As many of you might already be aware, some exciting developments have been unfolding in the portable fuel cell market in recent months. Unfortunately, the excitement at the moment seems to be geared more-toward the potential for the technology itself, rather than the strange array of available consumer products which currently employ it. But hey,…
Have you ever dreamed of what it would be like to live in the dark, popcorn-scented and smoke-filled acoustic glory of a 1950’s movie theater? If you have somewhere between $18,500-$175,000 to spend on a stereo system, then your 1950s-nostalgia dreams could come true with a custom, handmade audio system from Oswalds Mill Audio, which…
Here at SolidSmack, we do our very best to keep you on the forefront of the 3D printing world…but occasionally, it’s nice to simply sit-back and ogle something pretty! In terms of aesthetics, “pretty” might be one way to describe The Product’s Soundmachines, but stimulating, might be an even better word to encapsulate the Berlin-based…
If you are thinking that it is about high-time to be bustin’ out the old pumpkin carving knife then think again! Egg-coloring season might still be seven months away, but Evil Mad Scientist’s “Original Egg-Bot” can lay graphics on a whole variety of spherical objects to keep you busy until spring. The manufacturer claims that…
It is no secret that high-fashion is like history; it is known to repeat itself. While the latest fads might not always be carbon-copies of their predecessors, the roots of modern style are often painfully obvious to those with an observant eye—and eyeglasses themselves might be the perfect example of this. With the recent rise…
We’ve come a long way from the bulky, steam-spewing technologies of yesteryear. Today’s gadgets are sleek, sexy testaments of where we’ve come from and where gadget design for the home is headed. Some operate invisibly, working from behind the scenes to make your life easier, while others catch the eye like a camera flash. What…
Shapeways recently announced a new material, a ‘Maker-only’ material called Elasto Plastic–high strength, high flexibility, low detail and smoothness. I was intrigued. What wondrous creations could be manufactured with this wondrous material? Having created many other items with many other materials via Shapeways, there was definitely a lot of possibility for a more flexible material.…
If you’re like most people, you can easily spot the difference between a cheap product and a quality product — the price typically matches, too. A lot of time and attention goes into the design and craftsmanship of quality products, which is why they cost more. However, some companies go above and beyond the normal…
Getting through airport security is more difficult than ever with close, personal examinations of everything from your footwear to your body. There are some special considerations when you’re taking electronics through security at the airport. If you’re smart and ready when it comes to getting your laptop through security checkpoints, you should have nothing to…
Continuing improvements in workstation graphics processing units (GPUs) allow users to dramatically increase interactivity with SolidWorks by upgrading existing workstations with the latest NVIDIA Quadro graphics. For example, a Dell Precision workstation running a current Quadro GPU, based on NVIDIA Fermi architecture, can deliver up to three times the performance of previous generations.
The universal challenges faced by Trek in creating a new generation racing bike apply to many companies today: Create products that are sturdy yet use lightweight materials, spot design defects earlier in the design phase and reduce time from sketch to physical prototype.
Specking out a new fixed or mobile workstation for your CAD work can be a challenge. First, you need to identify the type of work where you really spend most of your time. For example, do you model simple parts, complex assemblies, or both? Do you do first-pass or complex FEA or structural dynamics analyses?
New technology enables a single workstation to simultaneously perform complex design, analysis, and visualization tasks.
A new calculator from BestForCAD.com instantly computes the payback of a hardware upgrade.
Ah, the project scope. The crucial document many of us follow as a guideline while we’re designing or engineering the next greatest thing. Its entire existence is to keep the focus by describing in detail the new product’s soon to be features, costs, and milestone dates. Love them or hate them, many of us couldn’t…
Take a change of pace with me and see a completely different side of manufacturing. A side where designers don’t worry about being first to market or appealing to the largest consumer base possible. I’m talking about a side where products are produced specifically for individuals who appreciate the novelty and the art of the…
Guest post by Bradley Derry from bradleyderry.com Design is details. Design is the tiny elements in a product that work their way into final production from hours of sketching, prototyping, and CAD. Details are what the designers agonize over and what the manufactures spend so much time trying to get just right. This post is…