When it comes to configuring that ideal computer for your 3D design needs, every last little bit of power can help. However, when you’re working within a set budget, the challenge of swapping some components for others can become a tedious task that sometimes feels more like rocket science than a ‘fun’ build project. Earlier…
With so many cool things coming out each week, it can be hard to wade through all the rock-awesomeness. With ‘Cool Tools’, we’ve done the hard work for you. For our first week of 2015, we saw everything from an 3D printed prosthetic for a turtle to a mini-documentary on people who call a treehouse…
For anybody who’s been wanting to get the most out of their 3D scanner or smartphone 3D scanning app, the new MODO for Repotology series from industrial design training site cadjunkie is just for you. For the low price of $39 ($14 for cadjunkie Premium members), this downloadable video series includes everything you need to…
On a Thursday in December, the truth finally comes out and we learn more about the the target demographic and messaging for large, 3D software development companies. According to Aurèlien Blaha, Senior Manager, Social Communications at Dassault Systèmes, “we mainly sell the software to Ewoks” to which we say, Yub nub. The news came earlier…
If you’ve been on the fence about whether to purchase MODO 801 or not, you have until Friday (12/19) to purchase the software package for 40% off of its retail value, which would bring the cost down to $897.00 (normally $1495.00). Discounted as part of a MODO Flash Sale, the steep discount is almost unheard…
As 3D printing finds its way into solving a myriad of problems ranging from more traditional product development methods to more recent medical applications, there is one trait that leaves much to be desired: the ability to create multiple high-quality prints in a short amount of time. While the recently-announced Multi Jet Fusion Technology from…
Don your favorite bath robe, cream that coffee and get comfortable with this weekend’s SolidSmack Weekend Reader. This week we saw everything from how Japanese Kokeshi dolls are made to a new line of Steve McQueen-inspired futuristic motorcycles and…you can use SolidWorks to simulate a zombie attack? So lay back, relax and take a load…
Don your favorite bath robe, cream that coffee and get comfortable with this weekend’s SolidSmack Weekend Reader. This week we saw everything from HP’s foray into 3D printing to a new way of approaching localized bicycle manufacturing and more. So lay back, relax and take a load off while reading the top ten stories on…
Don your favorite bath robe, cream that coffee and get comfortable with this weekend’s SolidSmack Weekend Reader. This week we saw everything from a new desktop manufacturing device that blew past its Kickstarter goal to a new analog measuring tool that creates real-time 3D models on a digital device using the live measurements and more.…
We’ve all grown up to playing with Slinky for endless hours, and if as a zesty DIY-er you think you’ve outgrown them – think again. Adam Watters has upped his cool quotient by a million and promises to up our by at least a hundred notches, if we simply follow his instructions as seen here.
