In 3D CAD TECH

3D Printing, China and Jobs – It's Not What It Seems

4 Mins Read

3D Printing has been lauded as the next way to bring jobs back to America and the rest of the West by the Economist and other intellectual luminaries like Glenn Beck (cough cough). CAD-to-Print technologies combined with geographic proximity to the buyer has been summed up as the solution to what some call “the China problem”. I don’t see China as a problem – Western consumers save thousands of dollars and China is rapidly industrializing and becoming consumers of Western goods as well. That’s a good thing for everyone in my opinion. How does 3D Printing change this? How does it really.

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In DESIGN

Solder Buddy Keeps the Hot Solder a'flowin'

2 Mins Read

Remember sitting in the living room when you were little, an old record playing in the background, mom cooking meat pies and the smell of lead solder in the air as your father fried the circuits of your RC car under a shiny pile of metal? If you could, you would have turned the scene into an infomercial for Jude Pullen’s Solder Buddy, the amazing little tool that feeds solder at a perfect rate. He created this one evening with a bike cable, servo and a few clumps of Sugru. Have a look!

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In FAB

Sandboxr Preps to Launch Super Cool Model Building, 3D Print App

2 Mins Read

If the video that Sandboxr has put together is any indication of the smooth, fluid, character-building fab fun you’ll be having, February 1st can’t come soon enough. On that day, they’re launching an app that puts the mix on the circa-2008 Spore 3D Creature Creator and the web-based My Robot Nation 3D printed robot army builder. From using both of those I must say… Parents, be warned, both you and your children will spend hours creating 3D creatures, characters, robots and more.

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In CAD

Luxion Announces KeyShot 4 and Live Linking for SolidWorks

2 Mins Read

Announcements, Announcements! Companies just love to unveil the bleeding edge new stuff at conferences. Along with the Dassault SolidWorks’ announcement (and your 9 month wait) for SolidWorks Mechanical Conceptual, Luxion is announcing KeyShot 4 with possibly a slightly shorter wait time for the release of the new version and a new render-rific link between SolidWorks and KeyShot that allows for updates to your model data without the need to redo any of your work in KeyShot.

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In CULTURE

A $10 Upcycled DIY Firepit You Can Make in an Hour

3 Mins Read

You know that saying? One man’s washing machine drum is another man’s retro-modern firepit? Yeah, that one. Turns out it’s not just some socio-economic statement to make you feel guilty about tossing that washer in a gully. With $10 and an angle grinder, Sarah and Joe at House and Fig used their home improving pursuits to turn an otherwise ugly washer drum into a burning bin of beauty that puts a $500 marble-top firepit from the home store to absolute shame. And guess what, you can make one too.

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