The Best of Kickstarter in 2012 http://t.co/g4SmWeq0 << some amazing stats & projects!

A great way to inspire students about design!

Out-of-the-box 3D Printing - starting at just $499.

"Pretty soon you'll be able to print your 3-D projects at the local Staples."

This page documents how to use Google SketchUp to create 3D models suitable for fabrication. These instructions should work on both the Windows and Mac OS X versions of SketchUp.

Whether you are using 2D across your company or for a specific 2D design process, Solid Edge 2D Drafting will give you an immediate advantage with production-proven capabilities including drawing layout, Goal Seeking, diagramming, and dimensioning.  It is fully compliant with ISO, ANSI, BSI, DIN, JIS and UNI, and it's absolutely FREE to download and use

LibreCAD is a free Open Source CAD application for Windows, Apple and Linux. Support and documentation is free from our large, dedicated community of users, contributors and developers. You, too, can also get involved!!

Design in 3D what you've always dreamed of, but never thought possible. Until now. Join the Tinkercad community and learn how to create your first real things in just a few minutes.

At first glance Sam Cervantes and his latest invention may seem questionable, but after spending some time talking with him I'm sure what he's showing off is legit. Cervantes and his team are working on the first $500 3D printer, a device known as the Solidoodle. At the risk of sounding cliche, what you're witnessing in the video is truly game-changing; the Solidoodle is a significant step towards making 3D printing accessible to the average consumer.

Steve Jobs hired designer Hartmut Esslinger as the modern-day Snow White for his projects code-named after the seven dwarfs. The vision was to infuse Apple products with "born-in-America gene" and DNA inspired by "Hollywood and music, a bit of rebellion and natural sex appeal." Hartmut's mantra was simple, "Form follows emotion," a twist on the maxim that form follows function. Yanko Design respects both these aphorisms but believes that we should not limit creativity within the realms of form, function and emotions; thus we follow Form Beyond Function. 2011 has been a significant year in terms of historical uprisings, financial stability, nature's rebuke and the loss of visionaries. However the silver lining to the gloom is the perseverance of our belief that the best is yet to come. As a tribute to the great visionaries of 2011, who dared to think different and follow their inner guidance, Yanko Design presents the Best of 2011, Top 50 Designs that were most read and appreciated by our readers from the world over.

Styles from SketchUp Artists This project will help you use styles to display a nice model like this

A 1,200-gram weather balloon, the crucial role of gravity, quiver-reducing ropes, Styrofoam's versatility, burst altitude, a University of Wyoming website and a free software program for shutterbugs were part of the formula Mathew Ho and Asad Muhammad, both 17, used to launch, film and land the patriotic, flag-bearing Lego Man.

See our Gallery of SketchUp models created by K-12 students, as well as our new case-study video profiling SketchUp in the classroom below.