Joerg puts his equipment through a lot of abuse to film videos for the slingshot channel. And the catchbox he shoots into has borne the brunt of all that mayhem for three years. But it’s probably been so gradual that no one really noticed. And then in a moment of clarity Joerg clearly realized that his catch box had evolved into a piece of useless nothing. Time for the junkyard.
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Kai Parthy is a German engineer who creates odd printing filaments for 3D printers. His previous projects, LayWoo-d3 and Laybrick, are two non-warping plastics that offer wood and brick-like consistencies when extruded. Oddly, LayWoo-d3 actually smells like wood when printed.
Now he’s created a bendable printing filament called BENDLAY that is 91% transparent and remains “bendable” after printing.
One of the problems with ABS plastic is that it can split and warp as it is formed and it isn’t quite food safe. It is also very brittle and will “whiten” when bent, resulting in a messy final object. This filament is made of stretchy Butadiene, a form of synthetic rubber. It is foodsafe and can be used for clear bottles and containers and works well for flexible straps.
While ABS can be used to create flexible items like bracelets, this material will truly bend without breaking, allowing for hinges and other mechanical parts to be built into other, stiffer parts.
It costs $42 a roll, which is about right for a pound or so of 3mm filament, and comes on 750 gram rolls. It should work with almost any extruder-based device but, sadly, doesn’t smell like fresh rubber.
If you’re like me, you’re probably starting to amass a collection of flash drives that’s as big as that stack of AOL CDs you had back in the 1990s. But fans of The Simpsons will have to run out immediately and add to their flash drive collection with these fun new storage devices from USBTribe.
The officially-licensed series of keychain flash drives includes big-headed versions of Marge, Lisa, Bart and Homer, cast out of soft rubber. While they only store 8GB of data each, you’re not buying these for the capacity anyhow. In case you’re wondering where the drive is stored, it’s in the head of each of the characters, though I assume that the Homer one is a bit more forgetful than most memory devices.
Simpsons collectors can grab them now over at USBTribe for €19.90 (~$25 USD) each. Now where’s my Ned Flanders and Krusty the Clown drives?
A Japanese company called Tokai Rubber Industries has created what it’s claiming to be the world’s first all rubber speaker. But it’s not made from the exact same material as the tires on your car. This is a smart rubber that could one day lead to artificial muscle technology. More »
I’ll admit that from time to time, I do want to carry around a pocket watch, but the obsessiveness of always being on time and knowing the exact time, right down to the second takes precedence in my timely, regimented world. However, even if it’s not necessarily the most accurate way of telling time, I do like this modern reinterpretation of the classic pocket watch.
French designer Mathieu Lehanneur created the Take Time pocket watch for Lexon. The watch is a quartz analog timepiece that has a silicone rubber band. The band can be looped around belts, bikes, and other items. However, you can still strap it around your wrist if that’s where you prefer to have your watch.
The Take Time watch retails for about £29.95 (~$49 USD) and is available in a variety of different colors over at Gifts with Style.
[via designboom]
We’ve covered our fair share of product recalls over the years, but this one almost certainly takes the cake when looking at pure zaniness. Canon has recalled its EOS Rebel T4i — some 68,200 units — “due to a risk of allergic reaction.” You read that right. As the story goes, a chemical used in the camera’s rubber grips “can result in a reaction that changes the grips from black to white and poses a risk of skin irritation to the consumer,” and while the company has only received a single report of a consumer developing a “minor rash” after contact, that’s obviously enough to issue to recall. It involves T4i units with a 12-digit serial number that contain a second digit that is a “3” or “4” and a sixth digit that is a “1.” If that’s you, you’re advised to stop using the camera and ping Canon USA to have replacement rubber grips installed free of charge. Specifically, you can ring 855-902-3277 and be prepared to be placed on hold for the better part of your adult life.
Filed under: Digital Cameras
Canon recalls 68,200 EOS Rebel T4i DSLRs, says rubber grips can lead to skin rash originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 14 Aug 2012 13:52:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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