The Raspberry Pi Foundation have created an updated version of their old 2014 Raspberry Pi 3B+ quad-core processor
SolidSmack.com
This is a very small behemoth of an online community about 3D CAD, technology, design, robots, ninjas… Ok, maybe not ninjas so much, but those guys are COOL so there just might be something about some dang ninjas. Besides the occasional blast of intensely cool product design and technology, we look at what’s going on in the world of 3D, add a splash of business insight and web tech into the mix and there ya got your SolidSmack.
Cimon Is a 3D Printed Robot for Aiding Lonely Astronauts in Space
NASA’s International Space Station is currently exploring the benefits of A.I.
Microsoft’s AR Technology Finds Its Way Into Toyota Engineering Teams
Even if you have just a grain of knowledge about the automotive industry, you’ll know how resilient Toyota is.
How to Not be a Total N00b
Are you a total n00b?
Manufacturing Platform Xometry Now Has an RFQ Service for Part Quotes
Finding other people to do your grunt work for you just got a heck of a lot easier.
Onshape Partners With Magic Leap for Immersive AR/VR 3D CAD
As anyone who has used a AR/VR headset for gaming purposes would know, it’s always more fun to play with friends.
Knuckle Down: Four Approaches to Getting 3D Model Data In Hand
At an abstract level, every new project is composed of three elements:
20 Product Designers You Should Follow on Instagram Right Now
Love ’em or just plain don’t have time for ’em, social media platforms are here to stay.
These Glasses Will Protect Your Eyes During All-Day CAD Marathons
In this era of near-all-day-long screen time for many, issues like eye strain, headaches, and poor vision are becoming the norm.
Stefan Marji’s Armchair Concept Sees A Future Filled With Expandable Furniture
When you think of furniture designs in the far future, you might think of crazy generatively designed stools
Take a Tour of Former Autodesk CEO Carl Bass’s Wood and Metal Shops
What happens when a business leader with the core of a true maker and engineer gets his hands on the resources to build whatever he wants?
Morphi 3.4 Adds Textures, Lighting, and Position Values to Latest 3D App Update
Morphi is a (sort of) free app for the iPad, Mac, and Windows devices that lets users push, pull, and craft 3D creations via a touchpad device.
Shapr3D Brings Complete Parametric 3D Modeling (and Sketching) to iPad Pro
Near the end of last year, Shapr3D revealed that the kernel in their 3D modeling iOS app had been replaced with Siemens’ Parasolid.
This Self-Taught Engineer Built His Own ‘Flying Car’ From Scratch
While multi-million dollar companies are trying to bring the flying car dream into the real world, one ambitious Filipino man has already beaten them to the punch.
This Industrial Design Team Turns to AI to Quickly Generate Form Studies
Even though centuries have passed, the act of designing and making objects is still primarily the same
20 Product Designers You Should Follow on Instagram Right Now
Love ’em or just plain don’t have time for ’em, social media platforms are here to stay.
The SparkMaker FHD Is a $500 Multi-Material SLA 3D Printer
Though 3D printing is imperative for many hardware developers, it’s usually the price of the printer that stops a lot of folks from purchasing their own
Logitech’s New MX Vertical Mouse Aims to Eliminate CAD-Induced Hand Strain
What you’re looking at right now isn’t a Bluetooth speaker. It isn’t even a pint-sized Roomba.
Looking Glass is a True Holographic Display For 3D Content Creators
Rather than forcing chunky peripherals on your head or hands via VR or AR, real holograms are the stuff of science fiction: true interactive displays which humans can interact with on a more personal level.
The Magic Leap Mixed-Reality Headset? It’s Now Available
It’s all over the tech news, of course, but the Magic Leap mixed-reality headset, yeeeears in the making, is now available for developers, creators or anyone who wants to shell out $2,295 for ML’s inaugural edition HMD.
Lockheed Martin Sets Record for Giant 3D Printed Satellite Fuel Tank
Since its founding in 1995, Lockheed Martin has made a myriad of contributions to the aerospace industry with groundbreaking new technologies.
nPower Software Opens Pot, Pours Out Power Surfacing 5.0 for SOLIDWORKS
If you were too busy re-topologizing that scan of your skull last week
Xometry Gets Buckwild, Builds Out Its Manufacturing Platform with First Acquisition
Last we reported, Xometry was up to $23M in two rounds of funding.