There are five things I want after designing a part–a damn part, damn fast. 3D printing was suppose to be the revolutionary technology that made all our manufacturing woes go away, speed the whole process up and leave machinists in a wake of plastic fumes and corporate laughter. DMLS still holds high hopes for production…
With both an impressive knowledge base of how industrial plastic manufacturing machines work as well as his desire to repurpose plastic waste, Dutch designer Dave Hakkens has created an open source microfactory concept that he hopes will change the way we produce everyday plastic goods. Precious Plastic explores how plastic waste can be shredded and…
It’s late at night, I’m drinking stale coffee and as I file this report, New Matter’s MOD-t 3D Printer has crossed the three hundred thousand-dollar mark and is 80% funded. It’s been up on IndieGoGo for less than 24-hours where the early-bird specials sold out within the first two hours, and every other pledge is…
The Artiphon Instrument 1 is, hands down, the Swiss Army knife of digital instruments. Using the computer in my pocket, 3D printed components, and some rad sensors, Artiphon enables musicians to play with and practice a variety of stringed instruments in one. The Instrument 1 adapts an Apple mobile device into a versatile, and highly…
By now a lot of people have had ‘great ideas’ for connected devices that up until now would have required weeks of research and development and a healthy dose of perseverance. While one could certainly test their ideas on a Raspberry Pi or other development board, the overall physical size prohibited creating anything wearable. New…
Lately we’ve been seeing quite a few discussions around various SolidSmack social media outlets discussing the best portable digital sketching tools. Sure, most people will gravitate towards an iPad and the Microsoft Surface based on cost and applications for other uses. However, if you consider yourself a professional designer with the need to have full-blown…
Remember when Dell announced the announcement of their latest laptop last July at SIiggraph? Of course you do. The Precision M3800 is the sub-$2k lappy with loads of style that weighs less than a Maltese pup and cooks your cad models like a high-end cooktop. Today, the official release date popped up on the M3800…
Founded in 2010 by students from Aalto University in Finland, ideas2cycles aims to bring wild and new bicycle design concepts to market as quickly and efficiently as possible. Using 3D printing to speed up their development process, the small company consisting of a single industrial designer and an engineer have found a unique and affordable…
It wasn’t too long ago that Flatter Files was putting SolidWorks and AutoCAD files in your pocket. Ouch! Pardon your reach! Now they’ve churned out an update aimed at access to a wider array of content and have pushed their platform to the far reaches of the Android universe with a new app available for…
Those lines. Those edges. The inescapable patterns of grill and USB ports. The new Dell Precision line is here, and although the marketing images look identical to the previous Precision line, these puppies carry a bit more pop than the predecessors. Surprised? Let’s have a look.
As you know, people like stories–reading stories, telling stories, freeze-drying stories and mounting them on a zebra pelt. Some even laugh and get emotional while doing so. But where do stories come from? Imagine a box. A box that allows you to choose the direction of a story. An internet connected box called The Choosatron.…
A piercing hydraulic hiss echoed in the launch bay as we mounted our space cruisers to their docks. As we proceeded to our sleeping chambers, the motion-activated blacklights turned off one by one behind us as we walked down the dark and desolate docking terminal. We settled to our quarters, ate some dehydrated ice cream,…
You all know Jeff Bare. We interviewed him on EngineerVsDesigner (Episode 5!!) About a year ago, he started working with a new watersport company named ZUP. It’s like ‘Up’ with a Z or when you punch your homey in the face and say, ‘wha ZUP.” They’ve developed a whole new product that makes skimming across…
London’s Design Museum is a marvel of inspiration for designers, engineers, architects, digital media artists, and pretty much anybody else. The awesome factor can maybe be compared to having a perfectly toasted giant marshmallow with a cup of spiced drinking chocolate on a blustery winter day next to a fireplace. For 22 years the museum…
All of us are recovering from what was a whole lot of fun in the Big Apple at World Maker Faire. More detailed posts will be forthcoming as we digest (AKA sleep/render video) on what occured. Suffice to say, success! In the meanwhile, I thought I’d post some pictures and quotes from a gem blogpost…
Hey, we haven’t done one of these in a while! What’s going on in Crowdfundland? Brilliant ideas? Or Annoying ones? We probably only notice the brilliant ones, because Kickstarter filters search results to prevent the unsuccessful campaigns from appearing. Hey Google indexes the internet so I only get the most ‘cited’ pages out there. Same…
This week SolidWorks 2013 PR1 is released. Dassault (and SolidWorks specifically) has caught a lot of flack for not innovating, closing up their labs site, previewing an enticing product years ago and not delivering, showing and shifting releases of an equally enticing SolidWorks Live Building product, loosing Jon Hirschtick and Austin OMalley and revealing misconstrued…
“Brilliant, you say?” Why, it’s only half a cockle shell I’ve fashioned into a sturdy set of gills at the base of my torso. Fortunately, they’re embedded beneath my skin, providing endless amounts of highly concentrated oxygen due to being soaked overnight in the SolidSmack Cool Tools of Doom n’ Stuff! Have something cool you’ve…
Fab-fabulous machines of fabbing people. The Fabbster was developed and manufactured by German company Sintermask, the very ones who develop a unique sinter and powder deposition technology that utilizes principles similar to a silkscreen press. What sets Fabbster apart isn’t the fact that it’s high-speed (400 mm/s) or has a incredibly high-temperature extruder (300C or…
I’m always amazed by how good graphic designers have become at explaining information. Since design has leapt into the 3rd dimension, so has the elaborate art of infographics. We’ve seen it with Johannes Tsopanides’ InfObjects in a previous article. We’ve seen it with 3D printed bracelets that are made from stock market data. What’s next? Have a…
3D printers are slow, but they can make virtually anything. Humans are slow, and most of them can make virtually anything as well. What does this mean? SHOWDOWN.
