Tag Archives: Manufacturing

This autonomous delivery robot comes with its own little trailer to deliver the bigger parcels!

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The age of Amazon Prime same-day delivery and Instacart grocery shopping has turned instant gratification into an expectation. For better or worse, modern delivery services have redefined priority mail, bringing goods to our doorsteps the same day we put in the order. As delivery operators streamline their services, designers are thinking up automated delivery bots to do the magic for us. Oliver, an autonomous and mobile goods courier, is one such bot, developed by Seoul-based designer Taeuk Ham.

Oliver is a collaborative robot that can operate both automated and manual delivery services. Smart technology equips Oliver with the know-how to handle autonomous delivery outings most likely contained within indoor spaces like warehouses and office buildings. Goods can be placed inside of Oliver the same way items are carried by utility carts and additional packages can be attached to Oliver’s rear trailer. Once the goods are packed away, a touchscreen display allows users to orient Oliver and schedule their deliveries. The vertical carrying space automatically rises at each delivery destination to make the unloading process more manageable. Besides automated delivery services, Oliver can operate as a conventional utility cart if users would prefer to deliver their goods on foot.

Even outside of Amazon’s speedy delivery services, workers in offices and warehouses depend on quick deliveries even between floors and adjacent buildings. While Oliver might be limited to indoor settings, an autonomous delivery robot would streamline deliveries during the workday so that workers don’t have to waste any time walking from one office to the next with goods in tow.

Designer: Taeuk Ham

Items can be placed inside Oliver’s frontal cargo space while rear trailers provide additional space for carrying goods.

Deliveries can be programmed on Oliver’s touchscreen panel.

Rear trailers provide additional space for users to place their goods.

Oliver can be used on automatic settings or manually via its steel handlebar.

Oliver is a three-wheeled autonomous delivery robot.

World’s first 3D-printed stainless steel bridge links Amsterdam’s past and future in its red-light district!

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Amsterdam is known for its calm canals and winding alleyways, its rich cultural history, and its affinity for all kinds of pleasure. Historical landmarks still charm tourists and residents alike between the city’s canals, while contemporary and sustainable architecture put the burgeoning Amsterdam-Noord borough back on the map. Linking Amsterdam’s past with its future, designers and engineers at MX3D and Joris Laarman Lab developed the world’s first 3D printed bridge over one of Amsterdam’s oldest canals in De Wallen, the city’s red-light district.

MX3D and Joris Laarman Lab collaborated with global engineering firm Arup along with a host of designers and 3D-print teams to develop the robot-welded bridge. Welding traditional steelwork with computational design, the stainless steel bridge symbolizes a linking of Amsterdam’s past with its future. Stretching just over twelve meters in length, MX3D equipped simple, technical robots with purpose-built tools that were controlled by integrated software that the team of designers developed over the span of two years.

Arup, the project’s lead structural engineer, practiced ​​advanced parametric design modeling to streamline the bridge’s preliminary design process. Describing the developmental stages and inspiration behind building the bridge, MX3D notes, “The unique approach allows us to 3D print strong, complex and graceful structures out of metal. The goal of the MX3D Bridge project is to showcase the potential applications of our multi-axis 3D printing technology.”

Currently open to the public, the bridge was unveiled by Her Majesty Queen Máxima of the Netherlands. Ushering in a strengthened bond between the possibilities of modern technology and a reverence for the city’s architectural integrity, the new bridge in Amsterdam’s red-light district stands as a link between the past and the future.

Designers: MX3D, Joris Laarman Lab, & Arup

Using advanced parametric design modeling to streamline the bridge’s initial design process, engineers programmed software to control the 3D printer’s construction and direction.

Amsterdam’s 3D printed bridge merges classical architecture with modern technology.

Constructed offsite, the bridge was transported on a boat to its final destination.

Weaving through Amsterdam’s canals, the bridge was ultimately brought to its final destination in the red-light district.

Her Majesty Queen Máxima of the Netherlands unveiled the project’s debut in ode to Amsterdam’s rich cultural history.

These roller skates for knees might be the most pain-free hack to help finish your home DIY projects!

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When working around the house, our knees can really take a beating. Whether we’re uncoiling a plumber’s snake down the shower drain or renovating our kitchen’s tiled floor, we’re usually on our knees to get it done, and by the third or fourth unsuccessful attempt at unclogging the drain, they’re tired. Knees pads help to an extent, but keeping a leveled hand placement above the drain or kitchen floor is key for a precise job. That’s why products like KneeBlades and knee creepers exist – they’re knee pads with wheels to get the job done without sacrificing our knees in the process.

