Have you ever walked the hallways dangling portable 3D mice from your arms like a raging super villain who can expel them from beneath the skin as an effective attack mechanism? I knew you have. This may even less of an occurrence now as the wee, corded 3DConnexion SpaceMouse is shedding its ties to the…

Have you been crinkling your nose in the mirror, wondering about all the hullabaloo over Staples getting into the 3D printing scene? Well, with MCor Technologies as their partner, they just opened their local service in Europe, introducing “that was easy” to the hoards ready to get their 3D printing fix whilst picking up some…

I’m watching the video for a new 3D Printer project on Kickstarter. “Are there not enough of those EACH WEEK?!” Well, with this one I’m thinking… or rather, my skin is crawling out of itself (if that’s possible) growing a brainstem of it’s own and thinking, “Great gobs of laser-fused resin, FINALLY, new 3D print…

The blast peeled back the sides of the tin skirted fence rows, dirt churned to powder, those hidden behind revealed in their pale, hunched shapes half burrowing, half rising to escape, perhaps a bodily torment, but more a hunger that anticipated your next move… and your next… and your next… drawing their consumptive energies from…

I’m all for tossing up some highly complex, geometrically intense, 3-dimensional visuals on flat surfaces to wow the senses and, I tell you what, Bot & Dolly do not disappoint. Bot & Dolly is a design and engineering studio that specializes in automation, robotics, and filmmaking, but to show off what their rigs and equipment…

Lo and behold, a wee update popped up on the Autodesk CAM page today. An update with a shiny ‘NEW’ badge to share that Autodesk has actually finished development of their very own native CAM app for Inventor. And like its companion app and predecessor HSMXpress for SolidWorks, Autodesk Inventor HSM Express is completely free.

There are but a few products in this world that really draw out the raw, bubbling essence of human ingenuity and mindful consideration of fellow man. And but a few tools you want at your disposal when formidable circumstances approach. The paint scraper. The shovel. The toilet plunger. Three things that should be on everyone’s…

It wasn’t too long ago that Flatter Files was putting SolidWorks and AutoCAD files in your pocket. Ouch! Pardon your reach! Now they’ve churned out an update aimed at access to a wider array of content and have pushed their platform to the far reaches of the Android universe with a new app available for…

Remember the crew over at iGo3D who just opened up their fancy-schmancy brick and mortar store? Well, it seems that little opening is all part of bigger plans to have exclusive launch parties for new and improved 3D printers. This Friday, they will throw another shin-dig, teaming up with Ultimaker, to launch the Ultimaker 2.…

If I could do a website completely dedicated to 3d printed catapults, I would. In fact, from now on, SolidSmack is all 3D printed catapults, all the time. I kid of course. There are simply not enough 3D printed catapults to make that topic interesting, However, there is one which is quite interesting. Jonas Dalidd…

Each lens dropped the slates of yellow hard against the floor, blurred vertical by the acceleration and increased afterburn of the jump jets. If there were any charred remnants, crispins of fur or chattered casings, it would lay beneath the protective coating of these links. Duarte Pires – Thick lines, bright color in a range…

Gripped by arms of bracken root, the piper played his tune. A sky of gold and blue. A somber prelude, bit by angst and taken to its end. A song that slides and flows and chides and then consumes these links. Landis Fields – A wide mix of mech and concept, among video, illustration and…

The new Haptix motion controller just one-upped the Leap Motion controller in a big way. Last week we saw Elon Musk fiddling about mid-air with a rocket engine using the Leap Motion, while weeks before the Haptix device was launched on Kickstarter. While similar to the Leap Motion, it looks down on your nubbin’s instead…

You may have just returned from that weekend trip, growing your beard and connecting with nature via a fish hook to the cheek… the ear… and also the upper eyelid. You even caught a few fish to prove it could actually be done, but tying on those fish hooks after clipping them repeatedly from the…

Those lines. Those edges. The inescapable patterns of grill and USB ports. The new Dell Precision line is here, and although the marketing images look identical to the previous Precision line, these puppies carry a bit more pop than the predecessors. Surprised? Let’s have a look.

