The ground cover was softer than he first imagined. A dampness lit by the reflections of light breaking through eroded the shadows, leaving the traveler distracted. But just for a moment. For within the fall of a footstep, where moisture rose like steam, a click was heard, a dry reverb, and thus appeared these links.…
Perhaps you were dazzled by the enchanting tote-and-row spectacle of the Oru folding Kayak. So much so, that you’ve been on a quest to collect, study and ascertain the benefits of small, folding watercraft. Enter Foldboat. Foldboat is a seamless, hard shell, folding boat fabricated from a single sheet of HDPE plastic and when people…
Sit up straight! Grit those teeth! DON’T MOVE. Here’s just one of the many items we missed in our predictions for this year. Hand-held camera scanners. We saw a slew of prototypes last year, from devices tied into a Kinect, like ReconstructMe, to slick, smaller versions like the ARMADA concept. Lynx Laboratories is preparing to…
On a good day, the creative thinking meter embedded in my chest will register between 6 and 9.7. More often than not, distractions knock that down to an average of 4.2. It may be, however, that my meter needs an adjustment. An article at 99u explains how Ap Dijksterhuis and a team from the Nijmegen…
Vancouver-based EatART is an art research center that borders heavily on make space. They have a lot of cool projects, including the famous eight-legged, ridable robot, Mondo Spider–had to be inspiration for Artisan’s Asylum Hexapod–but the latest project has been a 50-foot electromechanical snake called Titanoboa that met a Kickstarter funding goal, stopped off at…
As you may recall, last week 3D Systems announced the plans to acquire Geomagic, whose product list includes haptic devices, along with scanning, inspection and design software, the latest of which being Geomagic Spark, a collaboration between Spaceclaim and Geomagic that integrates Geomagics’s point and mesh processing tools into SpaceClaim’s 3D direct modeling environment. Rapidform,…
Trying to record and mix sound, especially when you’re simultaneously attempting to squeeze cats and slap your lower back in burst of rhythmic flare, can be both daunting and painful. There’s a lot of high priced equipment that makes it easier–one of my favorite being a BOSS VE-20 Vocal Processor–but if you prefer the more…
Kept in a crevice, between a rock and a tree, the rusted armature lay. Larger than most, it would hold eight of the smaller beings, strapped into the various controls. And somehow, for decades, they would operate on nothing else that the raw energy of these links. Oscar Ramos – The illusions and range of…
Hark! 2013 is upon us! In many ways, the previous year seemed a turning point for where we’re going while simultaneously lacking any sort of drastic, earth-shattering changes. However, there’s plenty of fat, tech-laden fodder on which to speculate for 2013 and that’s exactly what we’re going to dish out for you folks. In recent…
While there may be enough endearing puppet shows on the web waves, there are certainly not enough puppet shows that take on the build, hack, solder, crack, spark, squeeze and flow of electronics and circuitry. Adafruit is changing that with a new show airing next year called Circuit Playground. The show is set to premiere…
Tripping among the vines past the fence row’s corner, he pushed against the cane that attached his arm to the ground. It was a peacefull corner (minus the vines) and a place that always left the heat outside its shaded surrounding. Yet, to this day, he peered into the top of that fence post, hoping…
You know the right lighting just makes the most cold, damp murder-scene of a space a warm, inviting nest of shadows and highlights. Thing is, most shapes wrapping the bulbs are just as cold and unstylish as the bloody room corners they’re illuminating. Not so with the handmade Faceture Light Shade from the fab mind…
Small form factor is a given for a cuddly, plush chub of cuteness, but when it comes to bricks of sheet metal and PCB’s, it’s typically an afterthought. Not so with the new Stealth WPC-525F (name needs work). Stealth Computer is known for rugged, industrial strength computer systems. Now they’re slamming high-performance and their multi-level…
Peeling back the railing’s paint, the rusted mandible of the cruff mauler slivered the metallic strands of the rotted core. It just so happen she could control it from that distance, but to really gain its trust, the link would need to be severed, the face-to-face risk taken and the shudder of a decade-old memory…
The acquisition of HSMWorks by Autodesk, Inc. created some temporary uncertainty about the future of HSMWorks for SolidWorks. We have been relieved to get many direct and unambiguous commitments from the highest levels at Autodesk on continuing to offer HSMWorks and develop for the SolidWorks Platform. I am glad to report that everyone else I…
Filtered beet juice streamed down the bark-like surface. It moved in a slightly rigid motion as mossy highlights painted its north side in the light of the winter moon. Partially frozen, it took a ladder to stand upon its root. And it was clear, upon tasting the beet juice, this creature had sipped from the…
Have you waited long enough? In 2009, Mcneel announced Beta for Rhino 5. I’ve lost count how many years ago that is. Low and behold, last week, Mcneel announces the release of Rhino 5 in a 34-word blog post and with it, the reveal of a brand new website. Both have been a long, long,…