KneeBlades are shaped like kneecap-sized turtle shells with attached wheeled dollies, transforming the knee pads into ones that help move your reach along with each home project. KneeBlades streamline home renovation projects like replacing floor tiles by maintaining your contact with the floor while allowing you to slide along as the project progresses. The dollies on KneeBlades can also be removed to use as regular knee pads. Then, for a more fixed design, knee creepers are shaped more like traditional rectangular dollies with knee-specific dips that are lined with silicone for a soft landing. Knee creepers also come with small sinks where tools and hardware accessories can be stored while getting the job done, setting them apart from KneeBlades.

While KneeBlades offer a more flexible range of motion than fixed-wheeled knee pads, for some they might have too free a range of motion, turning renovation projects into accidental acrobatic routines. The better of the different wheeled knee pads available really boils down to how your body moves. While the free range of motion from KneeBlades allows for a wider reach, your knees could go willy-nilly if you’re not careful enough. Then, the fixed nature of knee creepers allows for more precise work but might hinder the far reach KneeBlades allow.

Designer: Milescraft

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Illegal LEGO designs that will simultaneously annoy and inspire all the master builders!

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LEGO is on a mission. Collaborating with brands across the world, LEGO is rapidly turning into a leader that is making waves – be it celebrating pride month or launching an Adidas special edition brick sneaker, or bringing your favorite FRIENDS moments to life, there is a LEGO set out there for everyone. That is, until we met the Illegal LEGO collection by Matteo Ercole.

This Illegal LEGO collection may be the piece a master builder needs to unleash their creativity. Each piece is a statement in contradictions, with half a raised side and the other a receiver/negative half, making it almost impossible to join your pieces. Or is it? As far as master builders go, they are always looking for complicated pieces that can help them build the next big impossible structure. While the bricks look simple on paper, the trouble comes with mass production is with LEGO’s manufacturing process that uses induction moulding. Usually, the bricks begin with tiny plastic grains called granules which come in a bunch of different colors. The plastic granules are fed down using pipes to the molding machines. Inside the molding machines, the granules are superheated to a temperature of about 450 degrees Fahrenheit (230°C). This melted plastic goo is fed into molds, little metal containers shaped like hollow LEGO bricks, and are cooled and ejected, which only takes about 10 seconds. The process is fast, a need of mass manufacturing. But to create a brick as we described, it would require us to 3D print these bricks individually, which may not suit or give the exact precision injection moulding delivers.

While it may take some time before LEGO actually manufactures such bricks, I know the true enthusiasts will go to every means necessary, including 3D printing the design to bring their next design to life. Do you think LEGO should make these bricks?

Designer: Matteo Ercole





Sony debuts original sustainable packaging as part of its initiative to achieve a zero environmental footprint by 2050!

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Brands across the globe have taken green initiatives to communicate to consumers their commitment to sustainability. While some companies are rolling out products with longer life cycles that reduce waste and overall consumption, other brands are seeking out sustainable building materials for their products and their packaging. Multinational conglomerate Sony has commenced its own sustainability effort by sourcing recycled paper goods and building material from locally grown annuals to replace their previous packaging, which came from mature perennial trees.

Sony’s Original Blended Material, the brand’s new sustainable packaging, consists of 100% paper material derived from bamboo, sugarcane, and post-consumer recycled paper. Whereas most paper packaging comes from mature perennial trees, Sony’s new Original Blended Material is responsibly harvested from annuals like bamboo and sugarcane, generating less CO2 in the process. Annuals, like bamboo, carry CO2 absorption and emission cycles that last only for one year, decreasing the perennials’ emission cycles that can last several decades by more than half. Similarly, the release of CO2 gas emissions given off from sugarcane fiber production for power generation is halted by using the fiber as one of Sony’s Blended Materials. While the bamboo and sugarcane fiber is both sustainably grown and harvested in local farms, Sony also cuts back on shipping and handling by incorporating post-consumer recycled paper goods into the Blended Material, giving packages a crisp, organic look.

Currently, Sony has developed the Blended Material specifically for their new WF-1000XM4 headphones, but future variations of the organic packaging accommodate differently shaped products by adjusting the construction formula. In addition to acquiring sustainably sourced building materials and cutting back on the effects of shipping and handling, Sony’s Original Blended Material ditches ink for embossed signatures and supplemental package coloring for a more organic look.