How do you really upset a machinist? Show them an fully-integrated SolidWorks CAM solution that puts their 2D toolpath pickin’ to SHAME. That’s one angry CNC programmer. That is, until they realize how much time you’ve saved them. HSMWorks, creators of the product by the same name, is releasing the first free CAM solution for…
I’ve got a bat. Actually, I have 10 little bats and they’re shaped suspiciously like fingers. Don’t worry, they’re mine and they’re ready to gouge the eye of technology… repeatedly, with lots of details, photos, unnecessary screaming and a skull that looks oddly like meat. Yes, it’s time to take a look at the HP…
Last week, Siemens launched what is very well the most feature-busting update to the Solid Edge with Synchronous Technology craze thus far. It’s Solid Edge ST3. I’ve not been able to get inside it yet, so I’m holding off on a proper review till I do. In the meantime, I went to Siemens with some…
Blow the beet juice out of your mouth. This week SolidWorks 2011 is launched. We could ask the same questions we did last year and we could also bore 1/4-20 screws into our head. We will do neither. What we want to know is one thing, is 2011 better. Is it better than 2010? Does…
Now, when you find the bucket, you must do this. Jump in and out 5 times. At that moment, you’ll find yourself in a land of small shrubs, which smell of bread pudding and shoot these links into your eyebrows. Tyler Edlin Mr. Edlin creates worlds. Worlds that play hopscotch with your subconscious and then…
We all know it. There are at least six programs that go into design process. That is, when there are more than five programs used. And with that, there’s a workflow that needs to be beat into submission. You’re about to see one that has been dealt with thusly. You remember the design arsenal poll…
Kick the wads of paper away from your coworker’s head and pick him up off the floor. It’s ok to slap him if he’s still unconsciousness, because he’s about to thank you for showing him a way to go through massive amounts of design iterations with fewer convulsive reactions or concussions. Last week, we discussed…
Foot stomps and smocks! Crazy smocks, as a matter of fact. You want one? I want one. Preferably equipped with pony smiles, blinking lights, and these links. Theodoru Badiu – Everything from Paper head boy to Tentacle Monsters and one-legged spheroid birds. Teodoru has 3D characters down. Making of “The Tattooed Skull” – Hey, it’s…
It’s not much of a surprise, ya think? The poll last week asking “If You Could Design Anything With 3D, What Would It Be?” did in fact show that approximately 30% would love to hunker down for a nice evening of modeling vehicles in 3D. And by pure coincidence the very next post was a…
You better have one of those fancy skin-tight ski suits with… ya know, skulls and shiny shapes on it, cause your skin is gonna peel right off your bones with this new ski concept. Charles Pyott had the idea of doubling the edge surface on a ski to help skiers maintain speed through turns and…
This day’s Keynote was all about you. Not actually you, but the users, the companies creating products using SolidWorks. Here are the highlights… MegaBrands Jeremy Luchini (SolidWorks Certification Manager) introduced MegaBrand’s Design Manager Yancik Tremblay. He discussed the design process – going from sketch concept to figuring out how to make a sphere transform into…