That roaring tiger head coming out of a lattice work structure? That’s Shapeways. On their blog and at the Inside 3D Printing conference this week, they announced a $30 million round of funding from Andreessen Horowitz’s Chris Dixon. He’ll be joining the executive board and, you better believe it 3D shop-makin’, material-bakin’ fiends, Shapeways is…
Remember Alibre? That’s what people will be saying after today (or may have already been saying.) Alibre is the company and makers of Alibre Design 3D modeling software that was acquired by 3D Systems in July of 2011. As of today, Alibre is combined with Geomagic, the makers of Geomagic Studio 3D scanning software (and…
Opening tomorrow and running through the 14th, the Salone Internazionale del Mobile di Milano (The Milan Furniture Fair) is bound to have a few surprises that we’ll report on over the week. This showcase of all things product design has also been an outlet for famed British designer Ross Lovegrove to show off his latest…
Need 600 ice cream spoons for a birthday party tomorrow…straight from your CAD file? In this recently released video from Stratasys, we are able to see just how powerful 3D printing can be in a traditional manufacturing environment. For garage and hackerspace Makers who may only need a few hundred parts for their Kickstarter project…
There are guitar cases you want to completely cover in stickers, then there are guitar cases you want to build a dedicated shelf for in the focal point of your living room. This case is the later. You know we love covering the details of beautiful design behind musical instruments. The Bowoo Guitar case is…
It’s not quite Halloween yet, but if you’re the type that likes to plan ahead, then you should consider this for that masquerade ball seven months from now. COLLAGENE is a Kinect software application designed to create adaptive and customizable masks based off of a quick scan from an XBox Kinect. Developed by DO THE…
Many times, when sifting wheat outside the barn, you’ll come across a finger. You’ll look at one hand, then the other, wondering where that finger came from. When suddenly, you feel a tap-tap-tap on your shoulder. Turning, you see another finger. Then looking up, thousands more, flying through the sky, trying to escape the wrath…
For those in the greater London area, get ready to see a whole lot more 3D printing buzz. Today, iMakr announced that it will be opening a two-story, 2500 square-foot 3D printing retail store in Farringdon in Central London. Could this be the ‘office supply store’ of the future? Take off your Google Glass at…
Lasers vs. plastic extruders. We all know laser cutters are superior to 3D printers. Mostly, because you can’t put plastic extruders on sharks (or any other sea creature) to make them even more vicious. It also turns out that laser cutters are a tad faster at fabricating certain items…. as long as it’s flat and…
When you’re thinking sleek and sexy materials, concrete probably isn’t the first thing that crosses your mind. High-density foam and corduroy–now those are some right sexy materials, amiright? Nonetheless, more experimentation to take concrete beyond the foundation and into fashion (??) should be happening… we think. IVANKA is a Budapest-based design studio and concrete factory…
In the case that you love watching products turn on a lathe as much as I do, you are in mucho luck today. Product designer Ingo Schuppler has recently released the lathe-heavy process video for his latest design, “Schwarzes Gold’. The coal-based lamp design is in response to Germany’s energy usage and, according to the…
Luxology announced earlier this week their new modo 701, and as expected there are a host of improvements including expanded animation features like audio playback and sound support. For those of you looking to upgrade, here’s a quick preview of what’s to come.
The term ‘Knolling’ has been around since the mid-1980’s and is centered around the practice of organizing any number of objects for a specific purpose in an easy-to-view manner. More recently, design blogs, style magazines, and recipe books have used the practice as a way to instantly communicate a grouping of objects—whether it be items…
When high-school students get bored it can only lead to one thing… The design of a new, fully-articulating prosthetic leg made from bike parts that cost a fraction of a professionally manufactured leg. Parker Owen’s Saturday night boredom turned into looking at picture on the Internet… pictures of bicycle schematics and prosthetic design. Now, he…
There’s nothing like a little electronic art to get the heart pumpin’. This doesn’t do that, but it does make your eyes jitter and cause the people in the coffee shop to stop talking bad about their friends for a few minutes. Michael Chang is a designer, programmer, game creator and a master of three.js,…
If you’ve been scratching at the wall and printing out miniature convention centers in hopes of one day attending a 3D printing event, your wait is over. This April Inside 3D Printing is coming to New York City, boasting a huge line-up of Who’s Who among the 3d print industry educators and elites. I must…
In a collaboration between 3D printer manufacturer Stratasys’ Education and R&D Departments and MIT’s new Self-Assembly Lab, a new printing technique centered around self-assembling, ‘smart’ materials is being used right now. Hold onto your pants ladies and gentlemen, 4D Printing is here.
