Do you ever wonder how class-A surface modelers get their jobs putting the polish on race car CAD? We interviewed Adam Kenney, a pro, class-A surface modeler who’s worked on projects for Lotus and McLaren to find out! https://youtu.be/0G0esw_dXe8 What Exactly IS Class-A Surfacing? Adam tells us he is often mistaken for the industrial designer…
OddEngineer.com + Free Giveaway with Consultation and Bose Noise Canceling Headphones! While some got prison swole or Hot Cheetos swole in 2020, I got nerd entrepreneurship swole. I built a new thing for us freelance physical product engineers: OddEngineer.com. There, you can immediately book and pay for appointments with niche, hard-to-find engineering pros. Got questions…
Sculpting, be it in clay or soft polyurethane foam requires a few key tools to efficiently bring your creative work to life. And among them, a fluting tool is just the ticket for precisely shaving convex slivers of material away to perfection. VIEW PRICE ON Dick Blick Xiem Fluting Tool Set The Xiem Fluting Tool…
Pack your bags young people cause there’s a design gig to be had in Nashville, Music City USA! That is if you’ve got the chops to get da props. Fractal design, a physical product development firm just went live on the job board over on leManoosh with an Industrial design internship opportunity for spring 2021.…
Reproductions of the classic Darth Vader helmet can be found all over the web. I’ve seen them in construction paper and EVA foam. But when it comes to Darth Vader constructed in metal, the Gold Point Props (GPP) build is as epic as the voice behind the mask! Finding this video afforded a welcomed moment to reminisce of…
Good news from the folks a Gravity Sketch. As if sketching in virtual space was not already cool enough, their development team has gone and made it possible to co-create geometry at the same time, in the same virtual space! Not believing this to be kicked enough, they’ve obliterated the need to share a common…
Those of you who inhabit itty-bitty living quarters know that space is a premium. For most, the name of the game for everyday living becomes home organization and efficient use of space. Taming the little stuff is simple enough by just following the old saying “there’s a place for everything and everything is in place.”…
In this post, I’m celebrating another Onshape CAD mystery solved! You see, time and again I was left scratching my head as to the mystery of why my nicely and precisely placed dimensions kept disappearing when building up my 2D sketch sections in Onshape! Before me was the case of the “Disappearing Sketcher Dimensions” (DSD).…
While there’s nothing particularly wrong with traditional horizontal doors, diagonally-opening “sideways-folding” metal doors look way cooler when you open them. Case in point, YouTuber Phil Vandelay’s folding metal door for his new workshop: https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=73&v=Tzo7s146RMs&feature=emb_logo Despite its daunting appearance, all it takes to make this futuristic door are a few sheets of metal, some metal frames,…
The season of festive celebration is upon us! With the semester of teaching ID at Virginia Tech behind me, I’m thoroughly enjoying my extended moments of family, fellowship, and food! So when my daughter Phoebe got inspired to make a batch of cookies the other day, I was all in! Being the creative type that…
Well, the end of the year is rapidly approaching! And if you are an aspiring Onshape CAD user I’ve got an early Christmas present for you! I’ve compiled my SkillCoach Onshape CAD Improvements Mega Resource Pack! Yep, I scoured the Onshape website for every CAD improvement they posted pertaining to modeling tools and techniques that…
What happens to skateboards after they’ve shredded their last bit of pavement? Some boards go to a wood chipper, where they are broken down to make new skateboard or *shudder* office supplies. A few lucky boards with sentimental owners get put on shelves or frames – a reminder of the person’s glory days. But the…
In this post, we’ll delve into the world of TRAJPAR. Now I’m not talk’n about some distant galaxy, but rather a somewhat hidden parameter nested inside PTC Creo Parametric modeling software. TRAJPAR is short for Trajectory Parameter. This puppy is one of the advanced modeling goodies that allows you to turbocharge your Variable Section Sweep…
While a large house can definitely benefit from having a ton of furniture in it, too much furniture can make a small apartment or condo unit look cramped and unsightly. Seoul-based designer HyukJoon Choi has found a nice middle ground by creating a collection of furniture which both is and isn’t there. Dubbed the “invisible”…
Despite being one of the most iconic plastic toys of all time, the first LEGO toys were, in fact, crafted from wood. The company, founded by master carpenter Ole Kirk Kristiansen in 1932, initially crafted the toys out of wood but switched over to plastic when wood supplies became scarce in the aftermath of WWII.…
For the serious LEGO junkies out there, the LEGO IDEAS community is a one-stop shop for all things plastic brick. From message boards to activity ideas, the platform—which is officially hosted by LEGO—encourages members to share their creations and compete for prizes with build competitions. It’s also where master builders can upload proposals for new…
