You know what you need on your fireplace mantle? Two deer skulls, a He-man action figure and some old books. Next to all of that, you need a 3D printed jet engine. After that, no one will question you when you lean against the fireplace with a seductive look in your eye whilst making jet engine sounds. You’ll be able to do this all thanks to Chris Shakal. He’s created his very own high-bypass jet engine design, making the model and print files available for everyone. Why should we trust Chris? He just so happens to be a Summa Cum Laude Aerospace Engineering grad, now working with Gulfstream Aerospace as…

Released last month, Nike’s Vaporwing Elite running sunglasses consist of a one-piece design that fuses the lens with the frame to significantly reduce weight while minimizing wind resistance and debris. While casual sunglasses designed for the average pedestrian are one thing, eyewear designed for the demands of competitive runners is a whole different ballgame. Among other design challenges, this includes the need for a responsive design that adapts to sweat, flexible arms that conform to the shape of a wearer’s face for accurate stability and fit during rigorous motion, ventilation with auto-adjusting nose pad for eliminating fog and finally, all of this while increasing the lens coverage as much 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 “Spirit in the Sky” from The Upsidedown before working our way through Kurt Vile, Tame Impala, The Velvet Underground, Black Mountain, Beach House and others before wrapping up with “So Many Details” from Toro y Moi. Have suggestions? As always, let us know what you listen to,…

Considering how pianos can become the centerpiece of a living area within a home, it’s surprising that we haven’t seen more collaborations between instrument manufacturers and hand-crafted furniture manufacturers. If we did, we’d probably see a lot more pianos like the KIYOLA ‘Made In Japan’ Series KF-10 from Roland and Karimoku Furniture. Designed by Karimoku’s in-house designers, the KF-10 is intended as both a high-end instrument and designer furniture centerpiece. While good looks and considered ergonomics (that’s not your typical piano bench) is one thing, Roland incorporated their SuperNATURAL Piano modeling technology, which accurately recreates the full tone and response of an acoustic piano. While the SuperNATURAL Piano modeling technology…

Create your first useful Onshape feature: a hex nut. I walk you step-by-step through building 58 lines of simple, human-readable code, explaining helpful tips and tricks along the way. Onshape FeatureScript: Hex Nut This will be the first in a series of videos using a simple hex nut as the foundation. Through these, we’ll cover all of the basic concepts needed for creating full-fledged Onshape features. The video content explains the overall process, with full text descriptions, code, and comments available in the body of the post. Watch it Here We think Onshape FeatureScript is a big deal. Over time we hope Onshape will add more ways to write FeatureScript,…

Although a well-designed and balanced pen can be a dream to write with, few writing instruments could ever replace the humble wood pencil. Now, artists, designers, engineers, woodworkers and anybody else who grinds their pencils down to a nub will soon be able to get a lot more mileage out of that lead. Soon to be launching on Kickstarter, the Pencil+ is the ultimate pencil companion and transporter that features an onboard sharpener, eraser holder, and lead extender for getting the most out of those pricey Blackwings, Prismacolors or whichever pencil you use to get your ideas and projects from A to B. With the ability to grasp onto just…