Inkscape Instructable to help your 2d designs fit just right
Carol Wang is nutty about knots, and she’s also untangled the mysteries of laser cutting with this fantastic feature on Instructables.
In a handy companion to our own article on the same topic, Carol runs through a series of tests that help determine how to achieve snug fits in acrylic, particularly when combining different colours that interlock.
Not only will it help your 2d designs come out the way you want them to; you’ll also save money and time by ensuring all your measurements are right before making the first cut.
There’s no need to get yourself in a knot over tolerances…
Vectorealism, our digital making partner in Milan, has boosted their laser power and vamped up their material selection.
Ponoko makers can choose the Italian hub through their Ponoko Personal Factory or visit Vectorealism directly to automatically see a 20% reduction in making costs.
Take a trip down memory lane as IBM celebrates 100 years
In an interesting reflection featuring a milestone for each year of the company’s operations, IBM have produced some fancy PR clips as a part of their centenary celebrations this year.
There are likely to be a few surprises in there for everyone, and if you like what you see, be sure to click through for an extra feature that takes a deeper look at the way this juggernaut of a company has contributed to shaping our modern world. (more…)
Make a life size model of your unborn child with 3D printing.
Jorge Lopes, a PhD student at the Royal College of Art, has found a way to 3D print a life size model of a fetus in the womb. The digital model is produced from a combination of ultrasound images and MRI scans. This technique could allow parents to hold a highly detailed model of their child (or children) within hours of the start of the process.
Making “I Do’s” more memorable with decorations from Blimpcat Studio.
Textile arstist and graphic designer Kate Moore of Blimpcat Studio used to sketch, digitize and then screenprint and sew her designs before Ponoko appeared on her radar. Kate’s interest in woodworking was a challenge to realise without the tools and the know-how, especially considering all the experience required to create something with her preferred sinuous Art Nouveau aesthetic.
Several years ago, while in her dentist’s waiting room, Kate stumbled on a magazine article that mentioned Ponoko, which was then a brand new company. As inspirational as the article was, anaesthesia got the upper hand, and Kate forgot the name of the business. Luckily, the pull or creating beautiful things was hard to shake off, and several months of Googling every imaginable combination of P’s, O’s, and K’s finally yielded success.
One of the most exciting things about HTML5 is the potential it has to change how we interact with visual content.
The experiments from Swedish developer Hakim El Hattab show how personality and customization are also the way of our online future.
Today we are highlighting his Sketch project, where a simple grab ‘n drag facility means that your scribbles can take the leap into revolving 3d splendour.
It’s a little tricky at first, and the gallery has many examples that aren’t actually taking advantage of the 3d effect – but a growing number do, and it’s quite interesting to think how ideas like this might develop if paired with 3d printing in the future.
Sketching is an important tool for designers, and experiments like this one from Hakim show that with HTML5 there is plenty of fun to be had. Seriously.
To close out our 2010 Best of the Blog, here is a round-up of the top interviews, thoughts and opinions on the future of DIY design.
This top ten list provides you with an overview of the rapidly changing landscape of people and their relationship to products.
It also touches on the big debates going on in the maker community: Do digitally fabricated goods deserve to be called “handmade”? And is it true that one day every home will have a desktop 3D printer?
And finally, a look at what the future of making holds beyond the 3D printing craze.
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