Another day, another radical chair design. Instead of coming up with yet another ordinary chair, designer Peter Otto Vosding collaborated with cabinet maker Dirk Vosding to make a chair with as little materials as possible. The resulting piece of furniture is simply called the “Mµ” (pronounced “mm”). The chair is made from ash wood and…
Even though it’s just as important as eating three square meals a day, not everyone practices proper dental care. On a busy day, most folks would just quickly brush their teeth (or forget to altogether) before hopping in a car and driving to work—much to the bummer of their coworkers. Encompass was made to give…
When it comes to sketching and communicating your ideas well, nothing beats a good old-fashioned pencil and a keen sense of perspective. That said, adding simple depth to your form sketches with light and shadow is a natural next step in taking your sketches to the next level. And when it comes time to cranking…
If you’re ever on Twitter or Instagram, chances are you’ve come across your fair share of smooth animations and design photos. You know the ones: 3D rendered clips and images that look and flow so well they have to be computer-generated. One such person who works on these designs is Julien Rivorie – a 3D…
Expanding on the success of his Disintegrating series of exploding car photos, Swiss artist and photographer Fabian Oefner has decided to try something similar with one of his close interests: cameras. https://vimeo.com/354927033 CutUp, his newest project, involves a series of cameras which are casted in resin before being cut up and rearranged to produce works…
After their first Kickstarter campaign proved a success, the young designers at orangered life have taken their 30° Ruler (cleverly taglined “One Ruler to Rule Them All”) and brought it to a whole new level: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BZOyd3PxuZU The 30° Ruler 2.0 is still very much like its predecessor. Instead of a flat ruler, this one is angled at…
These days, refrigerator manufacturers are adding just about anything—from touch displays to kid-friendly storage drawers—to appeal to today’s modern consumers with discerning tastes. And as America’s taste for craft cocktails continues to increase, it would make sense for LG to install a craft ice maker in one of their most expensive refrigerator offerings, the InstaView Door-in-Door…
Washing machines, blenders, stoves; just about every household appliance is associated with some form of electrical power. But what would household appliances look like if you removed the power cord and need for energy standards altogether? Created by German designer Manuel Immler, Pino is an electricity-free, multi-tool kitchen appliance that can be fitted with several standard kitchen…
Before Spotify, MP3 sound files, and CDs, people listened to music through cassette tapes. These little blocks of plastic with rolls of film in them played tunes when played through a cassette player, and no cassette player was more famous than the Sony Walkman. First introduced 40 years ago in July of 1979, Sony’s portable…
Over the past couple of years, China has had a major boom in the bike-sharing industry. By renting bicycles out to the public for a fee, companies earn money from cyclists who use the same docking system. Now this is all well and good if there are a handful of competitors in the market, but…
The Olympics may be where the world’s best athletes showcase their skills, but it’s also a chance for hosting countries to show off the best of their culture and hopes of what the world could become. Next year’s Summer Olympics in Tokyo is no different. In preparation for the event, many of Japan’s residents partook…
Hold onto your Swedish meatballs and lingonberry jam—the marketing team at IKEA is at it again. And no, they didn’t create self-assembling furniture…yet. If you’re a fan of the GRÖNLID, the LIDHULT, or the SÖDERHAMN sofas, designing your next setup can now be done sans CAD via your trusty laptop keyboard. Yes—the same keyboard you…
You are a great designer. You have innate gifts with 3D and spatial relations and are a creative, original thinker. You have studied and mastered mechanical principles and fundamentals. Through industry experience, you’ve learned about manufacturing processes, rules of thumb and tools and tricks of the trade. You are an interesting “T-shaped” person pulling from…
The news centered around Apple design icon Jony Ive departing the Cupertino-based tech giant to form a new design studio with fellow industrial designer Marc Newson has hit the mainstream. While it makes sense for somebody to want to shift gears after nearly three decades with the same company, we now have further insight into…
Ah, the simple chair. It has one straightforward function: to seat the human rear. And while the invention has been around for centuries, artisans from just about every time period and culture have put their own spin on what has become a fundamental icon of industrial design. More recently, New York gallery The Future Perfect…
Hey there Solidsmackite’s I’ve got good news. “There’s a mouse in the house!” Now don’t go faint of heart on me, as I’m talking about a computer mouse, not the four-legged furry type. Yep, a highly organic, fully surface modeled object constructed using Onshape the cloud-based CAD modeling software. For those who have sought to…
In this modern age of everything-looks-the-same DIY furniture, it makes sense that some people want to make something unique to stand out from their friends’ IKEA apartment fixtures. While you could spend hours searching a thrift store for something out of the ordinary, the best way to find something one of a kind is to…well,…
