This is my 1000th post. The numbers are a little off due to some pebkac problems early on, but that’s what the software tells me. So I figure this is as good a time as any to begin to finish this entry, #551. I say “begin to finish” because I’m thinking that there might be a few different issues under the heading of “Intangible Mindset” that I’ll raise in the coming weeks. I started on one idea, but got to thinking much more broadly as I was writing (which is what initially stopped me). Hopefully those other topics will more quickly gel in my mind so they don’t take as long as this one did. For now though, here’s the text of what I had originally started to post:
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I’ve been waiting for this. Ever since Vik posted his entry showing the first part fabbed by his latest RepRap device, Zaphod (see earlier entry for a video of it in operation – reLink). That part wasn’t looking very useable, but now comes word of a RepRap-fabbed part that has been integrated into the device (Link). It’s not much to look at, but then one has to start somewhere.

Too bad Neuros isn’t as open source as RepRap. Maybe we need a Ministry for Degrees of Open Sourceness, huh?

{Image Copyright © 2006 Vik Olliver}

Some years ago I was in a car accident; nothing too severe. The doctors at first told me that my back problems were a result of muscular damage and that with some physical therapy I’d be fine. They were wrong. About a year after the accident, while still going through therapy, pressure was applied directly to a spot on my vertebrae and I went through the roof. That ended my physical therapy and sent me back to the doctor who then recommended I get an MRI.

Being naturally curious I decided to research the device, and learned that what that big cylinder of magnets is doing is turning a person’s body into a kind of radio station. Continue reading →

Talk to any Industrial Designer and if they have any experience they’ll probably tell you that many design competitions are a deceptive way for greedy companies to get designs at little or no cost. One competition not so long ago offered as a prize a small cash payout and a job. Oh, and all those entries sent in by designers too wet behind the ears to know better? Those concepts belonged to the company as part of their condition for entry. If they decided to manufacture the first runner-up and make hundreds of thousands of dollars in profit from it, they sent a big, fat check for… $400.

Nice, huh? Well, at least they paid some compensation. Many don’t bother. They’ll change a minor detail and claim the design is new. And who’s going to do anything about it? Some design student halfway around the world. Not likely.
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When I talk to people about the possibilities of rapid-manufacturing (RM), I wonder if I should start by pointing them to this toaster I caught over on MoCo Loco (Link). It’s still apparently fabricated using regular old manufacturing processes (the sides look like stamped metal riveted to the standard internal box), so it’s not an accurate representation; however, it’s sufficiently over-the-top that maybe the aesthetic as defined by high-volume manufacturing processes will be jarred loose inside their heads. Continue reading →