Design for 3D Printing
There is no faster way to go from solid CAD model to physical part than 3D printing. 3D printing also allows the designer (thats you!) to break many of the rules that apply to subtractive manufacturing...
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Maker Faire: Get it Made!
We had so much fun at Portland’s Mini Maker Faire! We were thrilled to show a lot of people 3D printing for the first time and watching everyone figure out and understand the technology was great....
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Have a 3D Printed Halloween
It smells like fall outside, and it smells like melting sugary plastic inside! Tonight, kids in all neighborhoods will make the rounds, collecting candy and showing off their costumes. It’s a golden...
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3D Printing Biomimicry Leads to Righteous Ripping
Where the soft calls of ocean mammals meet carefully extruded polycarbonate plastic, high-performing and beautiful surfboard fins are born. Boardshaper Roy Stuart has combined two things that will...
View ArticleOpenFab At The White House Maker Faire
I recently had the honor of attending the first ever White House Maker Faire! Here’s the story I was there to tell: David Perry, a mechanical engineer living in Oregon, chose 2014 as the year to start...
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The F-F-Fiddle Means You Can Make Anything: Here’s How
You don’t need to be a master craftsman or an industry expert to make something new and exciting. Before I made the F-F-Fiddle, I’d never made a musical instrument. I started playing the violin when I...
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3D Printing for a Better Product
I recently completed my first project with a new client — Dana of Spectrum Acoustics. Folks like Dana are my ideal customers — passionate about the work they do and determined to use new technology to...
View ArticleTalking Open Source Communities at Open Hardware Summit 2016
This past October I had the honor of speaking at the Open Hardware Summit put on by OSHWA and hosted here in Portland, OR. Way back in 2012 I traveled to New York for the Open Hardware Summit, and I...
View ArticleProcess Drives Product Design Creativity, Part 1
This August I’ll lead a group of high school teachers in Clackamas County through a 3-day seminar to help them teach students to design and be Makers. What’s the best way to do that? Teach the teachers...
View ArticleProcess Drives Product Design Creativity, Part 2
In product design, brainstorming is too often a process that lacks all structure, and thus consistently generates mediocre solutions to a poorly defined problem. Brainstorming is useless without...
View ArticleProcess Drives Product Design Creativity, Part 3
The ideation phase of product design is too often glorified. You’ve seen it — the beautiful sketches, the compelling imagery — the fake stuff. Don’t get me wrong, this is a fun and important stage, but...
View ArticleMake Your Prototype a Product
Product designers use 3D printing to blur the line between a 3D printed prototype and a finished product. A 3D printed product is always a work in progress — it’s a prototype. Make your 3D printed...
View ArticleHow to Prototype a Transforming Shoe in Five Weeks
How do you crank out a quick product prototype on a tight timeline? By combining clever design and the power of 3D printing — and following these five principles. When my colleague Danny Peter at PDX...
View ArticleHow to Design a 3D Printed Violin Bridge
The 3D printed Modular Fiddle provides a platform for experimentation in violin design. Any part can be changed in about ten minutes, but only one part can print in six minutes, install in three...
View Article3D Printed Lattices and Generative Design
Design software is beginning to catch up with the capabilities of additive manufacturing technologies and materials. Lattices and generative design are key building blocks for new 3D printed forms....
View ArticleHow To Manage Product Assemblies in Fusion 360
I’m going to answer the top question I get from product managers and designers with whom I consult: “What’s the best way to manage product assemblies in Fusion 360?” Update to Fusion Team You’ll have...
View ArticlePrint Settings for the Modular Fiddle
Musical instruments are extremely sensitive to very small changes. Naturally then, your materials and print settings are super important for making a great Modular Fiddle! In this post, I’ll go over...
View Article3D Printed Jigs and Fixtures for Lapidary Work
If you make a thing, 3D printing can help you make it better. 3D printed jigs and fixtures are low-hanging fruit for additive manufacturing. Let’s highlight some 3D printing applications in the most...
View ArticleHow to Make a Truly Durable Violin
This blog post will walk you through how to print, process, and prep Modular Fiddle parts to build the ultimate go anywhere, do anything 3D printed durable violin. Before you do anything, you should...
View ArticleWhat is a Five String Violin, Really?
You’ve heard of the five string violin. Maybe you saw one at a violin maker show, or maybe you know a violinist that plays one. Shoot, maybe you’ve played one yourself. But what is a five string...
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