Meet the makers of the NTH Synth, following their successful Kickstarter campaign
This mouth-wateringly good looking machine is the NTH Synth, a product that was recently crowd-funded on Kickstarter. I interviewed the guys behind NTH Synth about DIY electronics, designing for Ponoko, and how to get your crowd-funding campaign to stand out from the crowd.
(more…)
SF Bay Area – a Design Inspiration for little and big things
We’re used to seeing locations and landmarks serving as inspiration for design and art around us. Think how much influence the Eiffel Tower, for example, or anything NY has had on so much of the styling we are exposed to. As a designer you may be particularly influenced by design styles of places you’ve travelled to or your own city that you commute through every day. One US designer has chosen his place of residence – San Francisco as a catalyst for his creative endeavours.
David Nichols of Dotmatrix Design takes major inspiration from various infrastructure and industry around the Bay Area. Conveniently located in same area, Ponoko has helped shape his creative process. David’s first project was a human scale model of SF Sutro Tower, “a local landmark TV tower that pokes through the fog of the city most days of the year”. He had the tower CNC routed out of plywood, and it will be making its way to Maker Faire next month as part of the Ponoko display.
David likes the challenge of using interlocking to produce 3D objects out of 2D shapes, so laser cutting and CNC routing are his ideal precision fabrication methods. He’d made a tiny model of the container cranes in the Port of Oakland and also laser cut maps of the Bay Area. Most of the objects he created are fabricated out of wood, either in plywood or composite form. Hardboard and MDF are some of David’s favourite materials to work with. The material choices allow for minimal finishing and easy assembly that doesn’t require adhesives.
A few words from the designer after the jump:
A little help for those times when MacGyver isn’t around
This neat set of laser cut stainless steel cards will see you through all manner of emergencies. Whether it’s a culinary conundrum, a tricky twist without a tool, or fish ‘n chips too oily for fingers… Robert Rüf and Steffen Kehrle’s Survival Kits have you covered.
It’s not the first time this kind of concept has popped up, but this one is particularly nicely executed. Perfect to slip into a wallet or between the pages of an organiser (there is life beyond the iPhone, after all).
Click through to see Survival Kits in action. (more…)
The Laser Cutter Roundup — a weekly dose of laser-cut love: #75
Hey, Sam here,back collecting the post from The Laser Cutter.
Above is a skate deck – laser etched by Andrea Leggit – was donated to the Montana Skatepark Association as part of their annual OnDeck fundraising auction, which you can bid on right now.
After the jump, records, lamps, software, and a cutting board. (more…)
Designer nori for a tsunami-affected company.
Japanese ad agency I&SBBDO was approached by a company that made nori, the sheets of seaweed used for sushi, who wanted revitalize their business. The tsunami damaged their distribution channels, and they were struggling. The result was beautiful, delicate laser cut nori in a variety of traditional patterns.
Via Jeannie Jeannie
Retail Ready with Sniffle Co entrepreneur
John Patterson is a musician and a designer. His musical passion is expressed through The Grates, while his graphic creativity lies behind the Brisbane based company Sniffle Co which he runs alongside his friend Melissa Perry. Most of John’s designing is done on the road, and the shot of his work space (above) is an apt illustration of his working lifestyle. John designs whimsical jewelry that is laser cut from poplar plywood before being hand painted and lacquered.
Read the interview after the jump:
Stability of MDF with beauty of natural timber grain
MDF is possibly one of my least favourite materials. It has no soul, although it’s certainly very practical. There is also something unsavory about the word “veneer”. The connotation of falseness is ever present and is at odds with my like of material honesty. But you cannot argue with practicalities of using a wood material that won’t warp or shrink or crack. Besides, the veneer is a real timber – thinly peeled off a rotating tree trunk and laminated onto the MDF sub straight. The different grains do look authentic and beautiful, and their surface can also be treated with various waxes and varnishes to both seal the surface and enhance the grain. Check out the surface treatment options for the US and NZ wood materials.
The practical and aesthetic properties of veneer MDF make is an ideal material choice for display design and furniture. Colin Francis uses Rimu to make engraved wineracks and similarly planar flat-pack Test Tubed vases. The Hands shelf is by Studio Wun and is available in various finishes.
Wall art is another common application for this month’s material. We’ve interviewed MODULA.R.T’s Donald Rattner in the past – MODULA.R.T have designed a whole customisable system of wall ornamentation using a combination of veneer MDF and colour acrylic or felt. Otto Gunther’s approach to wall art is entirely different – combining digital fabrication with painstaking finishing by hand to produce one off pieces.
Veneer MDF engraves beautifully, and both raster and vector engraving can produce outstanding detail, like in Peppersprouts coasters cut from Cherry. Blimp Cat Studio create custom cake toppers from Walnut veneer, and Kai Howells offers customised Rimu veneer trophies.
Even little objects like jewelry can be successfully cut from veneer MDF. Australian designers Little Miso and Nevertheless are big fans of the American Cherry, and Bonnie Poplar uses also uses this material for her brooches, along with the Rimu.
On the topic of jewelry, this month’s free design files are for jewelry trees. The small Swirl stand is designed for US veneers, while the large tree is designed for the NZ stock. Of course, the base slots can be adjusted in thickness to accommodate materials from either hub.
Ponoko US offers Cherry, Walnut, White Oak
Ponoko NZ offers Rimu, American Cherry, Maple, Tasmanian Ash, White Oak
Get your material samples of US: Cherry, Walnut, White Oak; NZ: Rimu, American Cherry, Maple, Tasmanian Ash, White Oak
Video on the assembly of an industrial grade metal laser cutter!
If you’re interested in the workings and principles of how energy is focused to create a fine cutting beam, you should definitely check out this video by How its Made. It shows the mirrors used to bounce light around and describes the process of generating photons from electrical energy inside a chamber of pressurised mixture of Nitrogen, Carbon Dioxide and Helium gas. The principles are similar to the laser cutters used by Ponoko to cut plastics, timber and metals.
Gears, gears, and more gears.
Brent Thorne, a San Francisco-based computer scientist and kinetic artist, is working on a mechanical computer with laser cut gears. It “computes continuous self-similar fractals.” I would be lying if I said I have clear idea how it works, but it impressive nonetheless. Apparently the image above is a half-scale prototype of one of three sub-units that will each measure two meters tall (roughly 6′6″) when the computer is finished.
The artist posted a brief explanation of the theory behind the computer for those who may be interested. If you are more inclined to learning how to make mechanisms our recent tutorials on making Gears and Joints with SketchUp (part 1 and part 2) would be a good place to start.
(more…)
The Laser Cutter Roundup — a weekly dose of laser-cut love: #74
Hey, Sam here,back collecting the post from The Laser Cutter.
Above is a laser cut mandala for the Dalia Lama’s 2011 Chicago visit from Dan Funderburgh.
After the jump, toast, branches, a stamp, and work from a coffee house… (more…)
RSS Feed
follow
like
see
watch
Submit
