Sometimes making a claw fist and putting it front of your CAD data doesn’t have the data manipulating effect you want it to. Nope, neither does two claw fists or the hiss of a toothless cat. What will scare that data into a finely structured process flow and multi-level bill of material is a little…

As you may know (or not), digital puppet-maker and modo rigging master, Rich Hurrey of Pixar Animation Studios, has recently released new modo 501 Rigging Master Course. After years in the works and a spectacular video production that explains all the possibilities of animating models with modo, it’s definitely a course to pick up. Rich…

Are 3D Printers a disruptive technology? Are you kidding me? Look at the image above. That person, or that person’s arm, is obviously being sucked into the filament carriage to be used in the construction of extruded parts. Totally disruptive. On the flip side, that’s one more substance we can add to the growing list…

It’s a sad day when you go to override the mass properties in your model and you lose your Moment of Inertia, your Center of Gravity and your will to live. It doesn’t have to be that way though. You could do what Marc Monaghan did… scream your lungs out your chest, put them back…

The lonliness that consumes you when the CNC operators talk shop is all about to end. You may not know how to bolt a billet of aluminum into a chunk without removing half your arm skin, but you can download a program with less trauma and bring a CHUCKle to a machinists face. A fresh…

Yes! The time has come to announce the winners if the very first SolidSmack Design Contest. This… was absolutely incredible. We had over 130 entries across a range of categories spanning architecture, automotive, consumer products and more. You can just see all the entries at GrabCAD. With the amount of entries and the thought that…

How many times have you said, “I need more plastic bits on my desk, and I need them NOW!!” I do, EVERY DAY, followed by spooning large amounts of plastic nibs and milk into my mouth. If you’re looking for something equally delicious to add to the collection of desktop trinkets in your cubicle, look…

Cell Cycle Ring via Ponoko With Maker Faire last week and 3D printing buzzing the skin off the ever-loving lips of everyone talking about it, there’s news galore to satiate those in dire need of a 3d print news fix. Really, what would you do if you didn’t know that researchers had found a way…

Why there’s nothing I quite like more than buttoning up the finest faux suede longcoat, donning my tophat and printing colorful componentry into the wee hours of the morning. There’s just something enjoyable about it that frightens people slightly. Part of that may be the amazing color assortment of plastic filament I have wrapped around…

There are five reasons I just dropped what was doing to check this out *looks down at fist, punches face*. Fortunately, I didn’t have machined titanium rings on each finger or my face would be a bloody, unrecognizable mess. What’s exciting me to punches is a self-initiated competition going on over at GrabCAD. Put on…

Metrix Create: Space – a collective of evil geniuses in Seattle Washington – recently posted their first results out of their current project, Big Robot. It’s an old CNC machine repurposed to carry a scaled up version of the plastic extruder from the RepRap open source 3D printer project. Aside from being built from mostly…

Yes. I did just tell you last week to go fund ShapeOko on Kickstarter. But some of you looked at it and thought that you needed an already proven design, and some input on new features. Man, you’re picky… but you’re also in luck! DIYLILCNC is just the machine for you and for 40 or…

I’m convinced ‘Reality’ is a guy named Milo with a spray tan and a well-groomed mustache. He gets up at 6am to have a semi-artificial, vitamin D fortified breakfast, then heads off to work to sit at his laminated desk for 10 hours, during which time he rocks out ultra photo-realistic renderings. He may use…

What’s big, bright and full of light? The SES2 light kit from 9b Studios. If you recall the first Studio Environment Set (SES1) from render rocker Yazan Malkosh, you’ll know awesome, easy-to-use light presets for modo, Microstation and SolidWorks are the name of the game. This version brings in 50 more HDR images spherically mapped…

The future. Tis glorious. And while I dream of the day we’ll all have transparent skin and morphing appendages, it’s those amazing flying machines we’re likely to see such things on first. The Future by Airbus is a look at the possibilities and where they see the design of aircraft and aircraft interiors going. The…

What’s slightly less/more awesome than driving cool cars? Drawing them. Making sound effects while turning red and eventually passing out just adds to the enjoyment. I Draw Cars can help. A project started by product designer Matt Marrocco and car designer Adam Hubers, it brings their car sketching passion and knowledge to you via the…

Don’t you wish you could just shake someone vigorously and have a beautiful rendering pop out? I do. I’ve tried it and the results are not beautiful and you’re no closer to a rendering than you were before. However, there are programs that can do for you what your firm grip can not. Bunkspeed Shot…

