Brompton redesigns iconic folding bike for lightweight city riding

Brompton has reworked its iconic folding bike design for what the company says is its lightest model ever. Thanks to the T Line’s titanium frame, a new drivetrain and carbon fiber components, the finished bike comes in some 37 percent lighter than an o… Continue reading Brompton redesigns iconic folding bike for lightweight city riding

Wild twin-Wankel 690cc motorcycle makes 220 hp at 129.5 kg

The extraordinary Crighton CR700W extracts an incredible 220 horsepower from a 690cc twin-rotor Wankel engine, and weighs just 129.5 kg (285.5 lb) dry for a MotoGP-level power-to-weight ratio. Its maker believes it could be the final word in combustion… Continue reading Wild twin-Wankel 690cc motorcycle makes 220 hp at 129.5 kg

World’s lightest sound insulator could radically reduce jet engine noise

This graphene-based aerogel is the lightest sound insulation material ever manufactured, say researchers at the University of Bath, who have demonstrated its ability to damp down noise by up to 16 decibels despite weighing just 2.1 kg per cubic meter (… Continue reading World’s lightest sound insulator could radically reduce jet engine noise

HPS launches the lightest, sleekest ebike this side of the future

Usually an ebike lets you know it’s an ebike the instant you see it from afar – components like a large hub motor or swollen bottom bracket give it away immediately. But try identifying the new Domestique from Monaco-based company HPS as an ebike, and … Continue reading HPS launches the lightest, sleekest ebike this side of the future

Carbon fiber folding ebike designed to be an easy between-ride carry

Morfuns Bicycle started work on a lightweight folding ebike called the Éole back in December last year, which boasts a carbon fiber frame, a one-size-fits-all design, and a battery in the seatpost, a design that the company claims it was one of the fir… Continue reading Carbon fiber folding ebike designed to be an easy between-ride carry

Williams Advanced Engineering teases low-cost lightweight composites

What was once the offshoot of a Formula One team is now forging quite a separate path for itself. Williams Advanced Engineering is channeling its Formula E experience to focus quite heavily on two pillars: lightweighting and electrification, in the aut… Continue reading Williams Advanced Engineering teases low-cost lightweight composites

The V Programming Language: Vain Or Virtuous?

If you stay up to date with niche software news, your ears may recently have twitched at the release of a new programming language: V. New hobby-project programming languages are released all the time, you would correctly argue; what makes this one special? The answer is a number of design …read more

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Portable Lightweight Foundry

[Makercise] is getting ready for Maker Faire. One of the things he’d really like to do is some casting demonstrations. However, he has no desire to take his expensive and heavy electric kiln based foundry to Maker Faire. So, he made his own.

He got into metal casting during his excellent work on his Gingery lathe series. He started off by modeling his plan in Fusion 360. He’d use a 16qt cook pot turned upside down as the body for his foundry. The top would be lined with ceramic fiber insulation and the lid made out of foundry cement. He …read more

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