In DESIGN

27 Minutes (and a Makerbot) to Make a Badge Silencer at SolidWorks World 2014

3 Mins Read

It sounded like Santa was on his way at SolidWorks World 2014… at all times. Santa wasn’t delivering overly packed innovative tech and software, but the I.D. badges everyone wore rang out that signature sound. The way the lanyard connected to the badge holder was with two loosely fitted stamped sheet metal parts. The result – constant jingling and jangling all day long. When one would sit in a quiet room for a talk or a session, the slightest movement would set off a cacophony of clinking that was momentarily as loud as the speaker. The only place it wasn’t much of an issue was at the general assemblies, where loud music and a bellowing sound system drowned out everything, including the groans of all the middle management physiques. It was a problem that needed to be engineered away, and quick. So, I set out to create a solution–THE BADGE SILENCER.

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In FAB

3D Printer Hacks: The Air Hockey Robot

2 Mins Read

Perhaps it’s a little too early to be expecting an onslaught of hacks made from ‘discarded 3D printer parts’, but we’ll take them as they come. Using standard RepRap 3D Printer parts, Air Hockey Robot creator/madman Jose Julio has created the ultimate Air Hockey DIY project that will certainly put to use those air hockey skills you developed at the video arcade during those breaks from Cruisin’ USA.

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In SMACKDOWN

Friday Smackdown: Tragol Terrump

2 Mins Read

There in the sky, a rail, no, two rails curling from the forest floor to the mass of vines that formed the shells of their upper backs. Stationary they grew atop the belly of the earth, constructing themselves of beast and bird, scraps of metal, bits of wood and one single viscid mass syncing their…

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In FAB

Printing a Windup Clockwork Motor in One Go with a Mojo 3D Printer

3 Mins Read

There are a lot of questions we can ask when contemplating the possibilities of 3D printing. Can we 3d print a giant mechanical panther suit that enhances our agility? Will we be able to 3d print small mechanical panther suits to fit on squirrels for tournament squirrel battles? Pretty much anything having to do with 3d printed panther suits is a quandary. Perhaps something more practical would be this question. How many mechanical elements can we 3d print using the FDM process in an assembled state? Are the gears turning yet? Because they’re about to be, quite literally. Danny Tasmakis turned that question into reality with a working, 3d printed, fully-assembled, old-school, way cool, windup clockwork motor featuring four gears, a ratchet element with thumb wheel and a spiral spring.

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