Designer: Sony

By adjusting the construction formula, Sony’s new Original Blended Material can be made to fit differently shaped and sized products.

Sony ditches ink for embossing their signature.

Without coloring, Sony’s Original Blended Material achieves an organic look.

Constructed for their new WF-1000XM4 headphones, Sony’s Original Blended Material echoes Sony’s initiative to eliminate plastic packaging from newly designed small products, an initiative set for their medium-term environmental target for ‘green management’ by 2025.

This circular lever makes easy-assembly furniture much easier. Watch the video!

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This simple lever mechanism makes assembling furniture a lot easier than the current solutions from brands like IKEA who are known for having a fuss-free assembly.

Nine Stories Furniture takes it to a whole new level with an internal spring plate. This minimal design increases the potential for modularity and expansion in furniture exponentially; with the right parts and this mechanism, you can have a super flexible range that will work exceptionally well for smaller apartments. Modular and flexible furniture is usually multifunctional, and the key is that it has to be quick to assemble/disassemble. This function allows you to invest in a few critical pieces without compromising on functionality and reducing waste. Forget house warming parties; with this system, we encourage furniture assembly parties!

Designer: Nine Stories





Michelin debuts inflatable sail system to decarbonize the global maritime industry, providing freight ships with clean wind energy!

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Michelin Group, the multinational French tire manufacturing company, has its tread pointed towards becoming a leader in sustainable mobility. Veering away from tire manufacturing, Michelin is making strides on the ocean. Revealing a sustainability project aimed at the high seas, the global tire manufacturing group presented WISAMO, a wind-powered Wing Sail Mobility project, during this month’s Movin’ On global sustainability summit.

In a collaboration between Michelin R&D and a couple of Swiss inventors, WISAMO was designed in part as a contribution to their long-term goal of cutting global maritime transport emissions by more than half by 2050, Michelin’s WISAMO project provides inflatable sails to increase efficiency across all kinds of freight and cargo ships. The Wing Sail Mobility project was conceived to decarbonize the maritime industry at large, prompting Michelin to construct a wind sail system that fits most commercial cargo ships by enacting a plug-and-socket installment system.

Designed as a supplementary power source for freight and cargo ships, the inflatable sails would work in addition to the ships’ engines, propelling the ships forward with help from harnessed wind energy. WISAMO is an automated, retractable, and inflatable wind sail system that folds over the ship’s deck when not in use. The sails’ foldable design allows cargo and freight to pass under bridges or sail through storms without the worry of damage to the actual sails. Relying on a telescopic folding system, WISAMO’s sails unfurl via an automated system that uses an air compressor for inflation.

Offering his own technical and experiential knowledge, world-renowned french sailor Michel Desjoyeaux collaborated with the team at Michelin to help develop WISAMO. During its debut at the 2021 ‘Movin’ On’ global sustainability summit, Desjoyeaux cited the project’s environmental charge, “the advantage of wind propulsion is that wind energy is clean, free, universal, and totally non-controversial. It offers a very promising avenue to improving the environmental impact of merchant ships.”

Designer: Michelin Group

Relying on a retractable and inflatable sail system, WISAMO can be installed on most commercial cargo ships.

WISAMO was designed to hybridize freight ships, propelling their engine-driven speed further with wind power.

The inflatable sail systems can fit on most merchant and leisure ships.

With the insight gained from experienced French sailor Michel Desjoyeaux, Michelin built WISAMO to garner optimal wind energy.

WISAMO retracts over the ship’s deck when not in use.

The telescopic folding design allows ships to still sail beneath bridges and through storms.

The automated folding system works with an air compression unit that’s activated with the push of a button.

This CNC machined Mt. Fuji comes to life with an intricate carving process. Watch the video!

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Call us nerds, but there is something so beautiful about watching an intricate machine at work – it’s like a visual trigger of ASMR. Dom Riccobene knows this better than most and he put his creative genius to work and created this detailed CNC machined process – and don’t be fooled by the quick video. It requires a lot of coding to get the machining just right and by using some drill experimentation, we have the result here – a crafted Mt. Fuji made from a dark piece of Richlite.