Lather that sun tan oil on. Summer is here and you look FABULOUS. But don’t worry about going to the mall to find that unique two-piece. They don’t do the 3D printing thing and oh, what a shame, because the latest fabric-free, platastic feat is bridging swimwear and SLS. Designed by Jenna Fizel and Mary…

Everyone needs a little love. Even those that get to sit around all day tinkering with light settings and camera angles. As Rob Rodriguez details in his blog post, PhotoView 360 (PV360) users may have new reasons to model a hand and give a fully rendered high five to each other. Here’s what you’ll want…

Ponoko, the New Zealand based purveyor of laser cutting services has been rolling out additional services this year under the name Personal Factory. In the past, they’ve added services such as 3D printing and have provided access to a huge catalog of electronics components. Now, they’re announced one more way to butcher that beautiful, flat-packed…

Running out of things to give your mother for her birthday/Christmas/Mother’s Day? (hint: you’re late on that last one.) Shapeways, an online 3D printing company which already has one of the largest materials offerings on the net, has introduced Glazed Ceramics 3D printing. One of their trumpeted examples is a coffee mug, so it will…

You know when you’re holding a baby goat, and your thinkin’, I can hold that spoon and that bag of chips… and that chair… and that pile of cream cheese balls… and that armadillo dressed like a Spanish conquistador. Yeah, I can hold ALL THAT. Well, just imagine if a simple product which sat on…

You may have guessed it would happen. You may have seen a small group of children exiting a school yard in a zombie-like state chanting, “FEED US, FEED US EASY TO USE 3D SOFTWARE.” No doubt to create and manufacture some killer Barbie/Truck mods. Same for the maker crowd. Is there any 3D software created…

Can you think of a more uncomfortable chair to sit in than an airport chair? I can’t. Add to that the delight of sharing the vast majority of the world’s germs, bacteria and food particles with the other happy people at the airport and really, sitting just doesn’t get any better. One thing that can…

You may want to stop suckin’ that SolidWorks model through the regular old modo SolidWorks import for a few days. Why? You’re about to get a stronger, rockin’er, suckin’er solution to bring all those bits and bobs into modo. It’s the modo for SolidWorks kit. It’s coming soon along with more materials, more compatibility, SolidWorks-like…

You like to ride. That’s what it’s about. Not skimming around on a pretty set of purple powder coated tubes, with matching water bottle, helmet and Lycra bottoms. The tougher, the better and if it can handle blood spatters from shin gashes, dehydration vomits and a 30 foot fall… all the better. Sean Walling know…

I know you have dreams. Not the one where you’re falling and wake up floating, then realize you’re just falling the wrong way and then you wake up. Not that one. The dream I speak of is the one where you go to New York City, set up a giant platform at the Jacob K.…

There are times in life where you think up a design, so simple, so magnificent, it could change the properties OF THE UNIVERSE ITSELF… and then suck everyone into an awesome design crushing vortex. However, if one takes the power of that idea, shares it with some friends and enters it into the Staples Eco…

If there’s one thing I’ve learned from Japanese animation, it’s that elbow pitts can explode and some of us will fight each other, mutant creatures and evil robots in extremely large exoskeletons. This is proof. Skeletonics is a on-going project by an imaginative, and quite clever, group of Japanese students who are using simple kinematics,…

There are a lot of secrets in the world of design – materials, processes, handshakes and very few know how many raccoons it takes to gnaw a smooth continuous surface out of a chunk of clay. Perhaps that’s changing and perhaps it’s beginning with knowing a little more about the secret process behind modern concept…

If you ever go ridding a horse bareback through plate glass windows, you may often wonder how to reduce the amount of scarring by attaching a thin acrylic shield around yourself and the horse. I propose Ponoko as the single best resource for creating such a shield. However, you don’t want children attempting to try…

I’m sure you’ve stood alone in a dark room, with silence as thick as the black crawling over you. Then screaming… and pies. Thousands of pies. But where are they coming from? No one knows. It all seems to appear from the darkness of space. Much like the light that suddenly turned on to reveal…

I know.You were probably hoping to see my improvisational flute playing skills in this post. We’ll do that later when you have quick access to a bucket and some earplugs. Today, we’re looking at something that will go down as a turning point in 3D printing history, but not only 3D printing history… all those…

