We had a closer look at Velo3D’s amazing metal 3D printing process. In a word, it’s delicious. No Support 3D Printing The company, which operated in complete stealth until just under a year ago, had been secretly developing a powerful metal 3D printing process. Now, we’ve seen up close some of the prints that were made with that process and the results are startling, to say the least. As you can see in the Velo3D print images showcased here, the level of detail is quite incredible. Extremely fine structures are not only present, but printed with extreme accuracy. This capability means the Velo3D Sapphire system should be able to 3D…
It’s no secret I love 3D printing, laser cutting, and CNC routing. What I don’t love is all the maintenance and calibration of my own machines or questionable reliability and transit times to other people’s machines. And soooo many software programs — Talk about workflow woes. Hence my piqued interest in the upswell of 3-in-1 desktop fabrication machines. Molten hot plastic, sharp spinny things, and lasers. Oh my! The trifecta of safety glass-requiring, safety-oriented mom-hated, melded machinery. Trying to combine different classes of products can result in mutant offspring with none of the progenitors’ unique benefits, like an El Camino. And there is a long history of over featurism resulting…
It’s time for another round of apps that cover the spectrum of your beloved smart device(s)! The Weekly App Smack is the best of new or updated design and productivity apps (and maybe a couple of fun ones, too) for the busy design or engineering professional. This week we have a list sure to make you more efficient. Do you have an app suggestion that has made your life easier or changed up your workflow? Let us know in the comments below or send it into tips@solidsmack.com. Hit it! TouchRetouch (iOS — $1.99) TouchRetouch is an app that offers you all the tools you need to efficiently remove unwanted content from…
Famous for his mesmerizing magnet build videos, aptly-named YouTube creator Magnetic Games is back with yet another giant magnetic project. This time around, he’s set his sights on one of New York’s most prominent skyline structures: the Empire State Building. Built using at least 20,000 magnetic balls (according to his count), this towering magnetic skyscraper is about as realistic as you can get for a model made out of magnetic spheres. As for how he attempts to build this behemoth, the core foundation of the Empire State building features rectangular architecture, Magnetic Games stacks a bunch of balls to form various rectangular shapes and snaps the resulting subassemblies together. Among…
Hold onto your Swedish meatballs and lingonberry jam—the marketing team at IKEA is at it again. And no, they didn’t create self-assembling furniture…yet. If you’re a fan of the GRÖNLID, the LIDHULT, or the SÖDERHAMN sofas, designing your next setup can now be done sans CAD via your trusty laptop keyboard. Yes—the same keyboard you used to order that 2-pound jug of Cheese Balls from Amazon. With the release of their free SOFFA Sans font, the Swedish big-box retailer has made creating your ideal living room setup more accessible than ever—while also introducing the concept of industrial design via keyboard. “A sofa is much more than just a seat. It’s…
You’ve likely seen your fair share of wacky car ideas on the internet, but have you ever seen tires made out of…saran wrap? The guys over at the Novice Garage let their curiosity get the best of them and recently wrapped the clear-clingin’ stuff around the rear wheels of a dune buggy to see if it just might actually work. So how does one even begin to create…saran wrap wheels? The fellas begin by cutting the saran wrap to fit the width of the rear wheel, then use the engine to spin the thin plastic and create an exceedingly large “wrap”. Once the material is on, they use the natural…