As the host of one of the most satisfying woodworking channels on YouTube, Frank Howarth of Frank Makes tends to seamlessly balance interesting wood projects with clever videography skills regardless of the challenges from either thrown at him. To date, the Portland, Oregon-based Howarth has recorded and shared the build process of everything from lawn…

Although they started out in 2004 as an “artistic company anchored in snowboarding”, Signal Snowboards has since become synonymous with a less-traditional medium for building boards and other structures – cardboard. In partnership with LA-based Ernest Packaging, the snowboard company’s Cardboard Chaos series of videos has been exploring the structural limits of cardboard and how…

Ever see cool motion control projects made with the current technology and thought “wow, I wish I could do that.” Now you can learn the skills you needor even teach your kids graduate-level engineering concepts with TheMotionKit. This new kit aims to make learning both fun and easy.

3D printing inspires us all (even if it only inspires us to be inspired). Whether it’s clothes or a drivable car, 3D printing is becoming more ingrained in our minds as a realistic solution. Another thing we’re ok with? 3D Printing + Art. Art installments are popping up everywhere, exploring 3D printing techniques and the…

Interdisciplinary innovation is expanding and Derek Hugger believes art and engineering should be no exception. The artist and woodworker uses intricate engineering designs to put nature and mesmerizing kaleidoscopics of abstract shapes into motion. We found out more about everything that goes into this process and how each piece goes through hours of development, so…

You know when you meet someone who has worked harder than most and exudes a tenacity that is inspiring? This past year we were quite lucky to meet someone who is exactly that individual. We run an artist’s residency program where we meet a wide range of talented artists who want to learn about how digital…

It seems as though in order to gain attention these days, automaker are increasingly looking outside of the cars they make and into new technologies that validate their credibility as an innovator. One only needs to be reminded of Lexus’ recent hoverboard publicity stunt to see that they actually, kind of, work. More recently, German…

For some, it only exists if it includes mounds of bacon and a steaming stack of syrup-soaked hot cakes. For others, it’s as simple as a bowl of shredded wheat and a handful of blueberries. No matter how you prepare it, though, chances are your first meal of the day isn’t necessarily the most pleasurable…

Creative Tools, the same company that brought us #3DBenchy, the free 3D printer torture test model, recently released a new open-source, DIY 3D-printing project to make photographing small objects easier than ever. It’s called the Smartphone Photo Studio, a bench that holds your phone parallel to your small objects, allowing you to take great, detailed…

Having just shared their concept for a 3D printed shoe – or, midsole – only last month, Adidas has shared the next chapter of their next ‘Futurecraft’ series; but this time they’ve turned to subtractive manufacturing rather than additive. Billed as a “reimagining of how to work with leather”, the company’s Futurecraft Leather is made…

So many projects being posted on Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter – the DIY culture is booming. All over the country makerspaces are popping up are pouring out products of those ambitious enough to create their own. I believe now, the quality and practicality of a 3D printed project has become important as a whole. Perfect…

Having already created a dashboard, a horse-drawn carriage, a helicopter, and various other items out of cardboard, sculptor Shannon Goff might have topped herself with her most recent full-scale cardboard replica project, Miles to Empty. Measuring in at 19′ x 6’5″ x 4’9″, Goff sculpted a full-scale replica of a Special Edition Collector’s Series 1979…

Thanks to many innovations in the tech world, prosthetic limbs are more efficient and sometimes even inexpensive, but the design is usually similar. What if you could get something vastly unique that makes you feel like a superhero? That’s where Bristol-based Open Bionics comes in.

The Glowforge laser cutter is the biggest crowdfunded 30-day campaign in history. $27.9M in 30 days. It didn’t launch on Kickstarter. It didn’t re-launch on Indiegogo. It launched on their own website, bringing in $27.9M in pre-orders alone. But even four months before the crowdfunding campaign, Glowforge had already secured $9M in Series A funding.

Maybe your grandparents give you checks for Christmas or make the best cookies, but can they make you a rocket? Chris Knowlton became inspired to make a rocket ship playhouse for his 2-year-old grandson, Benjamin and the result is breathtaking.

