Honda and Komatsu Collaborating on Electric Mini-Excavators

Remember that Komatsu Mini Excavator we looked at last month? That machine, the PC01, is about to get a lot quieter. Honda and Komatsu have announced that they're jointly developing an electric version, to be powered by Honda's swappable Mobile Power Pack batteries. "In addition … | Continue reading


@core77.com | 3 years ago

How Nebia is Making Water-Saving Shower Tech Mainstream

The newest shower head from the eco innovators fuses green tech with thoughtful design, saving up to 50% of water waste at an accessible price. | Continue reading


@core77.com | 3 years ago

Mini's Vision Urbanaut Concept Seems Designed to Make You Forget It's a Car

They're also taking a new approach by utilizing a Fragrance Designer | Continue reading


@core77.com | 3 years ago

One Good, and One Bad, Hack to Get Drivers to Stop Tailgating You

The driver of the work truck in this photo (original source unknown) became annoyed by reckless drivers following him too closely. He came up with this hack to get them to back off: It's clever, appealing to the tailgaters' selfishness to get them to behave appropriately, assumin … | Continue reading


@core77.com | 3 years ago

Industrial Design Duo Creates a Fast-Access Camera Strap for Cyclists

The Makers in Motion Camera Strap was crowdfunded in less than a day | Continue reading


@core77.com | 3 years ago

Tool Design Quiz: Why Do These Locking Pliers Look Like This?

My scout sent an image of this unusual pair of vise-grips/locking pliers. She quizzed me on why they look so different from other locking pliers on the market: It looks expensive and very purposefully designed, and the jaws are obviously meant to hold a specific object, as oppose … | Continue reading


@core77.com | 3 years ago

Pens and Pencils with Patina? Kaweco's Tough Offerings

Beefy pens and pencils. The Sketch Up's got a 5.6mm lead | Continue reading


@core77.com | 3 years ago

A Tour of the Unfolding, Flatpack 400-Square-Foot House Elon Musk Now Lives In

Last year, Elon Musk famously Tweeted: This year Musk made good on his promise, selling all of his homes. And after Mashable reported that he's now living in "a prefabricated house near a SpaceX launch site in Texas," made by a company called Boxabl, I checked out their site—and | Continue reading


@core77.com | 3 years ago

A Tour of the Unfolding, Flatpack 400-Square-Foot House Elon Musk Now Lives In

Last year, Elon Musk famously Tweeted: This year Musk made good on his promise, selling all of his homes. And after Mashable reported that he's now living in "a prefabricated house near a SpaceX launch site in Texas," made by a company called Boxabl, I checked out their site—and | Continue reading


@core77.com | 3 years ago

Wasara: Designey, Compostable Disposable Plates from Japan

These are so pretty, it's a shame they're meant to be thrown away. Japanese manufacturer Wasara produces an eponymous line of disposable tableware with a designey flair: Like uncoated paper plates, they're compostable. The company says that they'll | Continue reading


@core77.com | 3 years ago

You Can Buy Replicas of the Neon Signs from "Blade Runner"

Yesteryear Prop Store is an Etsy shop whose founder, Michael, has carefully studied the neon signs that populate the cityscape in Blade Runner. He knows precisely which scenes they appear in, like that encircled kanji character that shows up multiple times: "The Kanji is a Japane … | Continue reading


@core77.com | 3 years ago

Shatterproof, Silicone LED Light Bulbs

The Incredibulb is an A19 LED light with a bulb made of silicone. It's flexible and can't shatter, making it ideal for workshops, garages, basements or anyplace where you might accidentally slam into the fixture with a ladder or long part. I could've used these in the photo studi … | Continue reading


@core77.com | 3 years ago

This Card Game Helps Designers Create More Inclusive Products

A by-product of a collaborative workshop, Idean's design studio decided to share this helpful tool with the world | Continue reading


@core77.com | 3 years ago

John Economaki Is Living Every Product Designer's Dream

At one point in his life, John Economaki was living a nightmare. In the 1970s Economaki was designing and building custom furniture out of wood—until he developed a severe wood dust allergy, which led to pneumonia. No longer able to work with the material that earned him a living … | Continue reading


@core77.com | 3 years ago

John Economaki is Living Every Product Designer's Dream

At one point in his life, John Economaki was living a nightmare. In the 1970s Economaki was designing and building custom furniture out of wood—until he developed a severe wood dust allergy, which led to pneumonia. No longer able to work with the material that earned him a living … | Continue reading


@core77.com | 3 years ago

Turns Out the CopterPack Video was Faked

This jetpack alternative was actually just a guy hanging from a wire | Continue reading


@core77.com | 3 years ago

Rapid Prototyping Services - The Fastest Way to Bring Your Design to Life

Product development technologies are continuously evolving. Manufacturers, engineers, and designers are relying on these technologies to make custom parts and prototypes. To keep up with the demand for quality parts, companies have developed cutting-edge rapid prototyping service … | Continue reading