No, don’t look away. It’s not scary at all. However, the awesomeness may cause the skin to tighten across your face as the excitement in your teeth push you jowls back over your head. If you have teeth. If you don’t, don’t worry, because we can sculpt some in and render them gold faster than…

You’re sitting in a design review meeting. In a conference room. The dull buzz of the fluorescent lights match the mono-tone static of some voice in the room, but who cares, you’ve got a pen. Before you know it, you’ve inked an entire mural across the wall, the whiteboard and your boss’ face. He would…

I’d like to say that what you’re about to read might be the most interesting things happening at AU2010, but I won’t… because they ARE the most interesting things happening at AU2010. You may have seen some of the Autodesk projects and programs coming out. They’re exploring the options of product development software and giving…

Well now, if you think those intricate clay micro-structures you’ve squeezed out through your teeth are amazing, you’re going to love this. Up till now it’s been nearly impossible to create complex 3-dimensional carbon nano-shapes, partly from the limitation in the process of creating them and partly from the hexagonal structure of the fullerene molecules…

Sculpteo, the 3D print service we featured last week, will announce tomorrow (October 19th) that their print service will be available to U.S. makers, fabbers or any other person that enjoys the feel of layered plastic.

Tighten your corsets folks. Actually, you can loosen them, because this design will make your eyes pop no matter how you’re compressing your innards. Last May we featured an iPad Canvas Wrap concept designed by Jeff Bare. Well, the design has come full-circle and the result is amazing. We’ve just uncovered images and video from…

I enjoy a good 3D print as much the next stark-raving mad 3D print fan, but there’s something cool about being able to upload a file to a faraway land via a slick interface, pay a fairly high price and get a freshly fabricated 3D print delivered to your front door. One of the latest…

One of my favorite things to do in the morning is bake the plastic off the CPU cores in the ol’ computer and there’s nothing like a little rendering action to make that happen. As I write this, my CPU is maxed out at 100% while KeyShot 2.1 creates some of the renderings you’ll see…

You just know when you see massive chunks of metal and wires attached to a scrap piece of plywood, there’s got to be a story behind it… either that, or you’ve taken a wrong turn down a hillbilly back road where you’ll quickly discover everything is attached to a scrap piece of plywood. You may…

The small cichlid examined it’s surroundings. To it’s surprise there were sea berries to eat, plankton to befriend then devour and most of all, a link for every eyeball and fin. Toby Lewin – Wow. Wonderfully rich environments for the few that are there. Check out his blog for more work plus some 3D. Nacho…

You lika to burn tha meatballs eh? He lika to burn tha meatballs! OH, and the noodles!? and the TABLE!!? and the ULTEM 9085!!!?!?!? Bontà mia! Yes folks, and burn it will, all of it. Even the 3D print material that passes FAR 25.853 flammability requirements for aircraft with occupants. It’s ULTEM 9085, the up…

Blow the beet juice out of your mouth. This week SolidWorks 2011 is launched. We could ask the same questions we did last year and we could also bore 1/4-20 screws into our head. We will do neither. What we want to know is one thing, is 2011 better. Is it better than 2010? Does…

You know the comments you keep hearing? No, not the ones about how you look in tight pants. The ones about how good the product you design would look if you only had a good rendering. Once upon a time, a simple rendering seemed impossible. No more. Over the past few years, creating amazing renderings…

We all know it. There are at least six programs that go into design process. That is, when there are more than five programs used. And with that, there’s a workflow that needs to be beat into submission. You’re about to see one that has been dealt with thusly. You remember the design arsenal poll…

You remember that time you were yelled at by that German guy for putting putting peanut butter in the print mechanism? Yeah, that was hilarious. He was like, “SLA!! Schweinhund!! nicht meine Erdnussbutter!!!” and you were like, “wha?” while spraying a goat down with a water hose. I’ll never forget that. It’s sad however that…

What’s better than exporting out an .STL file and uploading your precious 3D geometry to be printed? Not exporting an .STL, that’s what. Today Shapeways releases their 3D print add-in for SolidWorks which allows you direct upload capability from the SolidWorks user interface. There are other 3D print add-ins for SolidWorks but none with the…

Most of you only have two fists. One for slamming out 3D geometry in SolidWorks and the other for punching it with pretty sauce using modo. However, if you’re just starting to build up those layers of rendering calluses, you may be looking for some soothing aloe to take the pain away from the workflow…