Jed Crystal

Make Your Own Bent Wire Products With the Pensa CNC Bender

November 30, 2016 by Jed Crystal Leave a Comment

Bent wire products are everywhere, from the shower caddy in your bathroom, to mid century modern furniture. Wire is inexpensive and easy to manipulate, and can create 3D forms quickly. And for anyone that has taken a basic 3D class in school, line and plane should be very familiar. Wire can be the line, and the negative space can become the plane – a method of working that I greatly enjoy.

Bending wire by hand or with jigs isn’t hard, but also isn’t all that accurate. Enter CNC benders – the awesome machines that larger shops use to automatically bend with use of a computer file.

And now, ever better, is a home CNC wire bender available from Pensa Labs. Whether for protoyping or production, or even just fun, this bender looks like the tool/toy to have!

The D.I.Wire PRO offers the kind of power, speed, and precision that professionals never thought possible from a desktop machine. Originally built as a design solution for the invention firm’s prototyping needs, this next generation D.I.Wire has a patented bend mechanism that delivers smooth, tight radius curves — from fine orthodontic retainer wire to 3/16” stainless steel parts applicable to jets, cars, home appliances, furniture, robotics and more.

This machine is a drool-worthy addition to your shop – for prototyping, or even light production. How about making your own line of products at home to start your new business?

Prices start at $3375 in their online store. That may seem like a lot for a tool, but if you were to make your own products at home with it VS. importing from China, it would pay for itself in one 20′ containers worth. (Ocean freight is about $3900+ at the time of writing)

And when it’s not spitting out your new concepts, it’s still just a beautiful tool to look at!

Check out all the details over at Pensa Labs.

How to Hire a Product Designer

November 30, 2016 by Jed Crystal Leave a Comment

Finding a the right product designer to help you with your concepts will accelerate your company’s growth, but could make or break your brand. A product is not always only about the looks. The materials, manufacturing, human factors, and more go into a successful product.

So, when reviewing prospective product designers, you should not judge the book only by the cover, or as Chad Thornton says over at Medium , don’t judge the designer only by their portfolio. Thornton’s article is about graphic designers, but the overall message is true for physical product designers.

If you don’t have the design experience to do the work yourself, it may be difficult to evaluate the work of someone else. Designers are trained to make great products, and often to make those products look amazing, especially in their portfolios. Your efforts should be on seeing beyond the visual quality of their work and to understand the other, important elements of the products.

Thornton recommends (as do I) that you start by looking at the designers resume to gain a greater understanding of their experience.

Pay attention to:

years of experience
work with any companies that you recognize
any design education (is the school well known?)
titles and actual responsibilities

Many designers work in teams, but show a finished product in their portfolio. Try to determine what part of the design process they were actually responsible for. If you get to the interview stage, this may be a good conversation point.

To start your search for an industrial designer, head over to www.coroflot.com. This sister site of www.Core77.com is a great resource.

Be sure to read Thornton’s whole article for more details from his perspective.

Do you have any specific questions? Leave them in the comments!

[Hiring a product designer: how to review portfolios by Chad Thornton]

No Duck Down

November 17, 2016 by Jed Crystal Leave a Comment

How are Buttons Made?

November 17, 2016 by Jed Crystal Leave a Comment

Making a Prototype out of Cardboard – The Cheapest, Easiest Material

November 17, 2016 by Jed Crystal Leave a Comment

Making a prototype out of cardboard is quick, easy and cheap (or free!)

Figuring out how to make a prototype is sometimes a roadblock in the path to getting your product idea figured out. Getting that idea out of your head and into the real world as fast and easy as possible is important because having a physical, 3D object in your hands will speed up the development process.

Cardboard is easy to cut, form and assemble and because it’s an imperfect material, you won’t get caught up in making a perfect prototype.

The Queen of Craft over at www.ikatbag.com has a comprehensive guide to cardboard that will get you going.

She has great tips on how to find free cardboard, what types there are, how to cut it and how to assemble it.

Understanding the structure of cardboard is important, so that you can manipulate it as needed to get the form you’re working towards.

What Makes Corrugated Cardboard So Strong?

Corrugated cardboard gets its strength from the flutes between its liners. They dictate how you can manipulate the cardboard itself, but when used correctly, can add a lot of strength to a structure.

Head over for a full read and then come back here and let us know what you’re working on!