An anonymous puzzle maker has made history by building the world’s largest twisty puzzle in the world with a 22×22 Rubik’s cube. The designer failed twice when previous designs exploded, but due to dogged determination the mysterious designer has finally succeeded.
Football is about playing hard and playing fast, but it also involves a lot of safety risks. Movies like Concussion bring up issues about how many players suffer from brain trauma from the game. How can we improve the players’ safety without affecting their game? (My father stopped watching the game due to the disregard for player safety. I see why.) However, helmet manufacturer VICIS and the University of Washington are working on the ZERO1, a new football helmet designed to absorb more shock and impact than current designs.
For decades, DIY and skate culture have gone hand-in-hand across countless mediums. Whether it’s creating a custom skate deck design, a layout for a backyard skate ramp, a skate video, or even a t-shirt brand, the skateboard community has always kept their creative energy sharpened to a T. Aiming to keep this energy alive and guide a new generation of skaters into the heart of DIY, the Converse CONS Project – hosted by footwear brand Converse – features a series of DIY workshops curated and built by experts in the worlds of skate, art, and music. Running through May of 2016, the live workshops will be held in Austin, Chicago,…
Time for another round of apps that cover the spectrum of your beloved mobile device, be it iPhone, Android or Windows! The Weekly App Smack is the best of new or updated design and productivity apps (and maybe a couple of fun ones, too) for the busy design or engineering professional and this week we have a list sure to make you more efficient. Do you have an app suggestion that has made your life easier or changed up your workflow? Let us know in the comments below or send it into tips@www.solidsmack.com. Hit it! Duet Display “Duet Display allows you to use your iPad or iPhone as an extra…
When they first unveiled their Mark One carbon fiber 3D printer in San Diego at SolidWorks World in 2014, the MarkForged team – led by former aerospace engineer Greg Mark – started off with a legendary bang. Not only were they the first company to unveil a 3D printer capable of producing carbon fiber race car parts on your desktop, but they were also even invited up on the SolidWorks World Mainstage just a day after launching. Needless to say, the 3D printer capable of printing in carbon fiber, fiberglass, Kevlar, and nylon took the 3D printing industry by storm. On Monday, the MarkForged team once again found themselves at…
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 “The Chills” from Peter Bjorn and John before working our way through some Pavement, Cults, Life Without Buildings, St. Vincent and others before wrapping up with “Wet and Rusting” from Menomena. Have suggestions? As always, let us know what you listen to, what you want to hear…