Sound The Call, Creo 5.0 Now Let’s You Model In Perspective!
Creo 5.0 now lets you model in perspective!
The 4th Dimension: Formlabs, Lasers, and the Next Frontier in 3D Printing [Exclusive Interview]
The 4th Dimension is a new series where we go behind the scenes with leaders in 3D printing to add a new dimension.
Garage Inventor Colin Furze Builds His Son a Jet-Powered Micro Scooter
He’s at it again…
Project Milestone to Be First 3D Printed Residential Community
The New Story charity organization may have beaten them to the first punch
Newcastle Scientists Just Created the World’s First 3D-Printed Cornea
Sufferers of corneal blindness due to burns, diseases, and other misfortunes can see the light once again
MIT and BMW Just Developed 3D Printed Liquid Inflatables
Fans of inflatable bouncy castles and comfy car seats have reason to rejoice because 3D-printed inflatables are now a thing!
Kickstarter Hardware Studio Launches New Badge System for Product Fulfillment
While the mission behind Kickstarter is great for “small guy” entrepreneurs with a good idea and enough chutzpah to launch it into the world via the internet, the ending result isn’t always so great for some project backers.
Deadpool’s Mask Shows There’s A Lot More To a Superhero Than Meets The Eye
They may look like sacks of latex over an overpaid actor, but superhero masks are the real star of any superhero movie.
Autodesk SketchBook Is Now Totally Free For Everybody
Autodesk’s SketchBook program, which serves as a jumping-off point for many artists, engineers, and CAD designers, is now totally free!
How to Achieve a Brilliant Paint Finish on Your Prototypes
We can always depend on industrial designer Eric Strebel to put a ton of effort into every project he makes
Behind the Design: The Making of a Ginormous Overwatch Cosplay Costume
You may think creating cosplay costumes involves locking yourself up in a garage
Microsoft’s Project Zanzibar Platform Introduces a Portable Tangible User Interface
Seamlessly bridging the physical and digital worlds has proved to be a significant challenge for even the world’s most advanced electronic manufacturers.
See How McLaren Uses VR for Car Body Design
Before automobile technology even reached the point where two cup holders in a single car was an ovation inducing breakthrough
This 3D Printed House Could Change the Developing World
If you thought 3D printing an entire jet engine was a ambitious task, you aren’t thinking big enough… at least as far as size is concerned.
3D Scan and Print Objects with the Qlone Mobile App
Mobile devices are, more and more, integrating 3D capabilities.
AR CAD Software Uses 3D Printing to Make Design Interactive (Possibly Awkward)
Modeling a 3D object and prepping it for 3D printing on a 2D screen sounds counterintuitive… because it is.
How to Use TELEPORTATION to Speed Up R&D in Global Manufacturing
If you’re involved in the engineering of products manufactured globally, chances are you’ve been personally affected by SNAFU’s on an epic scale.
PolyPort Is The 3D Asset Protection You’ve Been Waiting For
When we last looked at PolyPort (formerly D3CRYPT3D), they were just buttoning up their shiny start-up pants, but already dropping jaws with their approach to 3D asset protection.
Landing.AI Is An A.I. Startup Focused on Manufacturing
Unlike science fiction movies, where “A.I.” is commonly associated with usurping humanoid robots, real-life artificial intelligence looks far less creepy and is a lot more specialized.
Revolve Innovates Wheel Design To Collapse and Convert Your Vehicle
Not much has changed with the wheel since it got us moving millennia ago. It’s design in the simplest form: a rotating donut which adapts to do everything from power machinery to provide exercise for your kid’s overweight hamster.
Watch Industrial Designer Eric Strebel’s Method for Making 120 Cast Parts From Scratch
Always one for ingenuity, Eric Strebel puts his industrial design expertise to good use even with the simplest of tasks.
Simplify3D Updates Their Free Ultimate 3D Printing Material Guide
While the term “3D Printing” has become synonymous with creating physical objects
The Hover App Lets Users Create Accurate, Interactive 3D Models of Any Property
For most, the most significant, most practical expense they’ll ever make is a house.
Intel Brings 3D Capabilities to Any Device with the RealSense Depth Camera Series
Good news for those looking to add 3D capabilities to any device or machine as Intel recently released their RealSense 400 series depth cameras.
