If you mix an interest in web design with an interest in SolidWorks you get a hideous amalgamation of 3D graphics, silly phrases and coffee stains. Couple that with a frustrating inadequacy of font types and its basically pure madness. The Problem Adobe Flash, formerly Macromedia Flash, opened up a lot of possibilities for web…
When you look out over the wall surrounding the meat and cheese paradise that is sketch-driven, history-based solid modeling, you’ll notice the rolling hills of free-form 3D modeling. It’s a wonderfully surreal place to escape to every once in a while, especially if you need to work in some unusual 3d formats or create something…
January 31st is the last day to enter the Acrobat 3D contest and if you’re a SOlidWorks users there’s really no reason why you shouldn’t enter because it’s super dang easy to create a 3D PDF. Hey, you don’t even need Adobe Acrobat installed. 2 step process for SolidWorks Users Open your favorite model and…
I know all you engineers out there are hardcore graffiti artist, but feel conflicted over vandalizing your place of employment. That’s why you need to see this. Graffiti artist DAIM is part of the “Tagged in Motion” project to create virtual free-floating 3D graffiti. That’s right kiddo’s, railroad cars and abandoned buildings are no longer…
If you remember the problem I had with SP2.0 that caused (from all indications on my side) me to have my computer wiped and rebuilt, you’ll know I’m glad to see this Service Pack come out so soon. I’m preparing to load it, this time with WindowsXP System Restore activated. I was stupid and had…
Each year SolidWorks host a modeling contest and announces the winners on the last day of SolidWorks World. Some people have asked me who won the contest but, in the sheer excitement, I failed to write them down. Fortunately Nancy Buchino from SolidWorks, who ran the Chase Corporate Challenge in 29 minutes 48 seconds, was…
It’s hard to put truly inspirational art into words. At best you’ll end with someone wondering what in blazes you’re talking about, and if you’ve ever created a piece of art in your own mind… you’ll still end up with someone wondering what the blazes you’re talking about. It’s best to experience the creation and…
The most amazing thing happened right this second. (Jan 28th 1:58 PM) The Lego brick turned 50 years old. Can you imagine just trying to build things with sticks a rocks. That is just inhumane. Kids need multi-colored easily connected blocks of joy to grab their imagination and turn them into creative adults with something…
If you’re really peeved that 4700 SolidWorks users have an iPod Nano and you don’t, take it out on your nearest cubicle mate and prepare for next year. SolidWorks World is heading for Orlando. The one in Florida. Where that scary mouse and his minions live. SolidWorks World 2009 February 8-11th, 2009 The Walt Disney…
I dunno? A bit too strong, ya think? At SolidWorks World the most anticipated moments are sleeping and the presentation of features on the next release. SolidWorks 2009 is set to launch the third quarter of 2008 and the development crew has some very pretty functionality they’re cooking up. Do you want SolidWorks to perform…
Geez man! how many papercuts do you have!? That’s disgustingly retched! I mean, you may need some ointment or a skin transplant!… or these useful links. Freitag.ch – A bag shop. Buy or design your own online. These will make you look incredible. StickerGiant.com – The best place, at least my favorite place, for stickers.…
Perhaps the coolest thing about SolidWorks World is all the people you can meet. People that change things and know what the heck they’re doing. I had to privilege of speaking to a SolidWorks user and entrepreneur. The John Ferguson, aka Muggs, of John Ferguson Design.I didn’t get a photo of him, so I stole…
The headline was suppose to read Top Rockin’ Enhancement Request, but some weird lights flashed and suddenly I was cookin’ ramen noodles with Theo Jansen and Richard Doyle. So, the attendees of SolidWorks World submit enhancements, SolidWorks compiles them, they announce them at the final session, I took a really blurry photo of them and…
I’m Irish pubbin’ it out at the DFW terminal trying to recuperate from the last three days. Tired, exhausted, can’t wait to get home but what a blast. I have 78 different things across 7 categories I’ve started compiling. That’s way to many. If there’s something about world you’re particularly interested in, hit the comments,…
Bellissimo! You lika the ipod nano, yes? It is like cute puppy, yes? Today, all the attendees at SolidWorks World got an ipod nano. 4,699 ipod nanos prepackaged with the goodness of SolidWorks marketing material to show your mama and your papa. This is all part of the new Real Solutions campaign to generate some…
Ok, since this new social web thingy is all about putting up really low quality video that is almost annoying to watch, I’ve done my part by getting some video of the SolidWorks World General Session Intro Animation with a 2.0 Megapixel camera. Use your imagination to scale this 100,000 times, remove the graininess and…
I know, my hand is beautiful in a pasty sort of way, but that isn’t important. That orangish thumb drive between my digits has SolidWorks 2008 running off it. It uses Thinstall application visualization to lock and load the software. By packaging with Thinstall, the application has all files, libraries, components, and data that it…
Right now I’m wishing I could start this blog post out the way SolidWorks started out their first General Session of the Conference. It, as well as the entire session, was nothing short of incredible. I’ve been to MLM (multi-level marketing) conferences where no expense is spared for those deals, and they didn’t compare. First,…
A question… How Many SolidWorks Users Does It Take to Change A Dangling Relation I’m gonna venture out and say, oh… 699,999. That’s (apparently) how many other people like you… use SolidWorks… and are driving decisions at SolidWorks HQ. Driving the decisions? Really? Then why…(loud tire screech) Now, I know. If you’re sitting at your…
You may be familiar with the book Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity by David Allen. I recommend it if you haven’t read it. If you want a taste, check out the video below. He’s addressing Google on the core principles of focusing your activity and being clear about decisions. It’s a bit…
And it’s a shame, because from the looks of the group there may have been some pros. The Press Day events were a little like watching hopscotch though. I was hoping for something a little more full contact as far as content, but you know us people, always wanting more. I gotta mention first, Laura…
For the love of pete, the convention center escalator is mighty tall. 30 stories at least. maybe just three. I think some people disappeared on it. These steps are on the way to the convention center. This is a perfect 8-set, if you were a skateboarder and into that kind of stuff.