@core77.com | 3 years ago

BMW's Cyberpunky CE 04 is Going Into Production

As much as I disdain their auto designs, I'm digging BMW Motorrad's two-wheeled, electric CE 04. When they unveiled it as a concept, the comments here were mixed. That's bound to continue, because BMW has just announced the production version is ready. The deconstructed aesthetic … | Continue reading


@core77.com | 3 years ago

Another Plastic Reduction Technique: 3D Printing Using Orange Peels

A plastics-free future doesn't seem possible, but we are seeing manufacturers cutting their percentage of plastic use by combining it with more natural, non-petroleum-based materials. As one example, Japanese toymaker Bandai is using Limex, an injection-moldable mixture of polyst … | Continue reading


@core77.com | 3 years ago

"Shrinkflation:" When Companies Sneakily Shrink Products, But Keep the Price the Same

Edgar Dworsky's Mouseprint.org is dedicated to catching them in the act | Continue reading


@core77.com | 3 years ago

Product Design Student's Stab Wound Emergency Remediation Device

Joseph Bentley, a product design student at the UK's Loughborough University, knows "several friends who have been the unfortunate victims of knife crime," he says. "Thankfully none of the incidents were fatal." They were the lucky ones; reviewing statistics, Bentley learned that … | Continue reading


@core77.com | 3 years ago

Furniture Design Experiment: A Styrofoam Chair That Takes Your Shape (Eventually)

Here's an unusual furniture piece from South-Korea-based industrial designer Donghwan Song: The Tamable Chair, which is made from the unlikely material of Styrofoam. In the spirit of experimentation, Song played around with the material in a variety of profiles. Styrofoam of cour … | Continue reading


@core77.com | 3 years ago

Pot Packaging: Pocket-Friendly, Child-Resistant Sliding-Lid Tins

Got some joints, edibles or a weed pen that you don't want the tykes getting their mitts on? Check out this sliding-lid tin, which fits in your pocket and is like an Altoids can but with a child-resistant closure: To open it, you simultaneously squeeze | Continue reading


@core77.com | 3 years ago

REFRAMD Is On A Mission Make Glasses More Inclusive  

With their custom, 3D printed frames, the brand is breaking the one-size-fits-all model and providing a revolutionary fit for Black faces. | Continue reading


@core77.com | 3 years ago

Product Designer Chris Borge 3D Printed That Fractal Vise That Can Hold Any Shape

Last week we showed you Steve J. Lindsay's incredible fractal vise, which can hold any shape: In his documentation, Lindsay referenced an antique design for a fractal vise, which is probably the one restored by Hand Tool Rescue in a recent video: Now Christopher Borge, a product … | Continue reading


@core77.com | 3 years ago

Three Great Ideas on What to Do With Old Bowling Balls

We asked you for ideas on what to do with old bowling balls, which are unrecyclable. Comments piled in, and at press time at least three stood out. Photo by Persnickety Prints on Unsplash 1. I'd mentioned wanting to use bowling balls to hold in mulch beds, but worried | Continue reading


@core77.com | 3 years ago

Miniature Exhibition Design: Dismantled Cell Phones as Artwork

Kevin is an obsessed computer engineer with an artistic flair | Continue reading


@core77.com | 3 years ago

Inside a Robot Swarm Grocery Packing Facility

Ocado Group's massive supermarket has no customers inside, but 2,300 robots | Continue reading


@core77.com | 3 years ago

DeWalt's TStak Storage Clipboard Attaches to Their Tool Totes

Designers for companies like Apple and Festool like to keep you attached to their sprawling product systems. For power tool manufacturers, it's pretty easy; get the customer invested in your cordless batteries, and you've got 'em. Designing tool-hauling systems that latch togethe … | Continue reading


@core77.com | 3 years ago

Who Knew? They Make Silent Tape Guns

I don't know how to transcribe the noise a tape gun makes: Maybe "CCCCCCCCK"? The sound is distinctive, unmistakable, and probably maddening in an office environment. For that reason 3M makes the H150 Low Noise Tape Dispenser, which "incorporates a unique pressure bar that reduce … | Continue reading


@core77.com | 3 years ago

Industrial Designer Kerstin Pfleger's Kit Kitchen Concept for Affordable Custom Kitchens

Custom kitchens are big business, and likely a point of pride for homeowners who can afford them. For those who can't, Vienna-based industrial designer Kerstin Pfleger has designed the Kit Kitchen system. Pfleger's concept is that complete kitchens can be sourced for much cheaper … | Continue reading


@core77.com | 3 years ago

Grypmat Flexible Tool Mats Expand Offerings, and are 15% Off Today

It's been more than four years since former Air Force mechanic Tom Burden invented the Grypmat, a flexible, chemical-resistant go-anywhere tool tray. We just checked in and are happy to see Burden's company is still going strong. In addition to the small, medium and large sizes G … | Continue reading


@core77.com | 3 years ago

Lucas Lappe on Product Development Through a Pandemic

Head of Product at DorisDev discusses remote work and their first in-house project | Continue reading