Sketchfab Launches Sketchfab Store, Lets Designers Monetize 3D Models
For the entrepreneurial 3D modelers out there, there is no shortage of 3D file marketplaces to generate a nice little bit of side revenue.
Onshape Introduces Parametric Modeling 2.0 – Upends Configurations, Slaps Standard Content
Last week Onshape released possibly the most major update since launching out of beta.
Onshape Sweeps into 2018 With Advanced Modeling Tools Enhancements
2017 was a good year for Advanced Modeling Tools enhancements inside of Onshape.
Magic Leap Set to Launch First Augmented Reality Goggles in 2018
It’s been a long time coming, but after nearly three years, Magic Leap has finally unveiled their One augmented reality headset— dubbed the ‘Creator Edition.’
LG Announces Drool-Worthy 34-Inch 5K Monitor Ahead of CES 2018
With another year just about coming to a close, companies who are gearing up to show off their latest wares at CES in Las Vegas in early January are already getting a head start on the news cycle.
This 965-Part 3D Printed Jet Engine Actually Works
Count this one under one of the coolest engineering class projects, ever.
Shapr3D 3.0 Brings Parasolid 3D Modeling to iPad Pro
A big first in 3D CAD today.
7 Handy Resin Casting Tips and Tricks
Before you get to work on the final product of your design, it’s in your best interests to make a prototype first, right?
Facing Bankruptcy, TechShop (Sadly) Closes All 14 Locations
When they hit the scene back in 2006, the TechShop business model had everything going for it: a fitness gym-like membership program for the use of manufacturing and other shop equipment.
This Gigantic Mouse Pad Covers Your Entire Desktop
This Gigantic Mouse Pad Covers Your Entire Desktop!
You Can Make This 3D Printed Electric Skateboard For Roughly $700
Let’s be honest: commuting sucks.
Wanted: People Using Onshape to Collaborate on a Badass Motorcycle Design
Ya know, while there are various ways to collaborate online around a 3D CAD project with other like-minded designers and engineers, you don’t hear about it too often.
Discover the Ins and Outs of Folding Patterns with this Origami Simulator
Origami, which comes from the Japanese words ori meaning “folding” and kami meaning “paper”, is a pretty niche field which requires dedication, delicate hands, and a lot of free time.
LEDAS Developing Cloud Platform to Build 3D CAD Apps
How to Draw
With over two decades of experience teaching how to design, draw, and render at the highest college level, concept designer Scott Robertson knows a thing or two about what it takes to make concepts ‘stick’ for his students.
This Go-Kart is Made From Giant 3D Printed LEGOS
If you’ve ever needed an excuse to buy a 3D printer, let this be the one.
Learn about the Geneva Drive – A Snappy Mechanism Found Inside Old Film Projector
If you have you ever held a film projector before, chances are you have probably heard the distinct clacking noise that comes with using it.
Autodesk Adds SIM + CAM to Product Design & Manufacturing Collection
We LOVE collecting things–Odd design tools, pencil shavings, quesadilla drippings, and software, especially software.
Accessing Fusion 360 in the Browser!
Three weeks ago Autodesk posted a preview of Fusion 360 in the Browser.
Product Visualization Pro Esben Oxholm Details His Workflow in New KeyShot Training Course
Few tools are as indispensable in the design engineer’s toolbox as a solid product visualization tool.
Wacom Announces New Additions to Their Popular Cintiq Pro Lineup
Despite constant updates to the iPad Pro and Microsoft Surface tablets to make them more appealing to professionals
TAC.TILES is a DJ-like Physical Interface for 3D Modeling
As you are well aware, those wonderful 3D models you create each day are traditionally crafted with a mouse, a keyboard, too many mouse clicks and an occasional flinging of the keyboard across the room.
5 Reasons Designers Shouldn’t Do Their Own CAD
If all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail. When all you know is SolidWorks, everything you design will look like RoboCop. You can do better.
Fiverr Introduces ‘Fiverr Pro’ Platform for High-Caliber Design Talent
In the (relatively new) world of on-demand services ranging from car rides to grocery delivery, winners can come out on both sides:
Michelin Unveils the Tire of the Future…and of Course, It’s 3D Printed
Despite that old expression of “you don’t need to reinvent the wheel,” Michelin has proved this week that there’s still plenty of ground to play with the future of wheel design…and tires, too.
