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There are a ton of different tools available for prototyping hardware. But how do you know which tool is the right one at any given time? One of the main properties we look at to determine whether or not a tool is appropriate for a given design phase is repeatability. Repeatability refers to the ability […]
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3D printing is a fantastic solution for building fast, cheap prototypes. Small enclosures? Piece of cake. 5 variations of a door handle? No problem. But what happens when your dimensions surpass that of a 3D printer build bed? Here are a few alternative methods for building prototypes larger than 1-2 ft. 1. 2-Dimensional Cutters CNC […]
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The week’s top hardware news. February 19th, 2016 Products Music You Can Swallow Audiopill is an experimental device for enjoying music, one that you need to, well, swallow. “It will make you feel like you are standing in the middle of a concert hall with a powerful audio system inside your body,” so says conceptual artist […]
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When you set out to prototype a new hardware product design, it might seem like there are an overwhelming number of features to test and develop. You want your product to be the best it can be, but the path to get there from a great idea isn’t always clear. While prototyping hardware is a difficult and […]
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In the summer of 2010, I traveled to Huntsville, Alabama, to attend a festival at a community workshop called Makers Local 256. A rag-tag group of engineers, artists, hackers, and community leaders from across the country—we all came as representatives from some of the earliest hackerspaces and makerspaces in the U.S., excited to talk about […]
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The week’s top hardware news. February 12th, 2016 Products The Vibrator That Knows You A team of techies from companies like Google X and Amazon Lab126 are pushing the boundaries of sex research to create Lionness, a smart vibrator that uses sensors to learn your pleasure triggers. The more you use it, the more personal […]
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The Mars Climate Orbiter infamously disintegrated after its trajectory sent it too close to the planet’s atmosphere, due to a calculation error—an error that could have been avoided if everyone used the metric system. You might ask, “Well, why not have everyone use imperial units?”, to which I would respond: You might wonder why the […]
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This past Saturday afternoon, the Fictiv team hosted a group of 20 high school girls to teach them about prototyping and manufacturing. The girls were part of ChickTech, a nonprofit program for high school girls that creates engaging hands-on engineering workshops, in partnership with startups and big technology companies. Groups like ChickTech are doing incredible […]
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Ineffective meetings are a major time-suck. People straggle in late, not exactly knowing what the purpose of the meeting is. A quick review turns into a length discussion.. which turns into a debate, which ends in no-one-really-knowing-what-the-point-of-the-meeting-was-or-what-to-do-next. Sound familiar? When run properly, meetings can provide clarity, alignment, and keep projects on schedule. Thankfully, we had […]
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After ten years of working with hardware startups, the most common question we get is, “What do I need to provide in order to get a quote from a manufacturer?” Here’s a checklist of things we recommend you complete before speaking to a manufacturer. Completing everything on this list will help you paint a very […]
