Seamlessly bridging the physical and digital worlds has proved to be a significant challenge for even the world’s most advanced electronic manufacturers. While HP has made considerable strides with their “mixed reality” Sprout platform, the creative market has grown to favor more portable tablets and laptops over full-fledged desktop platforms. With Project Zanzibar, the Microsoft Research Team hopes to blur further the distinction between the digital and physical worlds—this time, in a portable implementation that can be rolled up, stowed, and paired with existing tablet computers. https://youtu.be/4Gl6iaVXZu0 While their early prototypes focus on expanding toy sets into interactive experiences (including creating animated 3D rendered movies that mirrored how children were…
How many boats does one need? WRONG QUESTION. How many boats can you 3D print, stick in your mouth, and say ‘Bathtub Boat’. Me? 27. But they were small boats and I choked when I realize one could come shooting out my nose at any moment – can you imagine the pain a PLA print squeezed through the nostril cavity produces? Not gonna find out. These boats are the creation of a one VANDRAGON, or as I like to call him, VANDRAGONY THE SUPREME. So, why does he create these? Well, besides boats being cool, he says, I like my bathtub and boats, so I’m creating some for the bathtub. I…
Get that stretch out of your system with this week’s Spotify-powered SolidSmack Radio Playlist. It’s fashioned up, ready to make you pull your shoulder blades back and knock out another week of meaningful work while you bob your head to the beat. Whether you’re in the shop milling aluminum, sketching the latest product prototypes or modeling up a 3D storm, consider these tracks as a tool for your process. This week we’ll get the groove going with “Otis” from The Durutti Column before diving into sweet melodies from Sunflower Bean, Kyle Craft, Woods, Vanishing Twin, and others before wrapping up with “Lucky Once” from Nick Waterhouse. Rock! Have suggestions? As…
We’re stoked to welcome Hardware Massive with this special guest post by Greg Fisher, Founder at HardwareCon. Check out Hardware Massive and, if you’re in the San Jose area this week, you’ll want head over to HardwareCon to learn about the future of hardware. Having spent the last 13 years helping more than 900 hardware startups (they used to be called inventors) taking innovative, physical products to market, I’ve seen the industry go from one dominated by large established companies, to the burgeoning hardware revolution that has already brought thousands of startup products to market. Using new tools and technologies, it is just getting started. Despite growth in the market, in…
It may not be your favorite shop accessory, but a sturdy pair of safety glasses is an absolutely critical piece of kit. Whether running a 2 x 4 through the table saw or simply sanding the final edges of a model, the last thing you need is dust in your eyes or worse—something much larger. Which is why we love the Classic Safety Glasses from SAS Safety. These no-bull safety glasses feature durable impact resistant polycarbonate 99.9% UV-resistant lens and offer additional protection with temple covers. Lightweight and comfortable with just the right amount of ‘Shop Boss’ style, you can’t go wrong with these no matter what gets thrown at…
Though LEGOs can be used to build just about everything from a ship in a bottle to a Tic Tac dispenser, the one thing they aren’t so good at is cleaning up after themselves. YouTuber The Brick Wall must have stepped on one too many of his LEGO builds because his newest project is a LEGO Roomba. While the Roomba is traditionally used to sweep all debris from floor surfaces, this special floor sweeper specializes in just sweeping up LEGOs— Small LEGOs, medium LEGOs, even those humongous LEGO slabs you can’t seem to take apart. In total, the machine is made up of 986 individual parts and has a…