Multi-color – or indeed multi-material – 3D printing just got a little bit easier with a new deal between Type A Machines and Mosaic Manufacturing. Type A Machines is a notable manufacturer of highly robust professional 3D printers capable of printing in a wide range of materials. Their equipment includes features designed for engineering use,…

The promise of distributed manufacturing—when consumer products can be downloaded and manufactured by consumers locally—was always one of the highest hopes for desktop 3D printing. Unfortunately, that didn’t quite pan out. However, that’s not to say that the occasional project comes through that keeps the hope of distributed manufacturing alive. The SLO (Single Lens Objective)…

Ever since YouTube revolutionized how product designers and manufacturers share their design and manufacturing processes, the resulting content is just as varied and colorful as the end products themselves. But despite the myriad of different fabrication processes and design stories that one can get lost in, few are as unique—and downright fascinating—as YouTuber Primitive Technology.…

While the desktop 3D printer revolution put rapid prototyping and small production run capabilities into the hands of small firms and independent design consultants, unfortunately, the same can’t quite be said for yet another important part of many hardware design projects: building circuit boards. While contractors can be hired to assemble small batches for relatively…

First introduced in 1955 and used as numeric displays in early digital products, Nixie Tubes were the LEDs of their era before being superseded in the 1970s by the actual light-emitting diodes that we see in today’s products. Among other reasons for their replacement, manufacturing Nixie Tubes was a complicated and pricey process that involved…

Robot hands. There was I time I wish I had a lab with robot hands hanging from the ceiling and the constant hum of industrial machining all around. Who am I kidding. I still wish that. The team at RightHand Robotics has a lab. They’ve got the robot hand making process down too; a process…

In the past year MakerOS has grown significantly and upgraded their system. We detailed the MakerOS service about a year ago and explained how it works. To recap, it is a service that provides highly necessary management functions to a company (or individual) providing 3D print services to clients. Using MakerOS you can create and track…

While some may believe that the iPhone 7 is a modern day marvel of design and engineering, others loathe the rounded corners and other slippery design details. Among others who think they can do a better job at designing the iPhone is YouTuber PeripateticPandas. Using an industrial saw and belt sander, the gutsy engineer recently…

Drop what you’re doing CNC geeks and enter to win this CNC Periodic Table poster. Skilled engineers still need help every now and then. The internet is an important tool as any. But why spend time hitting up Google, when you can glance at the CNC Periodic Table on your wall? You don’t have one?…

Known for kamaboko fish cakes and traditional woodcraft, the town of Odawara, located in the western Kanagawa Prefecture in Japan, is a woodworkers paradise with expansive wooded areas and a history rooted in centuries-old woodworking traditions. Deep in that forest—in a repurposes shrine—sits the Japanese wood houseware manufacturer brand Hikiyose. Known for their unique aesthetic…

From sketch to assembly, the life of a bolt may not seem all that exciting compared to a cutting-edge smartphone design, but throw in some decent storytelling and somehow you’ll find yourself emotionally attached to that bolt. At least, a humble front suspension bolt by the name of RB12-FS-00663-02. Recently, the Red Bull Racing (Formula…

Fuel3D announced a new “mirror” 3D scanner that could lead to advanced eyewear applications. The company has long been developing 3D scanning equipment based on an unusual high-speed structured light system. Initially they produced a very effective 3D face scanner, the Scanify, used for both 3D printing and in 3D gaming. Since their introduction in…

If there’s one thing that just won’t go away no matter how hard we seemingly try, it’s the amount of waste that ends up in our oceans. While everybody from GStar to Adidas has announced changes to their supply chains or entirely new product lineups made from waste sourced from oceans, few are as passionate…

There’s no greater feeling than building and finishing your own project. The work is done. The project was a success. Now you need an enclosure. Depending on the design, it can protect or ruin your build. The typical of-the-shelf project boxes can be so… cheap, uninspiring, boring. What’s the solution? Make one yourself. Jon Hollander…

As one of the most heavily produced and discarded materials in the world, it’s a dang good thing that paper is also so good at being reused, too. While it’s fairly common for discarded paper to be recycled into yet more reams of paper, New Zealand designer Woojai Lee just might have one of the…

Kevin Kohler, aka The Backyard Scientist, is widely known for his unique experiments and projects that often result in something exploding, melting or being burned, which applies for one of his more recent projects–the Flame Sword. As the title suggests, the sword is literally ENGULFED IN FLAMES as Kevin uses it to mutilate a perfectly…

