For those who grew up in the 1960s, making toys took on a quite literal sense, thanks in no small part to toy manufacturer Mattel. The company, which had only just introduced Barbie and would later introduce Hot Wheels, managed to bring the same manufacturing methods used for mass manufactured toys into living rooms around…

When it comes to 3D printing, there are several methods you can use to help anchor the print to the print bed–painters tape (blue tape), hairspray, glass with a little adhesive… While all of those are useful for keeping the print stuck to the print bed, getting them off is a different story altogether.

Although we’ve seen a fair share of 3D printing applications for midsoles in modern footwear design, we’ve been yet to see any additive manufacturing technique that’s been practical enough for creating uppers on a mass scale, too – a critical missing component of being able to manufacture shoes on demand. Designers and engineers at Nike, Adidas,…

At nearly 200 years old, the simple bicycle is still a complex design challenge that many have used for testing the limits of materials, processes, and design – particularly in the more recent age of digital fabrication. Although the two-wheeled frame design has remained largely unchanged during this time, developments made from both large companies…

Star Wars fever is real and running more rampant than ever. Seething, even. Before you ready your wardrobe for the movie this Friday, you’ll want to prime your 3D printer. The official BB-8 Builder’s Club just released open-source plans on how to print your very own BB-8 replica just in time for Star Wars: The…

Although it may have quieted down substantially compared to the early days of MakerBot, the exploration of 3D printing in consumer applications has never been stronger. While small companies such as print+ are testing 3D printing in distributed manufacturing sales models, larger companies with more substantial budgets are exploring how they can create new consumer…

It was nearly a decade ago when the idea of producing physical objects on a desktop started to pick up steam – both for the object creators themselves and the consumers who use them. Today, it’s hit the mainstream and anybody with a fistful of cash can walk into anywhere from Best Buy to Barnes…

3D printing inspires us all (even if it only inspires us to be inspired). Whether it’s clothes or a drivable car, 3D printing is becoming more ingrained in our minds as a realistic solution. Another thing we’re ok with? 3D Printing + Art. Art installments are popping up everywhere, exploring 3D printing techniques and the…

It seems as though in order to gain attention these days, automaker are increasingly looking outside of the cars they make and into new technologies that validate their credibility as an innovator. One only needs to be reminded of Lexus’ recent hoverboard publicity stunt to see that they actually, kind of, work. More recently, German…

Technology keeps advancing, but not always in the way we predicted in the 90s. Volumetrics hopes to change that with the rollout of its open-source volumetric display design, which is not only the highest quality available, but also the most affordable to produce. But wait. What is a volumetric display?

When it comes to tools for refining loose design concepts, the usual suspects – pens, paper, clay, and the occasional Bedazzler – tend to suffice. But while these tools all work fine and well, “sketching” at full scale to create room-sized objects isn’t necessarily something that comes with ease – until now at least. Designed…

Since the desktop 3D printer revolution took off a few years ago, many have been left wondering when we would start to see usable 3D printed product designs that are considerably more polished than your typical DIY 3D printing project. Particularly, how do you make something 3D printed and functional while also making it look…

If you were suitably impressed by Tarek Loubani’s efforts of innovating the 3D Printed Stethoscope, then you’ll surely be taken in with 3D4MD, a company that 3D prints medical supplies that can be used on the field or in remote places. The aim of the project is to empower doctors who visit those remote locations, equipping…

You know how Spotify works, right? You pay a subscription fee, then get earfuls of streaming music. We’ve seen the same idea applied to nearly every type of media. So, why not 3D Printing? Enter Kwambio, a new service set up to allow you to stream designer products, interact, customize and print. You can’t download…

After being forced to hold his ear to the chests of victims due to a lack of stethoscopes at medical facilities in the Gaza strip, where he works as an emergency physician, Tarek Loubani decided that it was time to take matters into his own hands. With no formal training in product design or engineering,…

Between the launch of their new world headquarters in Boston’s Lovejoy Wharf back in May to the launch of their newly-redesigned Chuck Taylor All Star just last month (the first redesign since 1917), it’s been a busy Summer season for the Converse brand – and they’re not showing any sign of letting up soon. More…

Although we’ve been seeing some incredible developments in additive manufacturing over the past year ranging from 3D printers that can print in zero-gravity environments to 3D printers that can produce high resolution objects in just minutes, it’s no secret that there’s still a lot of terrain left to be discovered in terms of one day…