@core77.com | 3 years ago

Brickit App Counts Your LEGOs, Then Shows You What You Can Build With Them

Part of the fun of LEGOs is improvising with them. But for those who prefer more structured play, a new, free app called Brickit may be the ticket. You use your phone to snap a photo of whatever LEGOs you have on hand, and the app tallies up their | Continue reading


@core77.com | 3 years ago

A Clever Magnifying Orb for the Apple Watch in Nightstand Mode

NightWatch is closer in size to an actual alarm clock | Continue reading


@core77.com | 3 years ago

Ideas Needed: What to Do With Old Bowling Balls (They're Unrecyclable)

Curbed has a fantastic feature on the problem of old bowling balls. They're discarded on a daily basis—one NYC recycler receives 3-4 each day—and being made of thermoset plastic, they can't easily be melted and are thus considered unrecyclable. Breaking them up for use in asphalt … | Continue reading


@core77.com | 3 years ago

DIY Plastic Recycling: Brothers Turn Plastic Bottle Caps Into Cutting Boards

An easy way to upcycle wood cut-offs is to laminate them into cutting boards, which is why they're common at your local crafts fair. But UK-based siblings and content creators Matt and Jonny, a/k/a Brothers Make, decided to make an upcycled cutting board out of a more pernicious … | Continue reading


@core77.com | 3 years ago

Aircar Successfully Flies Intercity, Then Transforms Into Car and Drives Off

Klein Vision's flying car "has turned science fiction into reality" | Continue reading


@core77.com | 3 years ago

In the Midst of Radical Workplace Change, This Project Offers Innovative Collaboration Tools for Remote Teams

A collection of four products made in collaboration with Western Washington University and Anvil Studios elevate work tools into the ever-evolving post-pandemic | Continue reading


@core77.com | 3 years ago

VW's Remote Control ID.4 Scale Model Serving as Ball Carrier for Euro 2020

Those of you watching the Euro 2020 matches may have caught this bizarre sight: As for what's going on here, Volkswagen is the Official Mobility Partner for the competition—and also the sponsor of the Official Match Ball Carriers. They've used their leverage to bump at least one … | Continue reading


@core77.com | 3 years ago

The Honda That Gets 188 MPG: The Handsome New Super Cub

What the Beetle was to Volkswagen, the Super Cub is to Honda. Since its launch in 1958, the Super Cub nameplate has sold over 100 million units; UK motorcycle website Bennetts calls it "the most successful and influential motorcycle ever designed." While Super Cubs are common sig … | Continue reading


@core77.com | 3 years ago

TCL's Wearable Display, Supposedly Like Sitting 12 Feet Away From a 140" Screen

They look like chunky, dorky sunglasses. But users won't care | Continue reading


@core77.com | 3 years ago

DIY Plastic Recycling: Brothers Make turn Plastic Bottle Caps Into Cutting Boards

An easy way to upcycle wood cut-offs is to laminate them into cutting boards, which is why they're common at your local crafts fair. But UK-based siblings and content creators Matt and Jonny, a/k/a Brothers Make, decided to make an upcycled cutting board out of a more pernicious … | Continue reading


@core77.com | 3 years ago

Kneepads with Wheels, for Tradespeople Who Work on Floors

I was watching this clip of workers laying tile using a jig… (via u/BigGreenHeads) …but became more interested in the wheeled green thingie than the jig. I looked them up, and found these knee creepers go for about $40 on Amazon or from suppliers like Global Industrial. | Continue reading


@core77.com | 3 years ago

A Sweat-Proof Gaming Mouse

"The right mouse is the most critical weapon in your PC-gaming arsenal," says product designer Gary Lin, who admits he has "glands that produce excessive sweat while gaming." Lin, a designer for PC hardware manufacturer Marsback, was in a position to do something about it. Lin de … | Continue reading


@core77.com | 3 years ago

Couple Builds $30K Garage for $6K, Using Prefab Quonset Hut Manufacturer

After years of living in NYC, Jean and Joe moved to Minneapolis, where they could afford to build a house. But one thing that wasn't in their budget was the freestanding garage required by local housing ordinances. They took bids from contractors, and the price for building a gar … | Continue reading


@core77.com | 3 years ago

Helinox's Ultra-Lightweight Folding Outdoor Chairs

This Incline Festival Chair by outdoor gear manufacturer Helinox caught my eye. It's minimalist and lightweight, and I think this category would be a good assignment for an ID school class. I guess "lightweight" is relative; the Incline weighs 2 lbs. 9 oz., which | Continue reading


@core77.com | 3 years ago

German Overdesign: Wera Tools' Color-Coded, Round-Handled Hex Keys

What's the Porsche of hex keys, a set where some designer or engineer has really sweat the details? Well, check out this 9-piece set from Wera Tools, which are color-coded by size, have abrasion-resistant etchings of the size in the handles, and also feature debossed size numbers … | Continue reading


@core77.com | 3 years ago