Surrey Nanosystems, producers of the amazing Vantablack dark material informed Fabbaloo they have successfully coated a 3D printed object with the world’s darkest material. But first a catchup: Vantablack is a very unusual material composed of extremely long nanofibres, all aligned in a single direction. These fibers tend to trap photons when projected toward a…

Despite raising nearly $4 million across two Kickstarter campaigns, the 3Doodler 3D printing pen never really took off as a tool for professional designers and architects to hash out 3D sketches quickly (note: they are trying to change this). Instead, the hot plastic–extruding handheld device became more popular with artists and sculptors who praised the…

Having been in existence since the 1st century AD, there is nothing necessarily revolutionary about mold-blowing –– an alternate form of the glassblowing method that came shortly after free–blowing. However, designer Fabio Vogel just might have brought one of the more refreshing updates to the glass manufacturing method that we’ve seen in quite a long…

TechShop first popped up in SF circa 2011. Think gym membership, but sub a CNC mill for the Stairmaster. Our own Dan Slaski swears by it. Adam takes a field trip to see what he’s been missing.

If we had a quarter for every 3D printing-related Kickstarter project that’s swept in over the past four or five years, we’d likely be on our way towards buying our own desktop machine by now with heavy pockets. But frankly, we’re more interested in a different type of desktop fabrication machine at the moment: the…

I’m pretty sure, that if you built a geodesic dome fort with your kid, you would be classified as the best parent ever… which is part of the reason why we’re SUPER EXCITED the geodesic dome HUB KITS are now available! The other reason we’re excited is this is secretly a reason for us to…

You can’t taste this rainbow, but it sure looks great when it’s blended together to make truly multi-colored 3D prints. That’s exactly what the ORD Solutions new RoVa4D 3D printer is able to accomplish using five different (CMYK+W) colored filaments. This is ORD’s third successful Kickstarter-backed 3D printer with the first (MH3000) debuting in 2013…

3D Platform has long been known as a producer of “huge” 3D printers, but the word “huge” will have to be replaced after this announcement. Their flagship product, the 3DP Workbench, was a well-received 1m-sized 3D printer, far less costly than most industrial alternatives. It was essentially a highly-tuned, scaled up version of a desktop…

Although summer is officially coming to a close, squirt gun weather is still in full effect in most places. But regardless if you have sniper-like skills from the bushes or have a more run and gun approach, you’ll likely want to stay home for the afternoon if this (big) kid comes out to play. Built…

If you’ve seen such tv shows as OZ, The Wire or anything of the sort, chances are you’ve seen some brilliantly hacked together tattoo guns made from little more than approved items found in the prison commissary. Needless to say, these prison tinkerers aren’t starting with anything close to a DIY Build Your Own Tattoo…

While Frank Howarth of Frank Makes may be one of our favorite go-to YouTubers when it comes to woodworking, This Old Tony is close behind when it comes to machining and other forms of metalworking. While the scope of his videos vary from designing and making your own springs to machining tool holders for a…

The Xpider is purported to be the “world’s smallest” spider robot, and with its cute little cyclops eye it’s all kinds of adorable. Measuring in at 3.3-inches tall and weighing just over 5 ounces it’s certainly small, but the internals just might be more impressive than its wee, cutesy demeanor.

Promoting a 3D printing company is more challenging today than ever before due to the huge number of companies in the space. What techniques can a company use to get their message to the 3D printing public? I’ve got seven approaches for you to consider: INFLUENTIAL MARKETING IS NOT A NEW CONCEPT, BUT IT HAS…

It’s been nearly four years since WobbleWorks LLC. screamed onto the scene via Kickstarter and blew everybody away with the 3Doodler –– AKA “The World’s First 3D Printing Pen” –– to the tune of $2.3 million. Since then, the small company has maintained a small but loyal following of artists and retailers including the reputable MoMA…

Among the small explosion of new 3D print materials is a substance you may not have considered: ASA. ASA, or Acrylonitrile Styrene Acrylate, is yet another thermoplastic sometimes used in 3D printing. The intention of using ASA is to improve on the deficient qualities of ABS plastic, a very commonly used substance in 3D printing.…

Although 3D printers have been hogging the bulk of the “printing” limelight within the past few years, 2D printing technologies have been quietly seeing their fair share of technological breakthroughs, too. That said, you’d likely have to be involved in the print industry to catch wind of them. Among others is the new Xerox Direct…

Everyone in my family knows the top requirement for when I go all old and senile is a large, freaking cane. Preferably one with a live rattlesnake wrapped around it. They all think that’s dangerous. So, in lieu of a live rattlesnake, a hand-carved one will do. One EXACTLY like the incredible hand-carved rattlesnake canes…

