When you work with an Industrial Designer (or as one) and you’re developing a physical product you want to bring to market, at some point you will probably have to make a functional model or a working prototype. There are many levels of possible mock-ups. Usually, in the later design phases or pre-production stages, you will need to make multiples of a product for field testing. In this case you will often want to simulate your part as a production part using materials that emulate the final injection molded product. Urethane is ideal in this case and a simple two-part silicon mold will get you there.

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. This week we saw a new (free) writing app that deletes all of your words once the time goes off (!!), a candle that mimics a sunset, an exceptional update to the popular Waze GPS app, how to make a mini Da Vinci catapult and more… Ready? Let’s go! This week we look at: DESIGN Sunset Candle by Nendo “t appears to be a normal white candle. But once lit, the centre of the candle begins to change colours as it…

You’ve heard the joke. An engineer walks into a bar, unboxes a Chromebook and says, “I bet you, I can load Onshape on this here Chromebook in 10 seconds flat.” The bartender say, “No flippin’ way! You’re high on the crack cocaine! You can have the finest whiskey in this fine establishment if you can.” Well, the engineer flips open the Chromebook and before the bartender can even scoff, he’s got Onshape open, is spinnin’ the model, and chuggin’ straight from a bottle of Bushmills 21 Year Old Single Malt.

Autodesk just revealed their plans to jump from desktop 3D printer/platform development to taking on high-production industrial machining. And it goes way beyond hardware. A few years ago, we wouldn’t imagine Autodesk even getting into hardware. We joked about them producing their own 3D printer, then they did. But one little ol’ 3D printer, with one little ol’ print head? Well, that’s not good enough and, besides, there are much bigger problems to solve.

For the best sound and higher rates of amazing an audience, musicians require top of the line instruments. You could say they’re a bit particular, especially when it comes to pianists. Whether they play jazz, classical or pop, pianist want the best piano–the best sound–possible. One name has stood above the rest for over a century, with a manufacturing process to match.

Despite what seem like a seemingly endless array of sneaker models and colors in existence today, the competition for having the tightest kicks on the block is a heated one; it’s getting harder to find that “one of a kind” pair. In what started out as a necessity to stand out from his high school friends who were all wearing the same shoes, turned into a unique career path for LA-based Dominic Chambrone (AKA The Shoe Surgeon). Today, the 29-year-old has a thriving business where he customizes sneakers for A-list clients and regular Joes alike – many of which cost in the neighborhood of $1,000 after he’s spun his magic. Says…