The Maker Community Steps up to COVID-19 | NY Times
Hey All,
I wanted to share this video that was recently published by the New York Times. This is a great example of how a maker community can come together to lend emergency response & assistance by creating open-sourced, makeshift PPE (personal protective equipment) for the doctors and healthcare providers who are battling it out on the front lines to combat this virus!
Maker Faire 2019 Report — San Mateo, California
Our visit to the landmark Maker Faire event, in the heart of Silicon Valley.
We recently visited the Maker Faire in the San Francisco Bay Area last weekend, for a meet and great and to introduce the book to this extremely passionate community. The show was an incredibly cross-collaborative fusion of design, engineering, technology, DIY, and arts & crafts — from 3d printing, to drone battles, Star Wars baseball, and everything in between. It was especially exciting to see so many young children there, having such close exposure to the revolution in manufacturing known as the Maker Movement, from such an early age (we’re quite jealous actually, that we didn’t have access to something like this at such a young age). Many of these kids will grow up to become the next great engineers, designers, and entrepreneurs of the future, and will be responsible for building new technologies which we can only dream of today.
If you haven’t been, we definitely recommend stopping by a Maker Faire in your area if you ever get the chance. The key takeaway from the show was a boundless optimism towards the future, and what’s possible through new ideas — which is a viewpoint we share entirely. Here are a few highlights from the event, enjoy!
This installation was completely hand made (from tape!) by the artist Danny Schieble, known as Tapigami:
Technology corporate sponsors like Google appeared for a show and tell, and to host DIY workshops like learning to breadboard and solder:
A Google project that’s currently under development — a package delivery drone:
Makey, the official mascot robot of the Maker Faire was literally everywhere around the event:
Many great speakers appeared at the show, from Startup entrepreneurs to DIY youtube influencers and everything in between. This talk were a few employees from Google. The man on the left is Dale Dougherty, the founder / CEO of Make: magazine and the creator of the first Maker Faire in 2007:
Star Wars baseball — this display used an automatic ball pitching machine, where the lightsaber would light up and make sound effects after the balls were hit:
HUGE molded plywood skateboard — those trucks are custom cast aluminum, and the large wheels are cast out of Smooth On urethane resin!
This impressive human-powered quadrupedal mech design by Furrion Exo Bionics stold the show in the outdoor courtyard:
Crazy Monowheel design by a local burning man artist, spotted at the outdoor courtyard:
Adam Savage giving his Sunday Sermon, in the pouring rain atop a custom Mad Max style hydraulic vehicle:
Silicon Valley startup company Zipline, giving a presentation on their autonomous medical delivery aircraft:
Of course, Star Wars was on display everywhere throughout the show. There’s even a local home-built R2D2 club in Silicon Valley:
Now even mobile maker spaces are popping up! What better way to encourage STEM and creative tinkering than this?:
Intimidating fantasy prop armor by Hoku Props:
Impressive cast metal anatomical sculptures by Taiwanese artist / founder Roy Hung of Perkūnas Studio:
One of the more memorable pieces from the show — a customized steampunk 3d printer by the team at Josef Prusa:
Gotta love Iron Man…This bust was 3d Printed in SLA (stereolithography):
The Maker's Field Guide: Book & Ebook Available Now
These tips and more can be found in The Maker's Field Guide — the most advanced guide to making anything on the planet. Written from a professional industrial designer with over 8+ years experience in the industry. Now available as digital ebook or premium quality coffee table book through the online store!
How Modern Toys are Made (McFarlane Toys' Best Kept Secrets)
The secret of the modern toy development, prototyping, and production process as presented by Mile Deep Productions. In this day and age of Z-Brush digital sculpting and super fast 3d printing technology, it’s surprising to see that some things just don't change — one being craftsmanship. As discussed in an early post about Oakley’s professional model shop facility and heavily reliance (still) on hand craftsmanship, the artist’s touch is the of quality, refined taste, and layered emotional appeal that’s very difficult to replace with a machine or 3d printer. Most of the materials used in this film include Super Sculpey polymer clay, wire end clay tools, RTV silicone molds, urethane casting resins, and other tools that are standard in the movie prop / special effects industry.
Enjoy!
The Maker's Field Guide: Book & Ebook Available Now
These tips and more can be found in The Maker's Field Guide — the most advanced guide to making anything on the planet. Written from a professional industrial designer with over 7+ years experience in the industry. Now available as digital ebook or premium quality coffee table book through the online store!
Visit to the Vocademy Makerspace & Training Center (Riverside, California)
A selection of photos during a recent visit to Vocademy’s Makerspace & technical skills training center in Riverside, CA.
A selection of photos during a recent visit to Vocademy’s Makerspace & Training Center in Riverside, CA.
Not only does Vocademy have an impressive array of machines available, they also offer classes for hands-on (or vocational) training.
The Maker's Field Guide: Book & Ebook Available Now
These tips and more can be found in The Maker's Field Guide — the most advanced guide to making anything on the planet. Written from a professional industrial designer with over 7+ years experience in the industry. Now available as digital ebook or premium quality coffee table book through the online store!
Inside Oakley's TOP SECRET Prototype Facility (aka The 'O' Model Shop)
Inside Oakley’s super secretive in-house model shop facility, where a high level low tech / high tech and model maker / designer team integration is crucial to the product develop cycle.
Inside Oakley’s super secretive in-house model shop facility showcases a perfect example of where a high level low tech / high tech and model maker / designer team integration is crucial to the product develop cycle. Although the speed of 3d printers and additive manufacturing have become a factor of life, there still exists a true artistry and craftsmanship involved in building high-level presentation models for internal team evaluation. Talk to any hardcore designer working in the industry and they will agree — the high touch, emotional, and tactile sensibilities that go hand in hand with TRUE skill in fine craftsmanship can fully never be replaced — despite by whatever ‘latest and greatest’ new technologies may make their way into the equation.
The full HYPEBEAST feature is available here: Finding Purpose in Product Design with Oakley Eyewear
“We create beautiful designs and to realize them, we have to build them three-dimensionally. Our industrial designers have drawings that our modeling team will ultimately build. They take two-dimensional drawings and create three-dimensional forms. They do it both traditionally — by hand and sculpting — as well as in a 3d space, of CAD and 3d printing. We take that 3d model, evaluate it, and the designers and modelers continue to iterate and interact, so that the product actually fulfills what it is meant to do.” - Peter Yee, VP of Design
