, nuts, bolts and the like on the fly using good old Fusion 360, Autodesk has a simple method to easily implement them using the Thread command: Under the ‘Create’ menu, choose the ‘Thread’ command and select a cylindrical shape you want the thread to be…

Since Apple’s new cheese grater-looking Mac Pro was announced last June, the company has released a statement that the new PCs will be made in the U.S.A., specifically in Austin, Texas – the same place where Mac Pros have been made since 2013. This new Mac Pro will include parts sourced from 36 states; including…

Do you know what’s cooler than watching a YouTube video of a person build something? Being there yourself as the artist makes their creation, that’s what. Thanks to a collaboration with Oculus and Tested (a website run by Adam Savage dedicated to showing off his works as well as those of other creators), owners of Oculus Quest…

Ever since Elon Musk took to Twitter to ask his followers what they would like from a Tesla pickup truck, the world has waited with bated breath. Of course, this was back in 2018, and as we all know, he never really followed up on his promise—yet. This left a lot of Tesla fans hungry…

LEGO tie-ins with upcoming vehicles are nothing new, and the Jaguar 2020 Land Rover Defender is no exception. While the real thing will be out sometime next Spring (and it looks to be awesome), you can get the LEGO version as soon as next week. Made in partnership with Jaguar/Land Rover, the LEGO Technic Land Rover…

Though a remotely-controlled telepresence robot on wheels with your face on it may help assert one’s presence in a meeting room on the other side of the world, there’s no denying that the people on the other end doing the whole “interacting” thing with said robot might find it a bit off-putting—creepy, even. Double Robotics,…

Save for the gluten-free militia, just about everybody loves pasta. It’s filling, reasonably easy to cook, and you can still eat it long after your teeth have fallen out from old age. But would your obsession for the Italian dish run so deep that you’d make a working PC out of it? If not, then…

If you’re ever on Twitter or Instagram, chances are you’ve come across your fair share of smooth animations and design photos. You know the ones: 3D rendered clips and images that look and flow so well they have to be computer-generated. One such person who works on these designs is Julien Rivorie – a 3D…

Expanding on the success of his Disintegrating series of exploding car photos, Swiss artist and photographer Fabian Oefner has decided to try something similar with one of his close interests: cameras. CutUp, his newest project, involves a series of cameras which are casted in resin before being cut up and rearranged to produce works of…

From food manufacturers to e-commerce giants, the pressure is on to have at least some form of sustainable business practice as more consumers align with environmentally-friendly businesses. Loop is one way some larger brands are starting to dabble in becoming greener without resorting to completely uproot their existing supply chains. Created by recycling company TerraCycle, the online…

We can all (mostly) agree that being environment-friendly and leaning towards sustainable manufacturing methods is a good thing. So is eating well and being healthy. So by the unspoken rules of the universe, doing both at the same time is doubly good and an all-around best-case scenario. Design firm Carly Ratti Associati (CRA) and multinational oil and…

Nailguns are like man’s own gift to himself. With the pull of a trigger, you can drive a number of metal nails into whatever you want connected together. In a perfect world, all nailguns would be easy to carry and store, but sadly majority either use lithium-ion batteries or are fitted with a heavy air…

After their first Kickstarter campaign proved a success, the young designers at orangered life have taken their 30° Ruler (cleverly taglined “One Ruler to Rule Them All”) and brought it to a whole new level: The 30° Ruler 2.0 is still very much like its predecessor. Instead of a flat ruler, this one is angled at a…

These days, refrigerator manufacturers are adding just about anything—from touch displays to kid-friendly storage drawers—to appeal to today’s modern consumers with discerning tastes. And as America’s taste for craft cocktails continues to increase, it would make sense for LG to install a craft ice maker in one of their most expensive refrigerator offerings, the InstaView Door-in-Door…

Washing machines, blenders, stoves; just about every household appliance is associated with some form of electrical power. But what would household appliances look like if you removed the power cord and need for energy standards altogether? Created by German designer Manuel Immler, Pino is an electricity-free, multi-tool kitchen appliance that can be fitted with several standard kitchen…

Before Spotify, MP3 sound files, and CDs, people listened to music through cassette tapes. These little blocks of plastic with rolls of film in them played tunes when played through a cassette player, and no cassette player was more famous than the Sony Walkman. First introduced 40 years ago in July of 1979, Sony’s portable…

Never one to fall behind the times, Acer is updating their previously announced Concept D laptops with NVIDIA’s new Quadro RTX graphics cards. The laptops in question are the Acer Concept D 9 Pro, Concept D 7 Pro, Concept D 5 Pro, Concept D 3 Pro – all of which will be out later this…

Over the past couple of years, China has had a major boom in the bike-sharing industry. By renting bicycles out to the public for a fee, companies earn money from cyclists who use the same docking system. Now this is all well and good if there are a handful of competitors in the market, but…

Though many people think of chess as a boring, non-contact sport to watch, there’s nothing boring about a chess set which lights up in the dark. Crafted by YouTube creator CraftStation, he repurposes an old, wooden chess set and uses the pieces as molds for an awesome resin-casted set: After encasing the chess pieces in…

After seeing a faceted sculpture design made from folded paper one day, welder Andrei Kazantsev decided to try his hand at making his own sculptures using the material he works best with: folded steel. His most recent project lifesized faceted Pitbull, and he was generous enough to share the entire build process that goes into…

After spending most of the year working on space-efficient products like the Intuos Pro Small pen tablet, Pro Pen Slim stylus, and the entry-level Cintiq 16 tablet, Wacom has decided to size things up with its newest addition to their pen display tablet line: the Wacom Cintiq 22. Built to be a larger version of the Cintiq 16 (they even…

After the Curiosity rover proved itself for 15 long years on the job, its successor, the Mars 2020 Rover, is on the way. According to Associate Administrator, Thomas Zurbuchen, NASA has already begun fueling the new rover in preparation for its launch window between July 17 and August 5, next year. Much like Curiosity, the…

After 10 years of designing sports products, industrial designer Eelco Siebring has opted for quite the career change. No longer designing sporting equipment, he now works as the lead designer and 2D layout artist for Undone, the upcoming, and quite unique, animated series on Amazon Prime centering around a girl named Alma as she interacts…

Most readers of SolidSmack know how computer microchips work. But have you taken a good look at one, recently? I mean, a REALLY good look? To get a better sense of just how tiny the electronics in a microchip are, the Nanoscale Informal Science Education Network (or NISE Net for short) zoomed into an old…

After sanding a sheet of aluminum to a mirror finish, YouTube creator Skills and Trade decided to take their sanding skills a step further and try their hand at sanding and polishing a mini-fridge. Here’s what went down: Contrary to what you might think, there is absolutely nothing wrong with the fridge. It doesn’t have rust on its edges,…

From developers to ironworkers, just about everybody knows to wear a hard hat in hazardous work environments like construction sites. Keeping your noggin’ covered with these helmets keeps workers safe from falling debris and the occasional negligence by their coworkers. But just how effective are these hard hats in a dangerous incident? And is there…