While Gallagher might have pioneered the act of destroying things for the amusement of a late night TV audience, YouTube has certainly helped reinvent it. From compressing random objects with a hydraulic press to cutting them in half with a waterjet cutter, the internet has been strangely fascinated with using industrial equipment to destroy things as of late. But why not? Isn’t it fascinating –– even therapeutic –– to see Gorilla Glass on an iPhone 7 buckle under the pressure of a hydraulic press treatment? One of the latest creators to hit the destruction scene on YouTube is Macro Room. As you might have guessed, these guys have a knack for…
Why aren’t there more excessively long, undulating-legged centipede style robots?! That’s the question I always ask a packed room at the local retirement village. Sure, they throw mashed potatoes and teeth at me, but late at night, they wonder the same thing as they fall asleep to the sound of sci-fi battle sounds on that mixtape I gave out to everyone. Shellmo is the creation of Sho Yoshida, inspired by the sadly discountinued, yet still impressive Gakken Mechamo Centipede of the mid-00s. It’s an incredible 32 legs of creepy motorized motion made extra creepy by a pair of excessively large humanoid eyes. Outside providing hours of fun and the inevitable…
TechShop first popped up in SF circa 2011. Think gym membership, but sub a CNC mill for the Stairmaster. Our own Dan Slaski swears by it. Adam takes a field trip to see what he’s been missing.
If we had a quarter for every 3D printing-related Kickstarter project that’s swept in over the past four or five years, we’d likely be on our way towards buying our own desktop machine by now with heavy pockets. But frankly, we’re more interested in a different type of desktop fabrication machine at the moment: the world’s first desktop waterjet cutter from new hardware startup WAZER. Billed as a compact waterjet machine that can “cut any material with digital precision using high-pressure water,” the WAZER team is out to disrupt the waterjet cutting industry by bringing this subtractive manufacturing technology to every workshop. While 3D printers –– at least the ones…
Mondays might not be your favorite day of the week, but the good news is that we’re all in this together ladies and gentlemen. As purveyors of prime Grade A web content, the SolidSmack crew has done some of the heavy-lifting to make sure you get your Mondays started on the right track. Welcome to The Monday List. Each Monday, we’ll link you up with some of the most insightful, informative, and socially-relevant stories to keep tabbed, bookmarked, reading listed, pocketed, or what have you. Be sure to check in each Monday morning for a new crop of freshly sprouted words curated straight from the source of your favorite homegrown…
People have been building unique creations using LEGO bricks since Ole Kirk Christiansen (The Lego Group) began manufacturing the toy bricks back in 1949. Over the years, LEGO bricks have evolved into multiple revisions over basic blocks, including Duplo and Technic, which is the more popular among makers. One such maker took his Technic set and created a truly unique semi-autonomous train set that features a rotary dumper and cargo loader. Graphic designer Paul Kmiec designed his Automated Rotary Dumper and Cargo Loader using various Technic pieces, which include the Control Centre (set 8094) that’s used for manual control during the Belt Loader sequence (more on that in a bit).…