With months of self-isolation getting to him, YouTuber The Q thought it would be a good idea to buy a pair of Nike Air Force shoes. He must not have thought too far ahead however, because now he has a new pair of shoes with nowhere to run. What’s one to do? Recreate the same shoe using blocks of wood, of course. After finding three suitable blocks of wood in his workshop and gluing them together, The Q starts work on recreating his Nike Air Force shoes in wood form: 1. Cut The Shoe Outline The Q starts off by tracing both the bottom and the sides of the shoe…
Software company nTopology has announced a hefty Series C funding round set to accelerate its offerings of engineering design tools for advanced manufacturing. The $40 million round is led by Insight Partners and joined by Grant Verstandig and existing venture partners Root, Canaan, DCVC, and Haystack. Insight Partners’ Josh Fredberg is joining the nTopology Board of Directors, which also boasts former Autodesk CEO Carl Bass. $40 million is a nice investment round at any point, but raising multi millions during a pandemic is its own feat — and one that advanced manufacturing companies seem to be seeing a lot of recently. Digital manufacturing technologies like 3D printing have proven resilient…
For some, using a CNC machine may be an intimidating skill. If you don’t have access to one or someone who knows how to use one – nevermind the cost of most commercial CNC machines – it’s difficult to know where to start. Fortunately, desktop CNC machines are becoming more prevalent. The CNC ONE is such a machine, made to address the problems conventional CNC machines have in terms of accessibility, affordability, and power. Rather than leaving you to fend for yourself once you’ve bought it, the CNC ONE has a companion learning app that teaches you how to use the shiny new making machine. Called the CNC ONE Academy,…
If you’ve never watched a Studio Ghibli movie before, stop what you are doing and watch one now. From ever-popular classics like My Neighbor Totoro to the most recent 2014 release When Marnie Was There, the distinct art style, animations, and methods of storytelling are wholly unique and what I like to call, “classic Disney with a dash of real-life issues”. Before their more famous films however, the studio’s first movie was a little title called Nausicaä and The Valley of The Wind, and was released way back in 1984. Taking place after an apocalyptic war, Princess Nausicaä of the Valley of The Wind becomes entangled in a plot by…
On-demand manufacturing got a big lump of money love with T. Rowe Price leading a $75MM Series E equity round to boost Xometry’s expansion, payment system, and AI-driven on-demand marketplace development. To date, Xometry has had seven multi-million dollar rounds of funding totaling $193MM. The funding was announced alongside the news that Jim Rallo, former CFO of Liquidity Services, joins the company as Chief Financial Officer. Has Xometry had good growth? Indeed they have. Since 2015, they’ve seen their revenue double each year through launching their own RFQ Service to acquisitions, including that of Shift, to expand their European market. Our favorite aspect of Xometry is not only their online…
Put five in the sky if yo’ feelin’ alive. Put ten up in the air if you just don’t care. Who needs a hand or fifty? I could always use a hand. I could use it for help on the farm of course, but also just to stick at random locations in hallways or slap things around… wet noodles, a large ball of moss, a muddy chicken… you know, the usual. Whatever the need, Dan Sopala, from the great state of Texas, (who in no way condones the slapping of muddy chickens) has created the most incredible 3D printed print-in-place hand you’re likely to see, at least, this year. It…