Glassblowing is a fascinating artform. For those of us in the product development world it’s akin to blow-molding. Yet, the process of blowing glass holds more intrigue and an element of danger. Also as a medium, it more eloquently showcases the human touch. Instead of yielding myriads of homogeneous end products, hand-blown glass enables artisans like Scott Slagerman to make each piece unique.
It’s easy to overlook the cultural significance of the original 2001 Apple iPod these days due to a smorgasbord of mobile devices and streaming music services. Apart from being a design marvel, it allowed millions of music lovers to lug their favorite tunes around without having to carry a clunky Sony Walkman or bulky boombox—not to mention, hard copies of all their favorite tunes. These days, they’ve found a new purpose: aiding those with Alzheimer’s, dementia, and other cognitive and physical ailments to bring back the memories that help make them who they are thanks to support from the non-profit organization, Music and Memory. The aim of Music and Memory…
When it comes to zany, off-the-wall projects that actually work, it takes a lot for Colin Furze to outdo himself—yet, the ingenious (and ballsy) garage inventor from Stamford Lincolnshire in the UK may have finally done it. In celebration of the release of Star Wars: The Last Jedi this week, Furze partnered with eBay to build a full-sized (yes, full) Tie Fighter using only parts sourced from the auction marketplace. Furze teamed up with eBay last year to create a full-scale AT-ACT using parts similarly sourced only from eBay. The resulting aircraft is 46 ft x 23 ft x 14ft with a full steel construction. https://youtu.be/sTvY9Llqtms This being classic Furze,…
With the new year approaching, many people are already starting to think about what they may want to do differently starting in 2018. For some, it may be developing healthier habits or reading a certain number of books each month. For many, getting a leg up in their job and career is certainly somewhere near the top of that list. Sadly, many people who embark on switching up their careers or otherwise advancing in their current career may not be properly equipped with the self-marketing know-how to get the position they deserve. Don’t let this happen to you! With over 151 lectures and 6 hours of content available 24/7, this…
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 “Cut the Cloth” from The Evens before diving into sweet melodies from Yucky Duster, Daniel Wilson, Slumbers, Ricky Eat Acid, and others before wrapping up with “Lurker” from Steve Gunn. Rock! Have suggestions?…
A big first in 3D CAD today. Shapr3D, together with Siemens PLM Software and Tech Soft 3D, has brought the full power of Parasolid 3D modeling to iOS, in the latest release of the Shapr3D iPad Pro app. (See announcement here.) Siemens’ Parasolid is the most common 3D modeling kernel and Tech Soft 3D’s HOOPS Exchange is the primary CAD translation SDK helping make Parasolid so prevalent. Over the last 10 months, Shapr3D has worked with the Parasolid team to optimize Parasolid for iOS, and with the Tech Soft 3D team to bring HOOPS to iOS. The outcome is a 3D modeling app designed for mobile devices with a feature…