7 Ways Star Trek Predicted The Future of Product Development
Fifty years ago a visionary television program was first broadcast in the United States, and with it came a wealth of refreshing new ideas about the future organization of human (and not-so-human) society as well as the amazing technologies we would all have in the 23rd century. That show was Star Trek, of course, and […]
How 3D Printing Can Preserve And Restore The Past
3D scanning in combination with 3D printing now makes it possible to create all sorts of physical objects. This technology has become so advanced that it helps to preserve or restore historic artifacts that no longer exist. Let’s take a closer look at how 3D printing is currently being used to help protect and even recreate the vanishing […]
All About The OLO 3D Printer
It seems nearly every day there’s a new 3D printer of some sort on the market, promising innovations in material, speed or size. The new OLO seems to do it all – small, light, easy to use and incredibly cheap. Is this the printer that finally brings digital manufacturing to the masses? What Is OLO? […]
Makers, Hackers and Geeks
A new kind of industrial revolution is taking hold in cities and towns all over the world. It’s a grassroots movement, empowered by individuals freely sharing knowledge and using the tools of digital manufacturing. Locally based but connected by the World Wide Web, it may be the best hope yet for revitalizing manufacturing economies and […]
Celebrating 6 Great Female Inventors And Entrepreneurs
In this article we want to spend some time appreciating the often-unheralded contributions made by women in the world of science, engineering, product development and all-around invention. Tabitha Babbit – The Circular Saw It’s hard to imagine a woodworking tool as burly as a circular saw being invented by a woman, who aren’t traditionally associated with carpentry […]
Goal-Directed Design Software Will Change Digital Manufacturing
There is a new class of design software based on problem solving that will produce mechanical design solutions more sophisticated than any that a single designer could possibly do, and it’s coming soon. How will this change the ways things are made and how will it benefit you? What Is CAD Software And How Does […]
Vitrimers May Replace Plastics As We Know Them
A truly revolutionary new class of material successfully combines the best attributes of thermoforming and thermosetting plastic. This could change the way we make rubber ducks, jumbo planes and everything in between. It might also greatly effect and improve our impact on the environment. What Are The Most Common Plastics? Polymers, generically called plastic, used […]
3D Printing For Electronics
We talk a lot about rapid prototyping and that often means 3D printed or machined parts. But many prototypes are of the electrical sort as well, and in order to make a working electronic prototype – one that combines rapid production of a case with the internal electrical components – the designer must also create […]
Inventor’s Toolkit: 7 Tips For Inventing Products
Every day we talk to inventors, entrepreneurs and product designers who need help making a physical prototype. For these people to be successful inventors, they need to be armed with knowledge to avoid the many pitfalls they may face in the development process. Here are 7 tips to help make the journey easier. 1. Research […]
Why Must We Make Things So Complicated?
A brief look at watches, clocks and other timepieces, and our timeless fascination with spinning gears. What Is A Complication? A watch complication is essentially any movement that displays more than the mere hour, minute or second. This is the face of the world’s most complicated watch, by Vacheron Constantin. Dubbed rather unimaginatively as Ref. […]