What’s a 3D Printing revolution if companies go around suing each other for alleged patent infringement? Not much of one at all. This is the sentiment Joshua Harker is passing along in a recent letter to backers. You saw his new Anatomica di Revolutis Kickstarter campaign wherein a video compilation featured the “Top Brass” of…
A chime’s brilliant bell was heard throughout the land. Long, deep and full of the ages when a hundreds hands had rung the bell before. The grass and branch bent in the wave, bowing, as if to say, ‘The toller’s sound, whispers around, and brings us all these links.’ Adam Martinakis – Wow to the…
Ever wonder what 750 Engineers do to break up the monotony of designing the world’s most successful and innovative line of fans, vacuum cleaners and hand dryers? Battling each other in a design challenge is one way. You may remember the article we had about Jude Pullen and Cardboard Modelling. He works for Dyson and…
When you look in the mirror, fresh out of bed, and wonder what you’ll be scanning at 6 am, the face peering back may suddenly turn pale as the brain absorbs the blood and sends thoughts of patching and converting mesh data for days. The horror. Geomagic wants to end that scene and have you…
Today, Autodesk continued the sizzle following their FormIt release at Autodesk University, announcing the “first and primary” application of T-Splines tech in the Autodesk product line, Autodesk Fusion 360. As you may gather, this new product is part of the cloud-based Autodesk 360 product line that includes Simluation, PLM and BIM. Design was the major…
Speaking of laser cut toy creations, this Bandit gun Kickstarter project campaign just popped in our inbox. The Bandit gun is not only a rubberband gun–That would be lame and unnecessary with the skills you already have. This gun is a shotgun, with the deluxe ‘Sheriff’ version supporting three firing modes and, if ordered now,…
For far too long, Architectural apps have been kept to 2D floorplan stabbing and inventive ways of measuring. You should have known Autodesk would have something to say about that. In the first day of activities at Autodesk University 2012, Autodesk FormIt for iPad was launched. FormIt is a building app sure to make the…
Why it seems like only 1 month and 18 days ago that we announced the ‘Make Your Laser Cut Toy’ challenge and, in fact, it was. All entrants stepped up to such a challenge with 196 laser cut creations! A big handclap and a few prematurely launched fireworks for all of you. We have ONE…
If you’ve ever sold a company for a billion point five dollars, there’s a strong liklihood you’ll use that money to buy a 20,000 sq ft Bel Air estate, pursue your childhood interest or both. There’s also a liklihood you’re Elon Musk. Wired’s Chris Anderson beat us to an interview with Elon Musk, where he…
Love patterns? Working them into your design? How about blanketing algorithm-driven, parametric geometry across the screen or printing it out for use as a light shade that both baffles and amazes the mind? If you’ve ever wondered how some people model those amazing patterned designs or intricate, randomized detail of a 3D printed structure, look…
Silver tufting broke through the seams. As it peered out the window through a reflection of colors and frosted light, the snow fell gently. Silently, the tracks formed in the snow, nothing visible, yet everywhere–yes, they were here–creature torn from the belly of these links. Robo Chandler – He has a smattering of art in…
Once every 10,000 years or so, you think back on life. Frolicking in new civilizations, rise and fall of governments, the best pie recipe conjured by humans… Then without a second thought to the present, thoughts turn to the next 10,000 years. What do you do? If you’re The Long Now Foundation you build a…
If there’s anything that symbolizes the next industrial revolution, it’s a winged skull… with a Crooked Cairn hanging below it. If you have one of Joshua Harker’s 3D Printed Anatomica Filigre sculptures (and love his “tangle” art pieces), you probably wondered what he would create next to best it all. I present to you Anatomica…
It use to be that nothing made us happier than duct tape, a pile of cardboard scraps and a pair of sharp scissors. We could make anything. Just this past week, I watched as my kids made a jetpack from a cardboard box, PVC pipe and an ample amount of broken toys and colored duct…
The massive yellow back of the centipedes peeled through the prairie grasses. Equipped with the latest weaponry, it was a sight to behold. A low profile saddle, grafted to its side and made from scales of the dead, held the rider. It was their fourth time out and, to this day, no one knows if…
You have probably seen so many 3D printed corn starch and resin trinkets (BACON!) that you’d like to punch your neck, but before you inflict pain and blood-choking upon yourself, there’s news on the 3D print-for-manufacturing side. And by print-for-manufacturing, I mean, production-ready parts straight from the printer. Stratasys recently announced the availability of new…
Next week, we’ll be giving away a Lenovo W530 mobile workstation in the ‘Make your Lasercut Toy’ design challenge. There are a few days left to enter, so be sure to submit your entry soon! I’m sure you have the picture of the perfect mobile workstation in your wallet–or perhaps displayed decoratively as a collage…
I’m totally ganking the title of this post at Shapeways, because it could not be a more perfect description. As I write this, there’s the smell of four freshly cooked bacon slices filling the air, which together with these images is the cause of blurred vision, cold sweats and slight twitching. Behold, endless bacon.
