Top 10 Gifts For Manufacturers

Draw in the air! From the fun folks at Think Geek, the 3Doodler 3D Printing Pen 2.0 allows you to create, design and build any crazy contraption your mind can imagine. Combines artistry with hands-on production. Hmmm…sound familiar?

Put this gleaming little sculpture on your desk and watch engineers swarm to it. The Elk Puzzle by Japanese company Hanayama looks soooo simple. All you have to do is separate the antlers then put them back together again. Ha! This is a Level 6 puzzle, so it’s best suited for the person you really want to frustrate. For people you actually like, give them a Level 2 like the Claw Puzzle.

BACON. Need we say more? How about the Bacon Wonderland Bundle, a box of hoggy delights including Gourmet Bacon, Maple Bacon Coffee, Bacon Candy Canes and a Chocolate Bacon Bar. Sleigh bells ring, are you listenin'? In the pan, bacon's sizzlin'!

Give your whole family a gift by watching the movie Spare Parts, which tells the story of an “underdog” robotics club preparing to go up against the country's reigning champion, MIT. Based on a true story, it’s an inspiration for all.

You don’t have to be a hip hop fan (or a trucker) to appreciate the Run CNC black Trucker Hat. For full effect, put this on, grab your Adidas sneaks and Walk This Way.

In this year’s summer reading list we recommended The Goal, by Eliyahu M. Goldratt, as a must-read book for anyone in manufacturing, and it makes our list again. Written like a fast-paced thriller, the story’s main character is struggling to save his plant from impending disaster. Can applying the Theory of Constraints save him?

Nothing says “I’m a toolmaker” better than the toolbox-inspired design of the Diamond Plate Hot Beverage Tumbler from Okuma’s eStore. Cool as a Gerstner tool chest, but on a budget.

Kids can have an exciting engineering experience and get their brain gears turning with the VEX Robotics Forklift. Over 270 snap-together parts are pieced together into an amazing, crank-powered fork-lift ball run. Loads of gears and levers connect to create a mesmerizing display of mechanical movement.

For the girls on your list, GoldieBlox and the Zip Line is so much better than Barbie! Designed for the “girl inventor,” Goldie comes to life as an action figure who flies across the room on a 13-foot zipline with flowing, combable golden hair and a can-do look of determination! Also check out GoldiBlox’s cool video designed to inspire girls that “anything is possible.”

We all know we must Respect the Metal. The Forge Solid Mini Cube is a miraculous demonstration of the world of metal density. This 1/2" cube of 95% pure tungsten is 70% denser than lead, 4 times harder than titanium and 19 times heavier than water. Its heft will shock you. And no, you probably don’t want to cut chips with this one.

Santa might have trouble squeezing a GENOS M560-V down the chimney, so just ask him to drop one off at your shop! This machine tool is surprisingly versatile – affordable excellence at its best.