When it comes to some of the more unusual advancements in additive manufacturing techniques – including a shelter crafted from silk worms – MIT’s Mediated Matter Group takes the cake. The group – which is led by 3D printing visionary Neri Oxman at MIT’s Media Lab – focuses on “Nature-inspired Design and Design-inspired Nature” through…

Since it debuted at the TED2015 conference in Vancouver back in March of this year, Redwood City, California-based Carbon3D’s Continuous Liquid Interface Production (CLIP) 3D printing technology has continued to send ripples through the additive manufacturing industry due to its promise to speed up existing 3D printing times by up to 100x faster. The process,…

If Zoolander was an actual person and came across Lance Abernethy’s miniature tool collection, there’s a good chance that he would ask “what are these? tools for ants?” – and for good reason. Abernethy, who resides in New Zealand, has been actively building miniature ‘micro-machine’ replicas of his power tools for the past year that…

Although manufactured toy construction sets – such as Tinkertoy – have been in existence for over a century now, it wasn’t until the desktop fabrication revolution a few years ago when we started to see how the design and production of similar sets can be created at home by the consumer – in fact, it…

Since it was founded in Amsterdam in 2013 by co-founders Brian Garret and Bram de Zwart, 3D Hubs has grown into the largest network of 3D printers with over 15,000 locations in over 140 countries, providing over 1 billion people access to a 3D printer within 10 miles of their home. The company is often…

There has been much fanfare around 3D printers in recent years. Meanwhile, you rarely hear about the laser cutter in mainstream media. Honestly, I am not sure why. Perhaps it is because the laser cutter doesn’t have a charismatic evangelist like Bre Pettis. Hey laser cutter manufacturers, I’m pretty charismatic and available, wink wink. It…

Although some of us may refer to 3D printing as “a tool in our toolbox” for when the need to rapid prototype arises, one Florida design engineer recently took the saying quite literally. Chad Bridgewater, an employee at Florida’s Boca Bearings, recently modded an old vintage Huot toolbox to create an expandable 3D printer that…

When it comes to the near future of how things get made, generative design tools are slowly but surely becoming yet another useful component of the modern day designer and engineer’s tool kit. The generative design process, which centers around infinite computing power to find optimized design solutions based on parameters that are set by…

It’s been said (and proven) repeatedly that those with a background in design can offer the most useful feedback in ways outside of a traditional design studio – whether it’s in an executive business meeting setting or even a high school classroom. For most, this comes down to putting a tried and true user-centered, prototype-driven…

Considered by many to be among the best desktop 3D printers for creating high resolution parts, the SLA-based Form 1+ from FormLabs is also unique in that it is capable of using a variety of resin materials to satisfy different print needs. Currently, the FormLabs lineup of resin materials – which come in 1-liter bottles…

Although product designers have been using various additive manufacturing technologies to create rapid prototypes for decades now, few objects have ever been bigger than a traditional consumer electronic product. Thanks to recent developments in the past few years though, the scale of 3D printing – through FDM 3D printing methods, to be exact – has…

Sixteen-year-old innovator Mohammad Sayed decided that his wheelchair needed to be more useful. Having previously designed and added an interchangeable laptop tray and canopy along with classmates for a school project, Sayed felt that the chair could use some more design modifications to make it easier to use. Taking the redesign one step further, he…

Running any form of business that revolves around manufacturing can be challenging – especially for small businesses with limited resources and bandwidth. While a well-organized team and sufficient capital investment are a great starting point, challenges ranging from project management and client relations to asset management and billing can be just as tough to wrangle…

For all of the adult LEGO model builders out there (you know who you are), do you ever face the problem of building a LEGO model from scratch only to wish that you had some sort of a ‘back bone’ structure to begin with – such as for creating a mech robot with movable joints…

As electronic manufacturers including Apple and Samsung race to produce the next great consumer electronics product with each season, its no surprise that over 152 million mobile devices – including smartphones and tablets – are disposed of each year (that’s over 416,000 per day) worldwide. So, while Moore’s Law has previously encouraged us to adopt…

As we continue to move into an age where products can be produced at the push of a button, the question of “Will additive manufacturing ruin or enable the next generation of designers and engineers?” is one that keeps coming up. While being able to turn a CAD model into a physical object for all…

As design customization, 3D printing and wearable technology each continue to rise in popularity, experimental design collective Madlab has developed a solution that converges all three into a seamless user experience with no CAD skills required. Designed by Madlab director Madeline Gannon, Tactum was done in collaboration with Autodesk Research and uses projection mapping and…

