When it comes to functional workspaces, proper tool organization cannot be stressed enough. After all, does anybody enjoy having to bounce from drawer to drawer looking for that one special screwdriver? We didn’t think so. While it may not organize every took in your shop, the handmade Waterproof Waxed Canvas Tool Rool from Hide & Drink is still one of our favorites. In fact, we like that we can bundle specific tools for specific tasks in different rolls—making it easy to grab and go when the time comes. In total, each roll includes slots for six different tools (or a variety of small tools). Not to mention, the waxed canvas…

Don your favorite bathrobe, cream that coffee and get comfortable with this week’s SolidSmack Weekend Reader. The Weekend Reader features a handful of the most interesting articles featured on the ‘Smack over the past week ranging from tips and tricks to inspirational designs, processes, and more. So lay back, relax and take a load off while reading the top stories on SolidSmack this past week. Oh and uh…don’t forget to shed some much-needed sunlight on your face, too. 5 Tips on How To Save Money When Backing a Kickstarter Project We cover our fair share of Kickstarter projects here at Solidsmack. Some projects, like the heavy-duty COMBAR and the problem-solving…

Long considered an indispensable asset for anybody working in CAD, the 3D mouse is a quintessential tool that belongs on the desktop of any industrial designer or engineer. Within a 3D application such as SolidWorks, Rhino, Fusion 360, or Keyshot, the directional, zoom and rotate functions provide an intuitive extension of the users’ design intent. To put it quite simply, a 3D mouse helps get rid of those annoying repetitive keystrokes and allows the designer to come as close to possible to holding their digital 3D design in the physical world. As pioneers of the 3D mouse territory, 3Dconnexion has blazed a trail with their SpaceMouse collection. And when it…

Nobody likes walking on the pavement during a hot summer day to discover they’ve just come across—and stepped upon—somebody’s soft discarded bubble gum. Aside from the embarrassment, scrapping the discarded sugar-chew is no easy task. But what if said bubble or chewing gum could be scraped from the streets and converted into an actual shoe? Such is the premise behind the world’s first shoe made from chewing gum—the aptly named Gumshoe. Designed in collaboration with Publicis One, Explicit Wear and Gum-Tec®, the shoe aims to be a “non-preachy” messaging tool to remind Amsterdam folks about the 1.5 million kilos of gum that end up on their streets and sidewalks every…

M3D is well known for their inexpensive desktop 3D printers, but now they’ve added a very different machine to their product line. The new “Crane Quad” system is a full-color desktop 3D printer with a price said to be less than USD$500. Previously the company marketed single or dual extrusion machines that proved very popular, commencing with their initial Kickstarter campaign years ago that netted them a significant amount of business – and cash to expand. Since then the company has smartly leveraged its resources, avoiding the sometimes-fatal market changes that have affected so many other small 3D printer manufacturers. Today M3D is thriving and is one of the largest suppliers…

When you think of mobile workstations, a laptop with a detachable keyboard probably doesn’t pop in your head. In fact, a laptop that converts to a tablet – Well, the majority of 2-in-one laptops are low-power consumer products that, at best, gives you touchscreen capability and web access in a pinch. HP, however, has reached deep and introduced a 2-in-1 laptop truly made for professionals–the HP ZBook x2. HP provided one to take a spin, so let’s have a look. OVERVIEW When the new HP Z-class workstations were announced last year, they were turning heads. The design was different, no doubt–sleek, angular and sporting a new logo–but the upgrade options were enough to…