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Community Spotlight – Matt Stultz, Community Organizer, 3D Printing Guru, 3D...
Interview: Matt Stultz, Community Organizer, 3D Printing Guru, 3D Materials ExperimenterQ: Hi! Who are you, and what do you do?Howdy, my name is Matt Stultz and I’m a community organizer, 3D printing...
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Urban Greenprint Aims to Mitigate Runoff with Evaporation
This concept is great! From Biomimcry.org:The current focus of the Urban Greenprint is to generate building design techniques and use of materials that take cues from our local natural ecosystems,...
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This material “self-heals” after being shot with a bullet (video)
Via engadget.NASA-funded research has created a material that could self-heal in seconds. Two layers of solid polymer sandwich a gel that with an ingredient that solidifies on contact with air (i.e....
View ArticleWhy Concrete Does Not Dry Out
Fun, informative video from MinutePhysics.Concrete doesn’t dry – it sets!
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Mini Materials, A Line of Construction Material Miniatures you Didn’t Know...
Check out Mini Materials – a line of miniatures made from real life construction materials. Not only do the products look super cute, we imagine they are a real treat to build with as well as a...
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DuoSkin: Functional, stylish on-skin user interfaces #WearableWednesday
MIT Media Lab in collaboration with Microsoft Research have created DuoSkin – an on-skin user interface.DuoSkin is a fabrication process that enables anyone to create customized functional devices that...
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Flexible and Colorful Electronic Paper Promises a New Look for E-books
Exciting development for all E-book connoisseurs from IEEE Spectrum.Plasmonic nanostructures leverage the oscillations in the density of electrons that are generated when photons hit a metal surface....
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How the rubber glove was invented #MakerEducation
Sometimes the least glamorous inventions have the best origin stories! Learn more with this video from TED-Ed.It’s hard to imagine a modern hospital being able to function without rubber gloves — but...
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This supercar is made almost entirely from wood
Joe Harmon Design built this incredible supercar made almost entirely from wood!Wood is our only naturally renewable building material; it takes an extraordinarily small amount of energy to produce and...
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How Conservators Remove Tape From 19th-Century Art
Useful post from The Atlantic.Sticky tape was first invented in the mid-19th century, and it’s been making conservators’ lives hell ever since. “Tape is the bane of the conservator’s existence,” says...
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Nasa Funahara Uses Japanese Masking Tape to Recreate Famous Paintings
Who knew masking tape could be so beautiful?Nice write-up from designboom.funahara uses a masking tape made from washi, a traditional japanese paper that comes in all sorts of colors, patterns and...
View ArticleThe Strange Physics Behind the Smell of Rubber Bands
SciShow has the scoop on the mysterious smell of rubber bands.If you’ve spent any time trying to explode a pumpkin with rubber bands you know that they have a distinct smell to them when stretched, and...
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Engineers demonstrate metamaterials that can solve equations #Engineering...
Via Phys.org – University of Pennsylvania Engineers have designed a metamaterial device that can solve integral equations. The device works by encoding parameters into the properties of an incoming...
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The NASA fastener design manual #Space #Wearables #Fashion @NASA
How does one make sure things stay together in flight? NASA has given this some thought. From their intro to NASA Reference Publication 1228 (1990) Fastener Design Manual by Richard Barrett:To the...
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NEW PRODUCTS – Thermochromic Pigments in Various Colors
NEW PRODUCTS – Thermochromic Pigments in Various ColorsWe love playing with obscure materials that have a creepy-cool or magical quality. Sure, there’s invisible ink, but have you ever used heat to...
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NEW PRODUCT – EVA Foam Pack in Rainbow Colors – 2mm thick – 10 sheets
NEW PRODUCT – EVA Foam Pack in Rainbow Colors – 2mm thick – 10 sheetsEVA foam is one of the best and easiest go-to materials for constructing costumes and props. It’s light, inexpensive, versatile, and...
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NEW PRODUCT – Shimmering Snowflake Glitter – 8mm
NEW PRODUCT – Shimmering Snowflake Glitter – 8mmThese iridescent silver-bluish-purple sequins can be used for a variety of maker projects for some shimmery wintery glitz. Also perfect as snowflake...
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Bricks Alive! Scientists Create Living Concrete #MakerEducation
Fun piece in The New York Times, which covers a recent discovery from a team of scientists at the University of Colorado, Boulder.For centuries, builders have been making concrete roughly the same way:...
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Proteus: the world’s first manufactured non-cuttable material #Materials @nwtls
Durham University UK and the Fraunhofer Institute claim they’ve come up with the world’s first manufactured non-cuttable material, just 15 percent the density of steel, which they say could make for...
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Self-Healing, Recyclable Polymer has Shape Memory
A new material created by researchers at Texas A&M University and the US Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Army Research Laboratory is 3D printable, self-healing, recyclable, and...
View ArticleThis Material Is Nearly Uncuttable #MakerEducation
Sounds like a challenge!Fun video from SciShow.European researchers claim to have developed a composite material that is basically uncuttable, so with this material, your bike might never be...
View ArticleAdam Savage Nerds Out Over the McMaster-Carr Catalog @donttrythis
I have long been a parts catalog freak so I can appreciate Adam Savage’s deep nerding over the McMaster-Carr catalog. Every maker likely at least knows of it and those who don’t actually have a print...
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A Cut List Calculator for Optimizing Sheet Goods
I learned about this useful tool via Maker Update. The CutList Optimizer is a tool for calculating the optimum layout for cutting sheet goods. You enter your cut list and the dimensions of your...
View ArticleThe Wonders of Roman Concrete and How to Make It
It’s amazing to try and assess the impact that various materials and technological innovations had on the growth of human civilization. One of those materials is Roman concrete. In this How to Make...