Airbnb has been one of the more famous startups in recent memory with their original ‘Air Bed and Breakfast’ idea: connecting empty bedrooms and guest houses to travelers and offering extra cash for those opening their homes to strangers. Many who have opened their homes to travelers have found so much success with Airbnb that…
Slap your CPU and call your mama, KeyShot 4 is released. This version of the rendering and animation software reaches deep into the cauldron of physics-based visualization and pulls out some very nice features users have been longing for.
Released last week, the Caustic Series2 accelerator boards are a pair of ray tracing accelerator PC boards that use Imagination Technologies’ ray tracing technologies to bring us the world’s first chipset dedicated to high performance, fully interactive ray tracing in a workstation environment. I had the opportunity to sit down with VFX madman and Caustic…
On par with the recent trend of 3D head scanning and printing, Shibuya’s FabCafe in Tokyo is offering a new service for those needing to get more personal than your typical box-of-chocolates-fare this Valentine’s Day by allowing new makers to scan their lovely mugs to be used as molds for chocolate delectables. Who knew my…
Remember way back in 2013, when everyone was going crazy about 3D printing, buying those boxy little printers to make custom dog tags, phone cases and trays for their belongings? Yeah, crazy times. It’s all changed now in 2015 with 3D printing moving outside the box and FabClay was one of the first showing what…
3D Printing has been lauded as the next way to bring jobs back to America and the rest of the West by the Economist and other intellectual luminaries like Glenn Beck (cough cough). CAD-to-Print technologies combined with geographic proximity to the buyer has been summed up as the solution to what some call “the China…
Remember sitting in the living room when you were little, an old record playing in the background, mom cooking meat pies and the smell of lead solder in the air as your father fried the circuits of your RC car under a shiny pile of metal? If you could, you would have turned the scene…
You know that saying? One man’s washing machine drum is another man’s retro-modern firepit? Yeah, that one. Turns out it’s not just some socio-economic statement to make you feel guilty about tossing that washer in a gully. With $10 and an angle grinder, Sarah and Joe at House and Fig used their home improving pursuits…
Having been open for a month, Keen Footwear’s Keen Garage in Portland, OR has seen nothing but glowing reviews from business leaders, architects, designers, environmentalists, and customers. Featuring everything from reclaimed barn doors to repurposed oil barrels upcycled into [comfy!] chairs, the retail environment is the penultimate museum of inspiration for repurposing…with purpose.
Makerbot announced today at CES 2013 the release of their Replicator 2x Experimental 3D Printer, an upgraded version of their successful line of Replicator 2. I’m reading the feeds as the info comes in and it’s looking good. You get the impression Makerbot is trying very hard to hit the Living Room and the Office,…
Industrial designer John Ford grew up with a professional woodworker by his side starting at the age of 7. A few decades later he’s still in the shop executing exceptionally-crafted furniture and other product designs. One of those designs just got funded on Kickstarter—and you should go check it out.
While you were enjoying your tuna fish sandwich at lunch, Panasonic unveiled one of their latest products at their keynote at CES in Las Vegas today–a freakin’ 3D printed TV.
Can we get a “great balls of 3D poly-mesh gravy!” up in here? 3D Systems has announced the acquisition of Geomagic, makers of a range of scanning, design software and haptic devices. This hit us like a ton of voxel-based bricks, and we’re all excited and terrified of what awaits us when the dust settles.…
Hark! 2013 is upon us! In many ways, the previous year seemed a turning point for where we’re going while simultaneously lacking any sort of drastic, earth-shattering changes. However, there’s plenty of fat, tech-laden fodder on which to speculate for 2013 and that’s exactly what we’re going to dish out for you folks. In recent…
Amanda Ghassaei, a DIY audio geek and editor at Instructables, succeeded in 3D printing 12-inch records containing the music of Nirvana, The Pixies, and Daft Punk. Using an Objet Connex500, she printed the records at one of the highest 3d print resolutions available, but how does that resolution really sound?
