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You may have seen the news about Dassault’s poor earnings yesterday. Well, as suspected, PTC (Proe/E, MathCAD) is reporting higher earnings. But, that’s not the interesting part. PTC also announced they are acquiring Germany-based CoCreate, another 3D CAD System, for…get this… 250 million. That’s about $2500 per seat CoCreate reports having. not too shabby.
Why would they buy CoCreate?
CoCreate is a history-free modeler. Pro/E, like SolidWorks, is history-based. History-based modelers makes a list of each feature you create with latter features dependent on previous features. History-free modeling is thought to free up the modeling process by taking away those dependencies that otherwise constrain your design. CoCreate has a fair number of seats. This along with the history-free modeling approach gives Pro/E a wider audience. Mechanical CAD definitely seems to be moving toward this history-free approach and I imagine that is why they are taking that direction. A similar history-free product making some waves is SpaceClaim.
What’s Dassault going to do?
I think this is bit of a bigger threat to Dassault than AutoDesk’s threats of combining Inventor and Alias or bringing better surfacing capabilities into SolidWorks. This changes the way modeling is done and the approach that 3D Mechanical CAD has been thought of. Even though AutoDesk is doing one thing and PTC is doing another doesn’t mean Dassault has to follow suit. Whatever Dassualt does, whether it is buying a company like SpaceClaim or souping up SolidWorks surfacing, it seems to me like it would be a history-free, PLM, 3DVia, Microsoft concoction. If Microsoft wasn’t in the mix it would probably be a SketchUp PLM of sorts.
So, whatcha think? Now that PTC has a history-free modeler, what’s Dassault and AutoDesk going to do?
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If you think your Tuesday was bad, how would like to get 36% of your revenue taken for taxes. That’s exactly what happen to Dassualt Systemes (SolidWorks, Catia) today as they reported their Q3 earnings. Their net income fell 24% over the last 3 months due to the higher tax rates and the weak US dollar on top of that. That means US based companies like AutoDesk (Inventor, AutoCAD) and PTC (Pro/E, MathCAD) will most likely report higher earnings this quarter.
Their sales didn’t see an impact with software revenue still going up 14% in their 3D segment and overall sales going up 8.3% with a forecast of 15% for the year.
Taxes stink and US companies are more attractive right now, but it’s interesting to see how the market reacts even with sales still increasing.
If you haven't already, consider subscribing to SolidSmack so you can easily receive updates when new articles are published or announcements are made.
The title of the post is actually a post I’ve been working on, thinking about and contemplating since the iPhone came out… then, BLAM! all of a sudden SolidWorks Labs goes and announces Drawings Now available on the iPhone.
Thanks guys. you’ve ruined hours of coming up with the future of CAD and thinking of how I’ll use my iPhone in the future. (heavy sigh) Now all I need is a cart to haul around my laser printer that I hook up to the iPhone that sits discreetly in my pocket.
Actually, this is super cool. You may think it’s ridiculous to have your drawings on your phone, but what if that drawing has information that can be used with other apps on your phone. We don’t usually think of phones being peripherals for accessing engineering information, but when your on the shop floor and need design criteria, model data, material specs, resource lists or departmental contacts, something like this can be more than a few views of a design on a drawing.
What other apps would be useful?
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Wouldn’t it be nice to automate all the modeling you do in SolidWorks? There’s ways to do this but when you’re first implementing SolidWorks or need to add some methods to speed up model creation there’s a way to make adding features quicker. It’s through Library Features and this will show you what they do and tricks for the best way to do it.
Continue reading ‘Tips to Tame SolidWorks Library Features’
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When I say we gonna get down, I don’t mean three-quarter time.
3D Abstract Art - a whole mess of interesting and inspiring 3D art at DeviantART.
GigaPan - This site allows you to upload, share, and explore hi def gigapixel+ panoramas from around the globe.
25 Skills Every Man Should Know: Your Ultimate DIY Guide - I have a few things to learn. What about you?
PoliticalBase.com - Huge comprehensive election and candidate information site. make your own comparison chart too.
Plaxo.com - Sync all your Mail and Calendar accounts, including Microsoft, Google, LinkedIn, Yahoo, Thunderbird and more. sah-weet!
Splice.com - Create and Mix your own sound. wiggity-whaack.
If you haven't already, consider subscribing to SolidSmack so you can easily receive updates when new articles are published or announcements are made.
Free 3D modeling software. Yep, that’s right Joe Lichtenberg announced at 10:54 am on the SpaceClaim Blog that you can download the Release Canidate for SpaceClaim 2007+ right here. Just fill out a short form and it’s all yours for the taking… and feedbacking.
The goal of the program is to gain feedback from you, the engineering community, on how SpaceClaim addresses your particular needs. The offer is good through November 27th, at which time the software “times out.”…As some of you know, I’m a big believer in the benefits of Web 2.0, the wiki economy, and things like crowdsourcing. Stay tuned…
You go Joe. That’s meaty. Except the November 27th thing. ya gotta drop that… please.
I suggested that they do this in a earlier post and I’m glad they’ve decided to do it. Its critical for growing business. I’ve actually been using it for the last few weeks and haven’t organized my notes yet. Now you can check it out for yourself and see what you think. Interested?
If you haven't already, consider subscribing to SolidSmack so you can easily receive updates when new articles are published or announcements are made.
A nice bin always comes in handy. In one way or another we are managing or organizing something each day. There’s no limit to the frustration that seems to be associated with that for some reason. But with there’s a lot more and a lot better ways to collaborate and go home early.
This article presents 16 solutions to your project management and organizational woes. With features ranging from team collaboration to project blogging, web applications and open source there’s bound to be something that fits right up your alley.
Continue reading ‘16 Solutions to Manage Projects and Get Organized Online’
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SolidWorks has just linked up a group of tips by some VEX Engineers for the VEXplorer Robot. The videos concentrate on tips you need to build a good foundation for modeling in SolidWorks . They’re short and to the point. I’ve watched them as they came out at CADJunky.com, but I’d recommend downloading them to see them better and share with others.
Download here
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Everybody likes to know what they are getting. When it comes to organizing files on your computer it’s not any different.Using a smart numbering system may seem like a good ideas at first, but it invariably leads an organization down the wrong path. Why? Simply put, things change. This material become that material, that changes location, on and on till the break of dawn.
If I think about this, and try to come up with a clever analogy, smart numbers are like your favorite recliner. It’s comfy, has a leg rest, but it’s so big it only fits through one door and in one room. So it is with a smart part number. It works, right there.
For example, your part number differentiates between a part and an assembly. If you create a part and later it turns into an assembly, your part number is now meaningless and, even more, it’s confusing. To avoid this type of confusion, here’s a few guideline to use.
Continue reading ‘Why Smart Numbers are Dumb: SolidWorks Guidelines for File Names’
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If you’re thinking of switching to SolidWorks, this deal may entice you a little. If you’re buying SolidWorks before November 30th, you’ll get a $500 coupon for one of those fancy Dell Precision Workstations. Not too bad if you’ve been waiting for a good deal to come along.
If you haven't already, consider subscribing to SolidSmack so you can easily receive updates when new articles are published or announcements are made.
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