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‘ROCKIN’’ Category

The Amazing Gravity Stools of Jólan van der Wiel (and His Incredible Magnet Machine)

26 Jan, 2012 by Josh Mings in DESIGN, ROCKIN'
3D Human CAD Models

After what I’ve just seen, I feel as if I could point my hand at a simmering pool of metal and shape it with the power of my mind. Dutch Designer Jólan van der Wiel is practically doing just that. He’s created a process (and a machine) to pull a metallic-formulated resin from a liquid state, curing it into the forms you see below within a half hour. You’ll have to see the process Jólan goes through to truly appreciate it. It’s the most beautiful, organic formations of a small furniture piece I’ve ever seen.

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Interactive Liquid Sculpture Makes Ferrofluid Look Extremely Cool

08 Dec, 2011 by Josh Mings in DESIGN, ROCKIN'

If you’ve ever mistakenly drank ferromagnetic fluid thinking it was coffee, you’re likely dead, or highly magnetized and sitting at In-n-Out gnawing on a burger dressed like Magneto. I am… right now actually, staring into the screen at the Kickstarter project David Markus has launched. Ferrite – Interactive Liquid Sculpture is a visual display of magnetic waveform tubery. Ferrofluid is trapped inside a clear container (just like my arm) with the globs of ferromagnetic particle taking the visual waveforms of the magnet placed against it. Here’s a look at the iconic desktop art piece and more from David about the project.

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The Mesmerizing Kinetic Sculpture of U-Ram
Choe’s ‘Guardian of the Hole’

18 Nov, 2011 by Josh Mings in DESIGN, ROCKIN'

I’m all for kinetic sculptures that look like they could disembowel you, devour you, the move your remains through their undulating, kineticly cool structure. U-Ram Choe who is know for amazing metal work mixed with an array of glass, coils, resin, electronic bits and movement has a new sculpture showing in New York at the Asia Society Museum until December 31, 2011. If you happen through the Big Apple, you’ll want to see it. If you don’t, you’ll want to see this mesmerizing video.

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The Most Beautiful Mechanical Typeface Your Eyes Will Ever See

14 Nov, 2011 by Josh Mings in DESIGN, ROCKIN'

If you were to wad up a piece of paper, throw it in my face and yell, “what’s your favorite artistically represented graphical element!” I’d have to wipe the blood from my lip, pinch my elbow skin and scream from the depth of my lungs, “A decent, yet imaginative typeface!” Nothin’ better in my mind, and it’s with much thanks to a fine young Italian designer named Riccardo Sabatini that I find myself gaping in face-wrinkled glee at his succulent san serif typeface of steam machine succulence, Mekkanika. Dine.

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Arduino-driven Draw Bot is Senseless and Slightly Cool

02 Nov, 2011 by Josh Mings in DESIGN, ROCKIN'

There are some robots that take me back to my childhood, like this skateboard-mounted, paint-spraying graffiti machine whipping an arduino-driven pendulum arm around. Not that I went around spray-painting objects, but that I was often attached to a pendulum arm, but who wasn’t, right? It’s just the sort of thing that may have inspired So Kanno and Takahiro Yamaguchi to create this artsy automaton. The Senseless drawing bot is an art installation, and as with all art installations of this variety, interprets the act of vandalism in a pure, programmatic fashion.

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Nitrogen Power! The MagSurf Superconducting
Hoverboard.

20 Oct, 2011 by Josh Mings in ROCKIN', TECH

I tell you what. There’s nothing like the thought of riding atop a container of -195˚ Celsius liquid nitrogen, while its vapor spews from a small tube positioned between your legs. Nope, no problem with that. Why? Because it’s the future and it goes along quite nicely with ice pants. It’s called the MagSurf and it’s what director of Physics, Alain Sacuto, and superconducting lovin’ students have been constructing at the University Paris Diderot. While the quantum mechanical phenomenon is nothing new, this is the first it has been used on a small student population to test the possibility of human transport across a 5 meter span. How’s it all done? Well, remove the dry ice from your eyes and check out the video below.

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REAL-f: A Super-Realistic 3D Printed Face to
Increase Your Creepy Quotient

12 Oct, 2011 by Josh Mings in FAB, ROCKIN'

There are just not enough opportunities in the world, the stand silently in a crowded room with a mask of your face… over your face. Amirite? Slap another one on the back of your head, a couple, in your arms, swaddled in blankets and you’ve got all sort of creepiness going on. The best thing? There are companies making all this possible. REAL-f, a Japanese outfit set to ‘Exceed the Real’ is one such purveyor of fine facial goods. With their Three Dimensional Photo Form (3DPF) photo mapping technology you, or your loved ones, receive a life-like 3d printed face chock full of gouges, scars, follicles, wrinkles and look of utter horror if you’re so inclined.

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3Defy Web App Sucks the 3D Out of Your 2D Photos.

10 Oct, 2011 by Josh Mings in ROCKIN', TECH

I know you have them, thousands of them. Photos, the 2D type… and even more images you’ve cut out of magazines and library books. If you’re like me, you’re fine with gluing them on odd shaped creatures and giving them out as gifts. If you want something more, you may be interested in 3Defy, a web app offering the ability to push and pull those 2D pixels right out of their flat, ever-loving environment. Why would you want to do that? Well, because you’re a creative type, into online art-forms and you also really, really want to make that Mary Poppins wallpaper really pop off the screen. I leave you to it as Chris Wallace, founder of 3Defy, explains what this tech has over other 2D photogrammetry tools like PhotoSculpt or Autodesk Photofly.

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161 Parts of Highly Machined Awesomeness. The
RogueDZN Armadillo :161 [Video]

27 Sep, 2011 by Josh Mings in DESIGN, ROCKIN'

If you’re hankering for a magnificent piece of man metal (and a magnificent manufacturing process), RogueDZN is about to make you clench your teeth so tight they shatter… twice. Matt Tremblay, Founder of RogueDZN (and chief designer at __________) just announced the release of the ultimate in high performance, machined G5 titanium hotness for your wristbone, the signature edition RogueDZN Armadillo:161. A bracelet that’ll put a small dent in your wallet and the toughest looking piece of metal on your arm. Check out the process and videos after the break.

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Sweet, Eye Melting Momentum Multiphysics for
Softimage, Not for CAD.

23 Sep, 2011 by Josh Mings in CAD, ROCKIN'

Oh, how wonderful the feel of a digital explosion across your screen. Am I right? YES. How’s it happen? Exocortex Technologies. They’ve released Momentum 3, a slick multiphysics engine for Autodesk Softimage. While it’s not useful for anything mildly related to the usual cadre of CAD apps we talk about on SolidSmack, it does give us a chance to complain that this technology is still not used in any of them… sad. to. say. First take a look at what Exocortex and others are bringing to the wonderful world of physical simulation.

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