We’ve seen motion sensing keyboards like the LEAP and Magic Cube, tactile 5-finger keyset devices like the Amenbo and Jellyfish and even foot switch input devices, but we have yet to see a minimal 10-button touchscreen keyset… until today. ASETNIOP (pronounced a-set-ni-op) is the creation of Zack Dennis and, as you’ll see, reduces the massive complexity of that…
A big Imperial salute and a plate of Ewok cookies to George Lucas. This past week he sold off 100% ownership to Lucasfilm for $4 Billion to Disney. If you recall, Disney bought Marvel in 2009, transforming that franchise and the movies that came out if it. Disney plans to do the same thing for…
The paper’s edge curled, gray and glowing as it blended into the surrounding darkness. The seedpods were still intact, hanging, swinging gently, by the ropes that caught the light. That was the last memory, for once the last ember fell, the seedpods split open, the deafening shrieks echoed through the chamber and out flew these…
When your fingers are slammed in a trunk or car door, you’ll experience a great, yet painful, appreciation for the tolerances that are built into the gaps. When your double mocha latte goes flying into the dash and you spend the weekend cleaning the crevices with Q-tips and your favorite soundtrack, even more so. There’s…
Raising money on Kickstarter might be the next most difficult undertaking to raising children (or a crop of heirloom tomatoes), but a few projects have made it look easy. Bright Ideas is a book–a Crowdfuding Almanac–that goes straight to the source, with stories, lessons learned and a good dose of thick, gritty process from many…
If you’re likely to draw roots of polynomials up and down your forearms, you may have an over-eccentric appreciation for the math. You may also have a dusk-to-dawn fixation on software that can help save you long nights of scrubbing your arms while watching re-runs of Bill Nye solve for X. PTC is taking a…
When you think of the building you’ll live in–you’re home–in the future, I know this is exactly what you imagine. Ok, maybe your vision has a little more color, some nice rugs and a few robot servants to dust all the nooks and crannies, but this is pretty close. London-based Softkill Design is putting the…
The days dwindled. The chimes clanged. Both breeze and beeling lit upon the last leaf of the season. Looking across the land there was an eerie warmth massing piles of fog from the water bottoms. The glow was faint at first, then deep it plunged and emerged these links. Gilar – Love the use of…
Some people say coffee and CAD don’t go together. I don’t know any of those people, but if you do, look upon them with scorn and derision as you sip your scalding hot coffee through a mechanical pencil casing. Coffee is as essential a tool for creating 3D geometry as being able to move 3D…
You know, lately, it’s like the internet got all kinds of excited and threw up 3D all across your web browser. It’s actually quite a few companies who are tickling the tummy of the web, causing all sorts of sites and ideas about how we can view and interact with 3D within the browser. Most…
The calibrators cycles on. Blackened by the smoke and yearning for home they sat, dangling their legs over the back edge of the ship, with the ground beginning to blur beneath their feet. It wouldn’t be long now. The sun was rising and the air was crisp with the silver dew of these links. Scott…
754. That is the number of backers who jumped on board the Formlabs Kickstarter project to snag the first orange acrylic-covered SL resin printer from Formlabs. They’re $2,299 a pop, but with $2.1 million in funding (and one week to go), it’s obvious people are loving the idea behind this printer. What’s behind the design?…
GrabCAD is just not stopping. They’ve hired two high level product people from SolidWorks and completed another round of funding. This time closing $8.15 Million to bring their total influx of funds north of $13 Million. We caught up with Hardi Meybaum and Jon Stevenson to find out more.
I challenge you to find a better looking iPad stand at the cash register. You’ve probably seen a few small businesses using an iPad and a Square Card Reader to push consumer purchasing power into the future. I see it more every day. Many stand awkwardly holding the iPad as they ask me to jab…
More web-based model viewers?! Say it isn’t so. Yes, yes it is so. Sketchfab has actually been around for a bit, but there’s more to upload-n-go site than meets the eye. While many of the 3D web viewers are focused on building in a high level of collaboration, battling back and forth with each other…