The one instrument I would have my bodyguards play as we sauntered down the street is a violin. They’re sound is just wonderfully ominous and mysterious, while equally enchanting and… mysterious. After building a traditional wooden Guarneri-style violin, Brian Chan, an Engineer at Formlabs, took it upon himself to design a functional (and quite good…

There have been many aborted attempts at producing recycled 3D printer filament, but Reflow’s approach appears to be successful. In the past I’ve seen many attempts at producing desktop machines that recycle plastic into 3D printer filament. Typically the concept is to collect leftover prints or plastic, grind it up into fragments and remelt them…

With a nearly endless array of profiles and material block possibilities, sneaker design sketches aren’t too hard to come by. However, the process of converting those sketches into a physical shoe takes nearly the same level of engineering skill and patience as it does to create many “hard good” products –– particularly if you set out…

If you’re not getting your recommended daily allowance of sawdust and aluminum shavings, chances are you’re looking at desktop CNC milling machine options. There are A LOT more options that we had a year ago and boy are we glad to see it. Prices for most can still be in the thousands though. That’s why…

While the renewed appreciation of vinyl records have led to the highest sales numbers in nearly 30 years, equally fascinating is how vinyl manufacturing equipment –– most of which is just as old –– have been put back into commission to give listeners that “warm and fuzzy sound”. Starting with the manufacturing of the compression molding…

Maryland-based startup M3D gained fame back in 2014 when they successfully crowdfunded their Micro 3D printer on Kickstarter in a matter of minutes (surpassing their goal of $50K and ending with over $3.4M). The fledgling company is hoping for a repeat performance with their latest edition of their 3D printer lineup–the M3D Pro, which again,…

When it comes to documenting a build, few people can top Frank Howarth’s creative use of camera shots and storylines to make otherwise mundane processes seem like Hollywood handiwork. And like any skilled videographer, Howarth spends just as much time building his own rigs for specific shots as he does actually filming them. Most recently,…

Some say 3D printing is not useful and is dying, but in fact our world is being slowly changed in fundamental ways behind the scenes. In factories around the world, designers and manufacturers are exploring the advantages of 3D print technology, trying to find ways to optimize their work. With the recent increase in awareness…

Considered by many to be “The Contemplative Man’s Recreation,” fly fishing is also a favorite for craftsmen who prefer to make their own equipment –– be it tying a fly on the side of a stream or making their own fly fishing rods altogether. But with well over 160 or so steps that go into making…

As if table saws aren’t already one of the most nerve-wracking shop tools to work with, now there’s another friendly reminder that you should always keep your wits about you when working on your next wood project. Toledo, Ohio–based hardwood dealer and founder of KenCraft (AKA “The Woodworker’s Candy Store”) Ken Spitulski was recently cutting…

In need of extra money to help support his family back in the 1930s, Montana welder Rudy Ruana began making knives on the side in a small garage. Before long, his reputation for high-quality handmade knives spread across the United States and what began as a side hustle to help put food on the family’s…

It’s a cyberpunk dream to print clothes like vacation photos and TPS reports. Various companies have tried to combine 3D printing with fashion fabrication, like the mildly successful Elctroloom. Cool, but it’s not open-source. However, Gerard Rubio is doing things differently. Inspired by the open-source RepRap 3D printer project and community, along with other digital…

Remember the Mechwarrior model we shared a few weeks ago? So. Good. We’re in the process of printing up one of our own and can’t wait to paint it. Gambody, the same place we bought the model, has a interesting little operation going. They started as a marketplace for 3D prints of video game models.…

Having graduated from the ISI Yogyakarta (Art Institute) of Indonesia as a Craft Major just last year, 24-year-old Indonesian native Dedy Shofianto’s wood sculptures carry the same level of expertise you would expect from artists twice his age. As the winner of multiple Craft Prototype Design competitions during his tenure at ISI Yogyakarta, Shofianto specializes…

Now on Kickstarter, the Metal Delta 3D printer from Blue Eagle Labs offers some very interesting features at a very low price. Blue Eagle Labs previously sold the Kossel Clear delta 3D printer on Kickstarter in 2013, which was wildly successful, reaching almost 27X their funding target. It took them a year to make and…

While nearly every material requires some sort of a process to bring it from a raw state to a finished design, few materials demand the attention of the creator quite like glass. From the heat to the constant movement, and the teamwork often involved in creating larger pieces, the process of creating glass objects is…

With the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio getting underway this weekend, Nike is (unsurprisingly) gearing up for another Olympic year to show off their latest sport-related innovations. While previous years have seen everything from the introduction of new materials to new colorways designed to pop off your TV screen, this year is a little different.…