Don your favorite bath robe, cream that coffee and get comfortable with this weekend’s SolidSmack Weekend Reader. This week we saw everything from how an ingenious flat-pack lamp design to the most funded project on Kickstarter and more. So lay back, relax and take a load off while reading the top ten stories on SolidSmack this past week.
Step-Pack Lamp Is a Simply Ingenious Flat-Pack Pendant Light Design
“I love me a high-precision, interlocking aluminum light fixture. You would be hard pressed to fall out of a two-story window and land on a truck full of anything of the sort these days. However, the scrap-savvy, layer-lovin’ crew at Graypants, Inc. has created, perhaps, the most ingenious of all lighting designs in an effort to cut down on the amount of air unnecessarily shipped around the world…”
Crazy Guy Hydroforms Steel Suit With Pressure Washer, Has Friends Shoot Him With Fireworks
“As far as internet video celebrities go, genius inventor and all-around mad man Colin Furze is certainly one of our favorites…”
When Product Design Goes Viral: ‘Coolest Cooler’ on Track to Set All-Time Kickstarter Funding Record
“When it first launched, few people could have ever expected the Coolest Cooler to be as successful as it has been…it would have been impressive just to hit the $100,000 mark for a product whose sole purpose is to keep beverages cold at a picnic…”
Weekly App Smack 13: Instagram Hyperlapse, Cabin, Afterlight, Road Runner and More…
“Well, 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 design and productivity apps (and maybe a couple of fun ones, too) for the busy professional and this week we have a list sure to make you more efficient…”
Introducing the Cadjunkie ‘Hump Day’ Weekly SolidWorks and MODO Tips and Tricks
“EvD Media’s very own Adam O’Hern has been busy concocting various new awesome sauce CAD tutorials over at cadjunkie. The industrial design video training site features hundreds of videos ranging from SolidWorks and MODO to Rhino and Adobe tutorials…”
CrankPump Puts A Foot Down on Hidden Bicycle Pump [Interview]
“Modern bicycle cranks have a hollow space the perfect shape and size for a CO2 canister. To use it, all you need is a CO2 pump made the right shape. That’s what CrankPump is: a CO2 pump shaped to hold a CO2 canister securely in an axle. So very clever and inventive; the idea got us excited enough to dig deeper and get in touch with designer Damon Millar, to know more about this Kickstarter project…”
How Do You Design a Solution for Urban Beekeeping? An Oslo-Based Firm Might Have Figured It Out
“With reports in the past few years indicating that bees are moving slowly towards extinction, it would make sense to look into ways of creating more bee-friendly environments. While bees do exist in sprawling urban environments, there are few ‘urban beekeepers’ that focus on raising the bees and providing a suitable hive for which they can return to…”
Maker Galaxy E31: ‘Transforming’ the Travel Experience (Daniel Gindis and Isaac Atlas of FUGU Luggage)
“This week we talked with Daniel Gindis and Isaac Atlas of FUGU Luggage. FUGU is a new take on luggage design that allows a standard carry-on size bag to transform into a full-featured, maximum-sized suitcase…”
Watch These Master Blacksmiths Design and Fabricate ‘Captain America’s Throwing Shields’
“When it comes to superheroes, their weapons of choice are almost just as iconic as the heroes themselves. Superman has his superpowers, Batman has his Batarangs, Iron Man has his flying indestructible suit and Captain America has his iconic shield…”
Shapeways Introduces ‘Material Torture Tests’ on 3D Printing Materials…How Do The Materials Stack Up?
“If you’re familiar with Shapeways, chances are you’ve heard of Shapeways’ Designer Evangelist Duann Scott. The enthusiastic spokesman for the popular on-demand 3D printing service is not only a great voice for the 7-year old company, but also for the small world of 3D printing in general…”
