D T Nuggets

A blog for Teacher of Design and Technology

Slowly does it

You may have come across a book called "In Praise of Slow" by Carl Honore

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The principles can be summarised as:

1.To strive for appropriate excellence in the making process
2. To make objects that enhance the life of the user
3. To know the origins of our materials, ensuring that they respect country; the communities who produced or harvested them and are from sustainable sources
4. To make objects that will last, can be easily repaired when necessary and are made using materials and processes that do not harm the makers, the community or the environment
5. To deal with our co-workers, clients, suppliers and sellers in an ethical and fair manner
6. To foster, utilise and pass on skills that enhance the making process
7. To enjoy and relish the way of slow making

Sounds good to me.

"What is this life if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare"

November 28, 2007 Posted by bobharding | Tools and processes | | No Comments Yet

Brother Sewing Machine

This little machine is getting good reviews but I can’t find it in the UK. I guess that even with shipping it’s unlikely to cost over £50 per unit although you may have to pay import tax. Perhaps Amazon can arrange a delivery?

Has anyone tried it in a school environment?

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Online Review

November 6, 2007 Posted by bobharding | Tools and processes | | No Comments Yet

Doodle creativity

It works this way:

You draw with your finger in the air, the computer traces this and produces a 3D model. This is then output to a 3D printer and created … All quite easy and do-able but it’s still impressive when you see it happen.

Watch the video and wonder where this is leading ..

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Article

October 6, 2007 Posted by bobharding | Blogroll, Tools and processes | | No Comments Yet

Ergonomic idea

This idea just started to make me think of the range of things in life that could be improved by a little ’ergonomic’ consideration. I wonder if pupils can think of others?

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Article

September 20, 2007 Posted by bobharding | Tools and processes | | No Comments Yet

Painting Idea

This is a real "now why didn’t I think of that" idea ..

Painters Pyramids – allows you to paint 2 sides in one go.

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Article

September 20, 2007 Posted by bobharding | Tools and processes | | No Comments Yet

Ultra fine abrasives

An interesting article about the way abrasives work as well as highlighting the problems in taking scratches out of materials like acrylic.

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Article

September 20, 2007 Posted by bobharding | Tools and processes | | No Comments Yet

Interesting sanding machine

This machine oscilates so will probably be safer than traditional sanders.

 The old problem of dust extraction doesn’t seem to have been addressed but perhaps we’d need to see more details.

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ARTICLE

September 10, 2007 Posted by bobharding | Tools and processes | | No Comments Yet