Between the various product design entrepreneurs and hardware startups that continue to find success without formal industrial design or mechanical engineering training – as well as the increasing costs of college tuition, the line between needing to have a formal product development education or not for striking it out on your own is becoming increasingly…

It’s not surprising that using additive manufacturing to create large-scale objects – such as chairs – hasn’t really taken off; between the size of a 3D printer needed combined with the cost of filament, you may as well truck over to your nearest Design Within Reach and pick up your favorite Herman Miller or Eames.…

Considered by many to be the “original French tumbler”, the tempered Picardie glasses from iconic French brand Duralex have become nearly as iconic as a crêpe or a beret when it comes to French style. The glassware’s easily identifiable curves have also made it recognizable (and famous) in a number of posters and films including…

Between the latest developments behind the HoloLens to the announcement of their Internet Explorer replacement product, it’s already been a busy couple of days for Microsoft at their annual Build Developer Conference, which runs from April 29th through May 1st in San Francisco. Of course, the conference wouldn’t be complete without some updates on Windows…

Like many others who love to create, one of my heroes is Adam Savage — Mythbuster, science communicator, movie prop collector, and maker. In one of the many hours I had spent absorbing his philosophies and skills watching Youtube videos, he said something that put into words a concept that had taken me many years…

I get asked the question, “How do I become an inventor?” – a lot. I think people ask me that because I’ve been turning ideas into physical objects for the better part of two decades (that sounds more impressive than it is — I’m counting the formative LEGO-building time of my youth) and I’ve become…

As interest in consumer-based 3D printing continues to grow, many new users are still finding themselves on the fence about actually purchasing a desktop 3D printer or using any number of 3D printing services including Shapeways, 3D Hubs or one of the many local Makerspaces that are continuing to pop up in communities worldwide -…

Without surprise, this year’s annual NYC 3D printing extravaganza has been the biggest, ever. After starting from humble roots with just a few tables and a sparse speaker offering less than five years ago, the Inside 3D Printing show has since expanded into a multiple-event showcase that features over a week of curated activities, presentations…

Aside from great museums, pizza slices and crazy food-hybrids, NYC has always had something else going for it: it’s very 3D print-friendly. Among other things, NYC’s SoHo shopping district was the first to see a MakerBot Retail Store – a first of its kind – and nearby Brooklyn is the home to many hardware startups…

It’s been a wild ride for Carbon3D and their CLIP technology ever since CEO and co-founder Joseph DeSimone presented the technology live on stage during his TED2015 presentation in Vancouver on March 16th. “What we think of as 3D printing,” said DeSimone, “…is really just 2D printing over and over…slowly.” If the live Carbon3D CLIP…

The 3D printer; an expression, a symbol, a icon. I got on board the additive manufacturing awesomeness express 12 years ago and the ride just keeps getting better. Wonder why you can’t think of the last time you saw a lava lamp? Because seeing that extruded molten plastic methodically placed layer by micro layer as…

Ever since he exploded onto the additive manufacturing scene in October of 2011 – thanks in no small part to the success of his Crania Anatomica Filigre Kickstarter campaign – 3D designer Joshua Harker has been keeping himself busy with projects that explore the outer limits of 3D modeling and additive manufacturing. As a young…

It was only a week ago when we got a sneak-peek at Carbon3D’s CLIP Technology which spread like wildfire across the design, engineering and general ‘maker’ community. The company claimed that they are able to print 3D objects between 25 and 100-times faster than more common additive manufacturing techniques including FDM and SLA-based 3D printing.…

The Zeni Kinetic Origin series of 3D printers are Designed for the future. A future where the 3D printer becomes a common appliance in homes and offices. With the Origin series, the Zeni Kinetic is bringing out well-designed and good looking 3D printers at a price range that is much more affordable to most of…

Molding (the manufacturing process, not the food spoilage one) has been around for a good six millennia, with a cast copper frog from 3200 B.C.E. being among the oldest surviving examples. The technique has adapted along with emergent technology throughout history, up to and including quick-set resins, CAD, and (as you saw here on SolidSmack…

It’s no secret that although 3D printing has emerged to become a mainstream technology, the speed of being able to convert a digital file into a physical object leaves much to be desired regardless of the additive manufacturing technology being used. In what sounds like something that’s too good to be true, Redwood City, California…