Meet Richlite – a durable, versatile, antimicrobial, and sustainable material. Dom Riccobene masterfully blends data, art, and design to give us these intricate sculptures crafted by algorithms. This material was first used 75 years ago in the aerospace industry but quickly expanded to commercial, marine, and action sports applications. You’ll find Richlite in residential, commercial, and industrial use, everywhere from exterior cladding to furniture, from musical instruments to skateparks because of its machinable and tactile properties which make it flexible to use in a variety of design situations. For a realistic finishing touch to his sculpture, Riccobene also adds incense, harking back to the days of Mt. Fuhi’s eruption days.

He has been dubbed ‘data sculptor’ by his fans and we couldn’t agree more!

Designer: Dom Riccobene

A single metal sheet and laser cutting helped one designer create a lamp during the pandemic

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The pandemic forced us all to take a deeper look at ourselves and get creative in our creations. While that sounds easier said than done (all the banana bread and Dalgona coffee viral trends speak of our need to create!), designer Manu Bano went through the same creative process as we did and came up with an innovative design – the OBJ-01 lamp! The process of going from paper sketches to production is a daunting one, but what do you do without access to any production workshops? You simplify! The OBJ-01 is a raw sheet of metal – be it steel, stainless steel, or brass that is laser cut, assembled by hand, and needs no welding.

Don’t let OBJ-01’s simplicity fool you, the lamp does not sacrifice functionality. The circular dish adds an interactive element that acts as an adjustable lampshade, taking your light from 0 to 100 at the flick of your wrist. As Manu explains, “On this occasion, there was practically no research, the design process was an exercise of intuition. I decided to reuse the cardboard from online purchases I made during the pandemic and use it as material for mockups. I started working with this cardboard and a knife cutter, making different cuts and folds to the cardboard to transform a 2D sheet into a 3D object with different uses. My intention from the beginning was to achieve a small object that I could send flat packed all over the world, so starting the process from a flat sheet was important.” The lamp comes with an integrated custom touch dimmer, with the conductivity of the metal allowing it to work as a switch. Just tap the metal plate to turn the light on/off, and multiple taps let you adjust the brightness.

Manu’s experimentation showcases the ingenuity we can discover in times of need – reinforcing the fact that you can create with what you have as long as you are determined. The minimal, flatpack approach of the design lets you keep this on your bedside without any extra switches cluttering your tablespace with its touch conductive surface. Simple, smart, efficient, and DIY is one of the most efficient product designs I have ever seen!

Designer: MANU BAÑÓ

Can you 3D print wood? Yves Behar’s line of decor uses 3D printed wood that’s as good as the original

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They look like wood, feel like it too. Hell, they even have those grain patterns that you associate with wood, but don’t let your eyes or fingers be fooled. This line of homeware designed by Yves Behar’s fuseproject isn’t made from actual wood.

The technology you’re looking at lies within the domain of 3D printing, but it’s much more advanced than you’d think. Developed and pioneered by Forust, a subsidiary of Desktop Metal, this 3D printed material is a unique composite of recycled sawdust and bio-epoxy resin… but here’s where it gets interesting. Forust’s printers can actually print annular rings, knots, and grains into the printed wood. These details don’t exist on a surface level either. You can sand them and run a coat of polish over them and they’d look exactly like real wood.

Forust aims at disrupting the furniture industry by creating a more sustainable alternative to cutting down trees for ‘valuable’ hardwood. Instead, their additive manufacturing techniques can replicate any wood using simply wood waste. The result looks and feels like wood, and has strength similar to wood too. It can be readily worked, fastened, and finished with conventional wood finishing methods… and I wouldn’t be surprised if, by some miracle, it smelled like wood too! Take a look at some of Forust’s samples below.

To help create realistic proofs-of-concept of their game-changing technology, Forust partnered with fuseproject. Led by Yves Behar, the design studio debuted Vine, a collection of bowls and vases that helped showcase Forust’s revolutionary printing breakthroughs. “Vine’s simple and pure forms embody the core capabilities of Forust’s printing systems in its ability to create elegant, one-of-a-kind products. The collection adds a naturalistic feel to any home and perfect for storing those easy-to-misplace items. Each can be presented on its own or layered with other pieces on a console, coffee table, or entryway table, with or without botanicals or other items”, mentioned fuseproject’s team. “Vine’s curving, organic form juxtaposes against its dense but lightweight wood and bioresin composition that exhibits the same functionality and structural durability as conventional wood.” The Vine collection is available on Forust’s online store, and you can even upload your own designs and get them fabricated in Forust’s faux wood.

Designer: fuseproject for Forust