Nike air technology has come a long way since aerospace engineer Marion Rudy pitched his air-bag innovation to Nike in 1977. These days Air technology is really strutting its stuff by going full sole! I’m talking AirMax 720, a shoe to behold with heal-to-toe air. But how is this possible and what has changed since…
For those who aren’t fans of the dark, Dyson recently announced its new line of Lightcycle desk and floor lamps that—according to them—will last you for the better part of your life. At $599.99 for the company’s new Lightcycle desk lamp and $899.99 for the new Lightcycle floor lamp, these light fixtures are a far…
Even though it has official successors by way of the Game Boy SP and Game Boy Advance, no other handheld console hits you with nostalgia quite like the original Game Boy. Released in 1989 by Nintendo, this chunky block was what you brought around in the 90s whenever you were forced to go outside without…
Life is too short to be sitting on an uncomfortably hard bench— most would rather be spending it on a nice leather chair instead. But what if you could bring that bum-conforming comfort to a wood bench? Heck — how would you even start…no pillows allowed? Such is the premise behind the BEND Bench. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PJdGRlAPddU Created…
Sheet metal design and fabrication is a topic I’ve aimed to cover for quite a while. So I thought I’d kick things off by highlighting one of the build projects by Ron Covell a master metal fabricator and teacher. His Youtube channel is packed full of tips and techniques for the aspiring fabricator. Additionally, if…
In today’s sea of design, only a select few are truly capable of standing out as thought leaders and changing how we perceive the modern world around us. To further explore how today’s leading designers perceive design, New York City-based design firm Doberman interviewed 20 designers from leading companies around the world to share what…
Designing products for clients on your own is fun—but it’s not without risks. For one, there’s the time pressure that comes from working for a company or client; while you have the creative freedom to work with vague guidelines, having to start from scratch can be a daunting challenge for the uninitiated. Second, with great…
If you had told me back in the 90s that the “cellular phones” in 20 years would be as thin as a wafer, I’d call you on your bluff. However, here we are— with phones that not only fit seamlessly into our pockets but allow us to stream videos or do our taxes. So why…
When it comes to product design books, it’s not always easy to eliminate glamorized portfolios from those that get down to the real nitty-gritty of product design. And when it comes to those actually worth reading, Don Norman will never do you wrong. As a strong (and very early) advocate for user-centered design, Norman is…
What in the world is a “Squircle” you might ask? Well, its a cross between a square and a circle. Designers the world over admire the squircle because it gives us a lot of form exploration range. If I want a product to be perceived as stately or strong I might adjust the squircle more…
Much like LEGOs, modern modular design kits contain various pieces that let the user build various structures. Desks, shelves, pot holders – depending on the kit’s materials, the user can make an assortment of things from a cleverly-designed family of attachable components. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fhSQjGRsYWg TikA by TiKA Lab are modular kits comprised mainly of different-sized connectable…
There’s something about epoxy and wood that creates some of the most fascinating wood pieces we’ve seen—be it a side table, a bowl, or in this case—a hand-carved pendant light. For his latest wood project, YouTube creator Modustrial Maker combined epoxy resin and LED strips into a cookie slab to create his hanging pendant light:…
Do your 3D models fall-over when you edit feature dimensions? How about when you use that nifty dynamic drag feature? Does everything go wonky? Well, chances are your geometry is not locked down. What I mean is your model most likely suffers from a poor dimensioning or constraint strategy at the 2D sketch level. If you answered yes…
You may know Airbnb as the website you visit whenever you forget to book a hotel and need a place to crash during your vacation. What you probably didn’t know is the company has an experimental in-house design studio called Samara that works on projects far beyond home sharing and the ethics of using someone…
Autodesk Fusion 360 is bringing in the new year with a User Interface (UI) facelift! Presently the UI is in “Preview” mode so as to ease the masses into the new UI workflow. Yet, as to be expected, many of the power users are taking the leap and donning new UI Diggs. While I’m calling…
Despite it being used often in manufacturing, carbon isn’t the most biodegradable material; meaning, it will take years to decompose that excessive carbon fiber waste from a multitude of design projects these days. Further, recycling carbon fiber isn’t necessarily an easy process either. Because the mixture of resin and carbon is so stiff, it becomes…
Even though most people can’t play a lengthy rally, almost everyone can have a good time playing ping pong (or table tennis, if you live in other parts of the world). The games are fast, the equipment isn’t expensive, and the ping pong table itself makes a nice place to store junk whenever you’re not…