How do you open your first 3D print store? Why you kick off the event by cutting a 3D printed chain with a pair of bolt cutters. That’s exactly what iGo3D did. An established online 3D print source/supplier, they’re bringing on the brick-and-mortor, opening the doors over the weekend to the iGo3D Store, the first…

Perhaps you were enjoying some light budgeting of software expenses over the weekend, following thoughts of monthly pricing with icy swigs of Portland’s best pale ale. Would paying monthly work better? How can we get the software we need for this three month project? Autodesk thinks they have the answer. They’ve been moving toward a…

When tall, shank-steamed colanders spilled the oily residue through mossy, tangled sieves, the arms reached from outside as the last vestige of light split the sights of a glow and an eye that twitched to reveal these links. Eric Felten – Ships and spaceports of course, but also corridors, landing pads and desktops that delivers…

In last week’s Cool Tools of Doom n’ Stuff, we mentioned Elon’s upcoming reveal for a gestured-controlled rocket design. Sure enough he shared the video yesterday via Twitter. This is Elon riding the ‘Future of Design’ like the broken colt of an Altai mountain stallion. Giddyup.

Here’s a treat for those who take to the street screaming “La revolución consolidada!” Last week we revealed that AIO Robotics, a small start-up out of the University of Southern California (USC) would be launching the “World’s First All-in-one 3D Copy Machine.” The functions include 3D printing, 3D scanning, copying and faxing (from one copier…

It’s that awkward pause during the conversation around the dinner table. You and your pea-tossing children have just found out your mom is listing her 3D printer online. She’s making necklaces and bracelets for the ladies down at the craft barn and padding her retirement income quite nicely with cash and discarded ABS spools. How’s…

The branch of the tree twisted down to the trunk. Grooved deeply and large enough the three of us could walk side by side. If it hadn’t appeared we might think the quakes surfacing it from the forest floor from another source, but it was all to apparent, the cause, was these links. Robert Chew…

Whipping out a full size monitor willy-nilly whilst travelling the tube may get you banned from public transportation, but that doesn’t mean you can’t do it anyway. Why stop at one monitor though? How about three or four? Especially when you can fit them all in your backpack. Able-HD is a 17″ portable HD 1080p…

Don’t look down. Your keyboard is filthy. What if you could toss it? What if you could type, interact and control devices using a 3-dimensional multi-touch interface… on any surface? The Haptix Kickstarter campaign, headed up by co-founders Darren Lim and Lai Xue, is in full swing, passing the $100k funding goal, heading toward a…

The swollen artery of 3D printers on the market keeps expanding. I would say it has burst open, spewing endless configurations of plastic, epoxy or powder binding possibilities across your workshop/office floor. You would think there’s not much innovation or improvement left with the explosion of 3D printers we’ve seen… unless you have actually used…

For as long as the human race has had access to 3D printers, they’ve dreamt of creating a 3D printed skateboard… Well, maybe not the entire human race, but a few imaginative persons have dreamt of printing custom decks and one of them has made it happen. 3DPRINTUK posted the result of the CGTrader 3D…

If you’ve not heard of Craighton Berman, you’ve seen his work (or work inspired by his). He’s an industrial designer/illustrator based in Chicago and it just so happens that this year’s IDSA International Conference is in Chicago as well. So, it worked out quite nicely for Craighton to stop by and lend his signature sketching…

The slaps came fast as if the bears paws were on a mechanical device geared to inflict all sorts of pain. They were in fact on a mechanical device. Paws attached to such a contraption as to make the head spin. But not one paw, not even two, but 5,286 paws spinning with a ferocity…

Pencils. They’re all the rage with kids these days. You can write with them, draw with them, chew on them and absorb the graphite directly into your blood stream. Unfortunately, the common pencil is a bit drab. So to prevent someone from becoming offended at that drabness and stabbing the pencil in your jugular, there’s…

Gone are the days where you need an actual, physical product in your hand to make someone believe you know what in blazes you’re yapping about. In reality all you need is augmented reality and a clever app to make your very own 3D models appear anywhere you please. Augment is an app available for…

When you’re thinking about squeezing those mashed taters between your fingers and your elbow skin starts to flare, it usually means one thing. You have a hankering for some completely unfettered week-night sculpting insanity. Now, you have quite a few options out there, the newest of which is Cubify Sculpt. 3D Systems announced the new…

There are three things I throw away on a daily basis; Scraps of wood, lint from the pocket of a woolen yak coat, and business cards. I dare you to throw this business card away. It may look like your standard 2.5″ x 3.0″ infocard of someone you met at that one conference, but it…

It is as it had been. A bleeding seized upon the land, green absorbed, mechanicals tremoring to the surface with dust in one hand, a cigar in the other and a cape of pure light stitched together with these links. Hugo Martin – Incredibly rich, complex environments, keyframes, matte painting and more to set the…

