Robots. They’re set to (maybe) take over the world. But first, they’re going to take over our…desks? If the uArm Swift from uFactory is any indication of what the future of desktop peripherals might look like, robotic arms capable of 3D printing or pick & placing may ultimately be just as common as the desktop 3D mouse or a digital sketching tablet. Available in both standard and pro models (with the pro more geared towards designers and engineers), the open source and programmable uArm Swift is perfect for just about any odd job you can throw at it—even handing you your beer. https://youtu.be/kzEkjx6Lmfg Wait…what? A robotic air hockey player, too?…
From converting a cheap wood dining room table into the ultimate productivity station to repurposing lamp components into clever light fixtures, there are very few things that cannot be done with IKEA’s expansive product line and a creative mind. Despite a growing community of IKEA Hackers, however, the company has never formally encouraged these hacks—as a matter of fact, they even sent a cease and desist letter to one of the more popular IKEA hacking community sites. Well, all that’s about to change now. With the launch of their Delaktig (Swedish for “being part of something”) open platform designed through a collaboration with designer Tom Dixon, the company is finally…
Glory be! I’ve always said I wanted a baby quadruped of my very own. Those gang members with knives laughed, but I still kept saying it. After I got them all shirts with a cute baby quadruped graphic on it, they stopped trying to cut me. Just goes to show you Huey Lewis & the News, that’s The Power of (Quadruped) Love. And this quadruped by Instructables user Toglefritz (aka Scott), is sure to stir the emotions of anyone. It. Is. Muy fabuloso, vato. According to his photos, it’s the size of a large cat, and each of the four legs has a full three degrees of freedom. He has the whole…
A Montreal-based startup is about to shake the world of design automation. Vention, a new browser-based machine builder platform, launched in beta today. They provide a social marketplace of industrial equipment for purchase and a 3D machine builder with library of components to construct your own equipment. The platform and 3D machine builder is 100% free to use. (The company relies on the sales of the products for revenue generation.) You can log in, immediately start adding parts from a library of pre-defined structural, motion, control, and hardware parts and components. The interface allows a drag-drop-and-snap in place method of assembling any type of structure through an AI-enabled 3D constraint system. As…
This week’s Spotify-powered SolidSmack Radio Playlist knocks you in the pop sockets with head-boppin’ groove tuneage to help propel you through the work week in style. Whether you find yourself inking markers until they’re dry, grinding material through a bandsaw or working that 3D geometry all day, consider these tracks as a tool for your process. This week we’ll start things off with “Into the Deep” from Galactic and work our way through tracks from New Move, Fur Trade, Ronnie Heart, Stolen Jars, and others before wrapping up with “Burn You Up” from Mike Clark and the Sugar Sounds. Have suggestions? As always, let us know what you listen to,…
Every once in a while, a new business model comes along that totally disrupts the status quo and changes the way we buy and become introduced to new products. Among others, the subscription service business model is just one of them. While these days consumers can purchase everything from socks to pre-prepared dinners and shave cream to obscure snack foods, the STEM Club from Amazon just might be one our most favorite subscription model-based concepts yet. Geared specifically for three different age groups (3-4, 5-7, and 8-13), the $19.99/month kits include a curated STEM-related project for each month of the year. And while many schools and other organizations have their…