To date, there hasn’t been a desktop 3D Selective Laser Sintering (SLS) machine brought to market. There have been kits created and there are others in development. Add the Sinterit Laser 3D Printer to the list. The start-up out of Kraków, Poland launched the desktop device at Euromold 2015 with examples of prints from the…

When it comes to tools for refining loose design concepts, the usual suspects – pens, paper, clay, and the occasional Bedazzler – tend to suffice. But while these tools all work fine and well, “sketching” at full scale to create room-sized objects isn’t necessarily something that comes with ease – until now at least. Designed…

If you thought 3D printing was just for medical ingenuity and machine part manufacturing, you’re wrong. You can also make really, really creepy dolls or exceptionally cute, jointed robots, and Sonia Verdu is there to help.

Having created everything from a jet-powered go-kart and the world’s fastest pram to an ejector bed and even a hydroformed suit designed to be worn while being shot at with fireworks, you would think inventor Colin Furze has seen and done it all. But, as somebody who consistently makes a point of going further and…

The tech world is swarming with stories about the latest drone innovations. Before you know it, someone else has built a drone that can draw, follow you, or build a bridge. It can be overwhelming, especially if you want to join in on the drone-driving party. Now, one group of Greek engineers have a challenge…

Despite the wide range of incredible technologies that are available to us today, there are still some concepts from the “future past” that haven’t yet been delivered. Among others, these include hoverboards, teleportation, instant hot pizza ovens and flying cars. While we do have Segways, Skype, Bagel Bites and Teslas, these experiences are a far…

As the Marvel Universe has taught us, superhero powers are not to be taken lightly. Among others with superhuman strength in the Marvel Universe include Thor, the Asgardian God of Thunder and the son of Odin, the All-Father of Asgard, and the Elder Earth-Goddess Gaea. According to legend, Thor is arguably the greatest and mightiest…

Most everything in the maker community is becoming more open source. It’s almost a requirement–allowing modification of the original hardware or software design, through a free license, to suit the needs of the end user. Companies such as Raspberry Pi Foundation, Arduino and LittleBits all support the open-source initiative and even some of the larger…

If you could make a 3D printed car, surely a bicycle couldn’t be much harder? Interestingly, it hasn’t been attempted, at least to the level that Industrial Design students Paul De Meeiros and Stef De Groot want to to take it. OBI 0.5 is the prototype phase, but the aim is simple, a modular, open-source…

It’s Beijing Design Week at Parkview Green in the capital city, which means you’re either seeing constant updates on Twitter or you didn’t know Beijing even had such a thing. Either way, Beijing Design Week (BJDW) promotes design and infrastructure within the city and often showcases the latest in contemporary design. What makes this year…

When I think of all the desktop laser cutters available, the list is… well, extremely small. Tantamount to none, really. I can’t list any, because there are hardly any available. There are some decent DIY options, some Kickstarter projects that made a go of it and others that simply failed. There are just not a…

A lot of people are finding out that 3D printing is just as much about the 3D printing software as it is about the 3D printing hardware. But it starts way before that, with software to design the object to be printed. The sole purpose of the Morphi App was to simplify 3D modeling for printing–to…

Having left a degree in Aerospace Engineering in 2007, Alex Bishop put complex manufacturing and engineering principles behind him in favor of something a little more meditative that “connected him with nature”: working with wood and making acoustic guitars by hand. A life-long ‘Maker’ who has always had an obsession for making things and manipulating…

With today’s modern book manufacturing capabilities, it’s become too easy to overlook the process behind printing words on pages and binding those pages to last the test of time. Ultimately, before large publishing houses were able to invest in mass manufacturing capabilities for stocking the shelves of book stores around the world, book publishing was…

Although the buzz surrounding aluminum in the past week has been more or less dedicated to Apple’s decision to use their heavier (and more dense) 7000-series grade versus their previous (and lighter) 6000-series grade in their new iPhone 6S models to prevent another Bendgate, one curious craftsman had an aluminum experiment of his own brewing…

When we first heard about Simplify3D, the internet was already hearting it mucho. Nine months later, they show no sign of slowing down.

