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 lattice forms. What is a Lattice? For our intents and purposes, a lattice is a repeating 3D arrangement of material, typically constructed by intersecting thin sections. Lattices […]
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 minutes, and change the instrument’s sound entirely. The bridge! If you’re a luthier, you already know that small changes to a […]
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 Industrial asked me if I could prototype a transforming high heel shoe in six weeks I was sure we […]
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 prototypes stand-alone products and you’ll have a better end product and more fun along the way! Curious what the […]
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 a pretty sketch is meaningless if not supported by logical, critical, and thorough analysis. That kind of analysis — […]
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 structure! Using the methods I’ll describe here, you can generate creative solutions for any product design challenge. Let’s continue with the design of a better tabletop planter. […]
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 to make stuff! First lesson: you can’t just say “Here’s a problem, go make a solution.” Instead, you teach a consistent process that can […]
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 was astounded by the passion and engagement present within almost all of the active open […]
I recently completed my first project with a new client — Dana of Spectrum Acoustics. Folks like Dana are my ideal customers — passionate about their work and determined to improve their product with new technology. Dana approached me with a labor-intensive part that he’s been manufacturing with a table saw for his speaker systems. He hired me […]
You don’t need to be a master craftsman or an industry expert to make something new and exciting. If you are willing to try and fail (repeatedly): you can make anything! Before I made the F-F-Fiddle, I’d never made a musical instrument. I started playing the violin when I was in grade school, and I’ve […]