In this brand spankin’ new mini-series we’ll be interviewing kickass individuals who lined up their targets successfully to launch their Kickstarter projects. In this first edition of the series, we’ll talk with Patrick Triato, Design Lead at Portland, Oregon-based Carbon Audio. Carbon Audio launched their Zooka Soundbar on Kickstarter and have since placed their product…
Nylon, it’s wonderful stuff. A silky fabric when weaved or a flexible polymer when moulded. Reach out with your hands and chances are you will touch something Nylon (Warning: Solidsmack is not responsible for any injury, due to electric fan or angry, nylon-collered Wombats). Oh, you have a 3D Printer next to your computer? And…
The Objet 1000 is a seriously killer machine if you want ultra-high res large-scale 3D prints. No doubt about it. So why, Lord of mercy, did they want to associate it with an 80’s action cartoon jingle? Studies show that the Objet 1000 jingle reduces life expectancy to exactly 00:01:51. It is believed that no…
The user experience considerations with pitcher-based water filtration systems over the years has been an interesting phenomenon to watch. From reusable vinyl stickers indicating the filter change-out cycle, to electronic timers embedded in the handles, filtered water has seen some impressive technological advances. With the success of subscription-based business models such as Dollar Shave Club…
Amazing new campaign out on Kickstarter – a lens attachment to give you, the iPhone user, the ability to scan an object and turn it into an OBJ, DXF or STL. So yes you can share your very best ‘ducklips’ over Facebook with an extra dimension of sheer silliness. The PhoneScope3D is placed over the…
Hailing from the always-colorful and texture-rich Brazil, young architect and designer Humberto da Mata’s inspiration is rooted in the exploration of everyday materials and building layers with excessive texture, leaving the user with a visually and texturally rich experience…but could his ‘textural’ vision extend into recreating ‘vision’ experiences for those with impairments?
2D Copy Centres are sooooo 2011. 3D Copy Centres – now that’s something I need. You know that feeling when you drafting a CAD model and you need it in your hand? And it’s 3am? And no one’s given you the new code to the Stratasys because you kept on 3D Printing what your boss…
Yes sir, it’s Euromold again and the big-wig 3D Printing companies have come out in force to strut their stuff and eye the competition. Although we theorize that these are merely rubber-band guns, it’s possible that Objet made a sword (rather, a golf club). They certainly have a machine of a size that is capable…
Objet’s Connex 3D Printer creates a ship in a bottle by jetting transparent and black materials within the same print session—I can’t possibly think of a cooler way to put a ship in a bottle.
Inspired by the Dutch Modernist painter Piet Mondrain, East London Designer Hugo Passos gives an updated spin on the “old artisanal way” by avoiding machinery in his Modernist product designs.
Among the best ideas to take away from modern architecture are new studies in materials and applications. The Bloom installation is one of those new and rare architectural pieces that begs the question: What the heck could I do with thermobimetal?
With all the news and headlines regarding 3D printing these days, it’s a topic of conversation that’s bound to come up during at least a few family gatherings as the holidays approach us. Being the design and engineering-saavy individual that you are, you will probably be the one expected to do the explaining…or you could…
A big Imperial salute and a plate of Ewok cookies to George Lucas. This past week he sold off 100% ownership to Lucasfilm for $4 Billion to Disney. If you recall, Disney bought Marvel in 2009, transforming that franchise and the movies that came out if it. Disney plans to do the same thing for…
When your fingers are slammed in a trunk or car door, you’ll experience a great, yet painful, appreciation for the tolerances that are built into the gaps. When your double mocha latte goes flying into the dash and you spend the weekend cleaning the crevices with Q-tips and your favorite soundtrack, even more so. There’s…
Britain’s Big Innovation Centre (could the name be any more self-explanatory?) recently released a report on “Why Britain Needs a Policy Framework for 3D Printing” (pdf). Is Britain the first to get over the hype of ‘thing-making’ already and move on to create a mass-market industry template for others to follow?
754. That is the number of backers who jumped on board the Formlabs Kickstarter project to snag the first orange acrylic-covered SL resin printer from Formlabs. They’re $2,299 a pop, but with $2.1 million in funding (and one week to go), it’s obvious people are loving the idea behind this printer. What’s behind the design?…
I’ve got a soft, gooey spot for vintage designer chairs. Mostly, just for looking at them though, thinking, “That looks like a chair I could sit in with a pipe, a tumbler of scotch and an expensive looking mustache.” The Eames chair is exactly one of those types of chairs. It’s manufactured at the Herman…
Back when I was in design school my fellow students seemed to have one of two traits that were exceptional in their own right: Sketching or CAD Modeling. Ketchup or Mustard. Peanut Butter or Jelly. Alone these things are ‘okay’. Put them together and you have an unstoppable force capable of breaking the outer limits…