Power Surfacing for SOLIDWORKS Update Brings G2 Continuity and More
If you have a leather jacket that says SOLIDWORKS on one side and Class A Surfacing on the other, you are a TOTAL BADASS.
Alibre Cranks on the Burners. Starts Serving Up Hot 3D Modeling Software Again
Remember Alibre?
Coreform Uses Exact Geometry (Not A Mesh) to Bring You Next-Gen FEA
Remember when you had to create a mesh of your model to run any sort of simulation?
This Modular Furniture System is a Nod to ‘The Universal Brick Making Machine’
While not feasible for every product out there, ceramic materials are one of the few natural materials available to us that can be formed into just about anything.
Top 3 Onshape Updates: Composite Curve, 3D Fit Spline, DXF/DWG Import
Onshape snuck one in on us last Friday.
Boeing to Begin Using FAA-Certified 3D Printed Parts for New 787 Dreamliner
While 3D printing may still be in the midst of having an identity crisis in the world of mass production
Snapmaker is the Swiss Army Knife of 3D Printers with All-Metal Modular Design
Stand-alone, desktop 3D printers seem to be going the way of the Dodo bird with the introduction of all-in-one machines, which offer more than simple printing.
Sub-$1000 Moai SLA 3D Printer Hits Pro Level Sweet Spots
Peopoly’s Moai 3D printer began as a personal project between a pair of friends
Adidas Partners with Carbon to Launch First Mass Production 3D Printed Shoe
For an industry responsible for wrapping material around a human foot for athletic performance purposes, it’s been a long hard road for shoe manufacturers to take 3D printing seriously as a viable form of bespoke manufacturing on a grand scale.
Xometry Snags a Cool $23 Million from Investors
Xometry, an advanced manufacturing/prototyping software platform, has recently acquired $23 Million in investment capital from GE Ventures
3D Printed Baby Model with Functional Organs May Help Doctors Save Infant Lives
Performing surgery isn’t a perfect science, and even doctors need to practice their skills, especially when it comes to children.
Meet Perdix, a 3D Printed Drone Designed to Work in Swarms
By itself, one isn’t all that impressive. But, bring enough of them together, and it’s certainly an impressive sight.
The Vaquform is the World’s First Digital Desktop Vacuum Former
Unlike desktop 3D printers, which have only grown more connected and technologically advanced over the past few years, vacuum forming has remained somewhat Lo-Fi—oftentimes consisting of a homemade jig hooked up to a shop vac.
Vention.io is a Web-based Machine Builder Platform & Social Marketplace
A Montreal-based startup is about to shake the world of design automation.
3 Features That Make Fusion 360 a Powerful Engineering Tool
I know, I know. I sealed off simulation with the 5 reasons I would use Simulation in Fusion 360 months ago.
MakerBot On Machine Reliability and Improving Performance
Our last post on MakerBot’s new print software spurred on some conversation, internally and via email.
Autodesk CEO Carl Bass Steps Down, Spending More Time With His Robots
This is right out of the blue. As of today, Carl Bass is no longer CEO of Autodesk.
MIT Develops 3D Porous Graphene 10 Times Stronger, But Lighter, Than Steel
Graphene. That awesome meta-material that was identified in 1916, imaged in 1948, grown on substrates in the 70’s, and finally manufactured in 2014, has yet to be incorporated into any consumer market applications.
Adobe Pushes Deeper Into 3D and UX Design
Right out of the gate for 2017, Adobe is offering a pair of applications featured at the Adobe MAX 2016 conference
Onshape In-Context Assembly Design is Unlike Anything You’ve Ever Seen
Throughout all the years (decades? yeow!) I’ve use 3D modeling software, I can’t think of a time where I didn’t use some type of in-context assembly design.
HoloLens App Shows How 3D Modeling Works for Augmented/Mixed Reality
Little by little augmented/mixed reality (AR/MR) is slipping past the surly bonds of consumption with more and more imagining, nay DEMONSTRATING, what 3D design could be like using devices that are, at least, sure to give us chuckles at the possibilities and, at most, completely take over our every waking hour.
Designer Kirby Downey Bring Doom’s BFG to Life
Doom is arguably the quintessential first-person shooter that spawned one of the most popular video game genres of all time.
Vectary Online 3D Modeling Platform Blasts Out of Beta
Take that last swig of cold coffee and check this out. Vectary, the online 3D modeling platform, is now out of beta.