View ArticleWhy the World’s Best Mathematicians Are Hoarding Chalk
Wonderful video about Hagoromo chalk from Great Big Story.Once upon a time, not long ago, the math world fell in love … with a chalk. But not just any chalk! This was Hagoromo: a Japanese brand so...
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‘Fossils of the 20th Century Civilization’– Tokyo, Japan
We love the concept + execution of this public art exhibit now on display in Tokyo. Write-up from Atlas Obscura.ALL OF THE STATIONS ON the Toei Ōedo subway line are adorned with some form of public...
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Ultralight Material Withstands Supersonic Microparticle Impacts
Looking like it’s straight out of a Purple mattress commercial, MIT researchers show “nanoarchitected” materials that could be tough, lightweight armor similar to Kevlar and steel.The researchers have...
View ArticleBasic Acrylic model making for Designers, Architects & Makers
Super handy video from Eric Strebel on YouTube.Basic acrylic model making, using a bandsaw, score and snap method, and a table saw with router. The basic tools and materials to start building models...
View ArticleLinoleum flooring is cool, actually
Okay, so I’m not totally sold but this did help me expand my opinion just a little, from Vox.If there were a floor covering Olympics, marble would probably get gold. Hardwood would get silver. Bronze...
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A Polymer that’s Stronger than Steel
MIT professor of Chemical Engineering, Michael Strano, explains this two-dimensional polymer that self-assembles into sheets and could be used as a lightweight, durable coating for electronics and...
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A New Plant-Derived Composite
An MIT team has engineered a new composite made of cellulose nanocrystals mixed with a bit of synthetic polymer. The composite can be a huge step toward naturally-derived plastics.Hart and his...
View ArticleThe giant chainmail box that stops a house dissolving
Really cool new video from Tom Scott on YouTube about a tremendous architectural preservation project in Scotland.The Hill House, in Helensburgh, Scotland was decades ahead of its time… but that means...
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The Magic of Invisible Mending
This really does look like it’s either magic or totally fake – but somehow it’s more amazing that it is indeed real. We also love how the video breaks down the details of the technique employed by the...
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How polyester bounced back
Fascinating read from Works in Progress on the history of polyester in the garment industry and how, after being deemed gauche by tastemakers in the late 1970s, the fabric returned to the spotlight...
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Vacuum Forming Bubble Wrap
By way of Donald Bell’s Maker Update comes this unexpectedly cool use of bubble wrap — as material for vacuum forming.The resulting pattern/texture is very interesting and not exactly what you would...
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The Weird, Analog Delights of Foley Sound Effects
Wonderful recent piece from The New Yorker about Foley sound effects. The piece profiles two modern Foley artists employed by Skywalker Sound, Shelley Roden and John Roesch. It also gives some...
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‘Magic mirror’: Hidden image revealed in reflection of centuries-old artifact
Okay, so when I first saw this headline, I was confused. I somehow thought a Magic Mirror was one of those incredibly fancy pieces of at-home gym equipment. I clicked mostly to resolve my confusion but...
View Article134.5 kg Concrete Bike
This working concrete bike from the folks at Play to DIY is truly a sight to behold.See the full video here.We made the first concrete functional bike in the whole world, it’s crazy! its weight of...
View ArticleWoodturning Coffee Beans into a Coffee Mug
Some of the best projects are the ones that start out as experiments you have convinced yourself are doomed for failure. This video from Preston Miller Projects is no exception. I love how the exposed...
View ArticleOne of the Best Hobby Materials You May Have Never Heard of
In this Tabletop Alchemy video, Ignatius talks about the extruded, moderately-expanded closed-cell polyvinyl chloride (PVC) material known as Sintra. He argues that it is an underutilized material in...
View ArticleThe process of making chalk. A chalk factory in Japan that produces 600,000...
Another great manufacturing video from Process X on YouTube. Pressing the green start button on that giant mixer looks oh-so-satisfying.
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Solving the Riddle of Roman Concrete
The engineering wonders of ancient Rome are widely known and much of their impressive construction was held together with a formulation of concrete. Structures like the Pantheon, built in A.D. 128 and...
View ArticleHow Skateboard Wheels Are Made
Another great video from the Science Channel on YouTube as a part of its How It’s Made series. I particularly enjoyed watching the technicians operate the testing device use to gauge the wheel’s...
View ArticleRanking and Reviewing Various Structural Shapes
Everything you ever wanted to know about the structural characteristics of steel material in various shapes (e.g. I-beam, T-beam, Angle, etc.). There are many structural shapes and for the most part,...
View ArticleHow Gel Capsules & Playground Spring Riders Are Made
Because gel capsules and playground spring riders are both consistent fixtures in my life at the present moment (thanks to my kids and seasonal sinus headaches!), I especially enjoyed getting to see...
View ArticleWhy luxury train carriages had wheels made of actual paper – Allen Paper Wheels
Who knew that compressed paper was used to manufacture train wheels back in the late 19th century? Cool video from Train of Thought on YouTube that discusses the history of Allen Paper Wheels.
View ArticleThrough the Looking Glass: A History of Mirrors
From Narcissus, to Queen Grimhilde, to Lacan, humans have long had an obsession with mirrors. Mirrors are prevalent in both myths and metaphors as well as in our material, physical history. This video...
View ArticleDuck(t) Tape: the World’s Most Useful Tool
Neat video from The History Guy on YouTube that takes a detailed look at one of the handiest office/household/workshop items – duct tape.People really go wild for it! We all had that guy in high school...
View ArticleWhy is the 2 by 4 getting smaller and smaller?
This video made me realize I actually had no idea what a 2 by 4 was or how it got its name. And now I’ve learned what the term rough lumber means and I cannot wait to drop it into casual conversation...
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