Everyone wants to be loved. Everyone also wants a bucket of booze when they’re not loved. You could grab that mug shaped like a sad, baby owl (or just fall in the bucket) to drown your sorrows, but if you want to be sad in style or just have a quick snap from your fav…

In a not too distant future, you’ll absorb your coffee through the air, control your home thermostat with third eyelash from your left eye and sculpt crazy alien faces in your browser. Actually, that last one is already here. It has been for some time as a open source port of a school project by…

Believe it folks. SolidWorks eDrawings for Android is real, living in a small bungalow at the corner of Google Play and awesome. If I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes, I’m not sure I would have believed it. We’ve heard it’s ‘Coming soon’ for the past six months. SolidWorks user Jack Owen was the…

I looked in its eyes. It looked in mine. “Drop it like it is hot. Drop, drop it like it is hot,” it repeated in a desiccated, mechanical voice. It’s at this point I usually reminisce of the old days, when mechnoids lacked the access to early aught R&B chart topper lyrics. Still, it made…

Of all the application 3D printing has, there is none kinder than that of providing a printed shelter. Particularly if the residents are 6-legged crustaceans with soft, spirally abdomens. All species of hermit crabs move to a larger home as they grow, most commonly using shells, but also known to commandeer broken bottles or hollow…

I know you’ve nearly filled up your hard-drive with all those selfie shots you post to Instagram and Facebook. Just imagine, however, if that mobile device was a handheld 3D scanner, capable of capturing your porous cheek flaps and gorgeous skin tones. It’s happening with the push of a button and a triple-flash of 3D…

A stretchy mix of colors oozed through the opening, up the panels of the barn and into their cage. You wouldn’t have know it otherwise, but their claws were made of the same substance. When the two touched, a flash of light, a small squeal and all five of them projectile vomiting these links. Ani…

As you know, people like stories–reading stories, telling stories, freeze-drying stories and mounting them on a zebra pelt. Some even laugh and get emotional while doing so. But where do stories come from? Imagine a box. A box that allows you to choose the direction of a story. An internet connected box called The Choosatron.…

Buckle your eyeball harnesses and strap back your jaw, the Gnomon Workshop is coming up this fall and it’s your chance to see 3D artist doing their thing LIVE. There are 10 artists in the mix at the two day event and you’ve likely heard of many of them before. They’re professionals in their field…

I’m certain one of your favorite things is to dream of complicated and highly frustrating mathematical puzzles that boggle the mind. If so, you’ve heard of Henry Segerman and his wonderful creations. Henry is a mathematician at the University of Melbourne. He loves math(s) and he loves art(s). He and fellow mathematician Saul Schleimer have…

That’s right. Loads of simulation. Loads and loads of it. Pun totally intended. Engineering simulation is a beast. It can chew up your time and computing power like it’s binging on a massive mix of laminar and turbulent flow scenarios. NOM NOM NOM. So, a few software development companies are building apps that allow you…

A long, hard march took us over the hill, through the small ravine, up toward a land with a greenish hue and what looked to be small antenna covering the ground. They moved and swayed with each other, extending out in explosive waves, grappling beads of moisture in the air–and they grew thicker the closer…

It started with a 3D printed pinhole camera for hobbyists. Enthusiasts took it to the other extreme seeking ultimate quality with the wildly successful Travelwide 4×5 kickstarter campaign. Twenty-four year old Léo Marius has taken the middle road this time around with his project OpenReflex; a 35mm film SLR concept created with…you guessed it, a…

If you’ve ever tried to restore the inside, outside or underside of an Airstream, you know living in a 3×6 foot area of the trailer while you redo the plumbing over 2 years is just one of the small joys. That’s the DIY approach. The approach that will save you time and keep your last…

Looks as if 32-bit computing has one pudgy, incompatible leg in the ground. It’s been on it’s way out for years, but if you look in your computer’s Local Disk drive, you’ll still see a majority of applications reside in the Program Files (x86) folder. Still, support is waning. As SolidBox reported, SolidWorks 2014 will…

It sounds typical. A small startup launches a Kickstarter project that achieves funding in record time. Kytelabs is not only the new startup that has achieved funding in this story, but is distinguished as one of the fastest growing hardware campaigns on Kickstarter. In June, they launched the BLEduino project, bucking the status quo and…

Shaving your head, eyebrows and facial hair to instantly apply a putty to your face when the time calls for it is an important skill nowadays, especially considering the joy you’ll bring with various candies added to the outer layer. There are a few options, but frankly, decoupage and papier-mâché is just so messy. Silicone…