There is a whole lotta buzz out there about 3D printers right now. Folks are saying that 3D printing could be heralding in an era of “desktop manufacturing” echoing the major successes of desktop publishing in the 80’s, and desktop video in the 90’s. But is this fuhreals? Can the 3D printer unleash a new era of good ol’ American ingenuity? I’ve had the opportunity to get up-close and personal with a couple of 3D printers lately at the Iowa Innovation Learning Center in Hiawatha, Iowa. I got the chance to develop and print my own original designs, as well as open source designs from sites like Thingiverse.com. I gotta say, this technology is serious FUN. Is it ready to save America’s manufacturing economy from the onslaught of CCC (Cheap Chinese Crap)? Honestly, probably not, but I do think that this scrappy upstart tech has some serious potential. Read More
appliance repair
eReplacementParts.com, Fix It Don’t Trash It
We’re HomeFixated, so it’s fitting one of our newest advertisers is eReplacementParts.com, a real instigator of fixing things. We’re excited! No, not just because they are paying us to be excited (although that doesn’t dampen our enthusiasm). We’re excited because eReplacementParts.com represents a trend we’ve been noticing in recent years. That trend is in fixing stuff, rather than throwing it away. And many people are doing these fixes themselves. DIY, fixing, power tools. It just doesn’t get much more Home Fixated! Read More