If you were suitably impressed by Tarek Loubani’s efforts of innovating the 3D Printed Stethoscope, then you’ll surely be taken in with 3D4MD, a company that 3D prints medical supplies that can be used on the field or in remote places. The aim of the project is to empower doctors who visit those remote locations, equipping…

You know how Spotify works, right? You pay a subscription fee, then get earfuls of streaming music. We’ve seen the same idea applied to nearly every type of media. So, why not 3D Printing? Enter Kwambio, a new service set up to allow you to stream designer products, interact, customize and print. You can’t download…

Of all people, it would seem as though celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain would be one of the least-likely candidates for hosting a show about craftsmen. After all, his focus over the years has been on rare Thai fish dishes on the beach in Phuket or Filet Mignons in Manhattan. Yet, few people have the camera…

After being forced to hold his ear to the chests of victims due to a lack of stethoscopes at medical facilities in the Gaza strip, where he works as an emergency physician, Tarek Loubani decided that it was time to take matters into his own hands. With no formal training in product design or engineering,…

After searching for two years for a globe for his father’s 80th birthday present, Peter Bellerby was faced with gifting his father either a modern political globe (of the mass manufactured variety) or a very fragile (and expensive) antique globe. Like most other plans that are hatched in a pub, Bellerby decided that rather than…

Love ’em or dislike ’em, it’s hard to argue that work aprons are one of the most unsung heroes in the workshop environment. Aside from keeping a worker clean from foam shavings and sawdust – or simply just providing more pockets for keeping tools close – the work apron is also a uniform of sorts…

Between the launch of their new world headquarters in Boston’s Lovejoy Wharf back in May to the launch of their newly-redesigned Chuck Taylor All Star just last month (the first redesign since 1917), it’s been a busy Summer season for the Converse brand – and they’re not showing any sign of letting up soon. More…

Like so many other great craftsmen who are operating at the top of their game, the story of how Andrew Hibbs got started bending neon light began at a young age with skills passed down by his father David – who himself started bending light over 30 years ago. Today, Hibbs is continuing the family…

After being first introduced as a form of boat design in 1898 by Italian inventor Enrico Forlanini, the hydrofoil has since become a mainstay in a variety of water-based board sports thanks to its unique ability to lift a rider out of the water and decrease their drag, which ultimately increases their speed. Also -…

When it comes to some of the more unusual advancements in additive manufacturing techniques – including a shelter crafted from silk worms – MIT’s Mediated Matter Group takes the cake. The group – which is led by 3D printing visionary Neri Oxman at MIT’s Media Lab – focuses on “Nature-inspired Design and Design-inspired Nature” through…

Although not everybody is a fan of electric cars and motorcycles, it’s hard to deny that some of the most exciting transportation design concepts in recent memory have been coming from those that are further exploring this new frontier – a frontier that allows designers to strip away many of the components that are necessary…

For most of us, a dropped ceramic mug or plate might mean a one-way ticket for the broken vessel to the trash bin. For Tokyo-based designer Yusuke Seki however, they would likely be added to his collection of ‘shinikiji’ – the Japanese term for flawed pieces. Recently, the Japanese designer – who has worked with…

Since being founded in the spring of 1906 by Charles Stewart Rolls and Sir Frederick Henry Royce, British car manufacturer Rolls-Royce Limited has always been known for superior handmade quality and superior engineering that has led to multiple land and air speed records. Even as more automakers continue to turn to automating their assembly lines…

If there’s one toy that’s been able to stand the test of time amongst the classics, Nerf blasters would certainly be somewhere near the top of the list. These days however, many kids (or manchildren) have taken dart blasting to new heights (and distances) with a number of hacking mods that include everything from over-pressurizing…

After being popularized by Buckminster Fuller in the 1940s, the geodesic dome has been used to construct everything from small garden shelters in backyards to large sports arenas in major cities. Among other reasons for its choice as a shelter, the dome is an extremely strong structure for its weight while also possessing the greatest…

When it comes to getting up in the morning, everybody has their own technique for rising from slumber. While some may prefer setting a quick and easy alarm on their smartphones or a jolt from a heavy metal radio station, others prefer the smoothing sounds of jazz or a waterfall. Whatever your method is, none…

Invented by naval engineer Richard James in the early 1940s, the Slinky has provided generations of kids and adults with a never-ending supply of satisfying levitating tricks and was even declared as the official national toy of the United States after having been declared “a recreational device that exemplifies the inventiveness of the American spirit”.…

As the Head of Research & Development at Sugru, UK design engineer Jude Pullen has undoubtedly spent more time kneading the ‘moldable glue’ than most of us – and thanks to his uncanny ability to create fun and educational projects involving various prototyping methods and materials, we all get to benefit from it. Previously, Jude…

Having made knives from everything from an old Jeep spring to a railroad spike, custom knife craftsperson Trollsky has proven time and time again that he can upcycle just about anything that’s made out of metal into a razor-sharp edge. For his latest trick, he looked no further than the toolbox in his workshop to…