Tulsa to Denver to San Diego is a long flight, especially when chunks of the airplane go missing before takeoff and they’re loading and unloading. I arrive, taxi down to the Marriott, and walk four blocks to the Hard Rock Cafe. All the SolidWorks bloggers are there along with a bunch of the SolidWorks Crew.…
Now a blue Juniper is a tree you can prune. As a matter of fact, I pruned one around a family of raccoons. They’re so furry. Reminds me of these links. Luxa – a social learning site for Photoshop artists. You learn, you vote, you succeed. Endeve.com – Did someone say free invoice management. Yes,…
Time for Vodka, cigars and feedback. If you’re a customer that is in regular contact with SolidWorks you may have received an email inviting you to be part of a private SolidWorks community called Real Insights. It’s hosted by Communispace who set up these cozy communes to allow companies to interact with a select group…
Ok, SolidWorks World 2008 is coming up and if you’re not going you probably don’t care so much. If I wasn’t going I would either be filled with jealousy or completely disinterested. Nonetheless, it’s going on and a bunch of crazed SolidWorks users and people vying for your business will be out in full force.…
Besides the fact that this site is cooler and less frightening than rabid cyclops kittens, subscribing to SolidSmack will allow you to automatically receive every new article whenever they are published. This provides a great deal of convenience for you, because you won’t even have to visit this website to access all the latest articles…
The 2nd Service Pack for SolidWorks 2008 has been pushed out today. If your doing a new installation you’ll need a 3.8 GB Net to hold the fish, so you might need to uninstall Call of Duty if you don’t have enough space. Changes? SP2.0 EV (Early Visibility) was a nightmare for me with constant…
Seriously, this error message needs to be turned off, put in a can, set ablaze and fired into space… then devoured by an evil alien bacteria and sucked into a black hole. In lieu of that, here are some ways that can often times help you get around that wonderfully obscure message.
Well, the fury of CES 2008 has ended and nothing is left of Las Vegas except what’s usually there and looking forward to better stuff next year. It’s was the typical flash and dazzle, new HDTVs and digital photo frames, but, there’s a handful of CAD related goodies you’re gonna want to see. Alienware Curved…
Those are the tallest beets I’ve ever seen. I bet you could have beet juice for a year outta just one of those. It’s too bad they’re surround by hair and a river of white gravy. yeah, I wouldn’t get near those things. Pviewr – Create a Flickr Slideshow real, real fast with just a…
Email, and especially Microsoft Outlook, can get really convoluted with all the foldering, contacting and searching. The Xobni plugin makes the day to day email task much easier. Why it’s Cool After you install Xobni, it indexes everything in Outlook in less time it usually takes you to search for that email you sent Jim…
The Australian have some crazy idea that you can get 3D data from drawing lines on top of video. They’re actually doing it too. The Australian Centre for Visual Technologies is gettin’ all fancy with innovative technology and have creatively named it VideoTrace. VideoTrace is a system for interactively generating realistic 3D models of objects…
Yep, SolidSmack is not “live at CES” like all these other blogs. I’m just sitting back and letting all those guys do the legwork, shoving each other to get to the laser pointers and paying $5 for an ounce of water. I’ll have my chance at SolidWorks World. The 2008 International CES features all the…
3DCadNews just broke that they are in the know on the Special Guest at SolidWorks World. If you guess correctly, you’ll win a cheap dinner and be part of causing pandemonium at SolidWorks HQ. Here’s the clues so far… Clue 1: Clark Kent thinks he has eyeglasses to die for Clue 2: He’s a Man…
Last week we talked about naming features to improve your design. Sometimes, on very rare occasions, when your feeling especially detail oriented, you may want to add a special character to a name or note. Fortunately, Windows has a bunch of obscure numbers you can use to add some symbols to you descriptions and it…
It’s like reaching into a can of tobacco and pulling out the most amazing Tennessee greenback you ever put your nostrils on. It’s a little strong for mama though, so I just gave her these here links. Photoshop Vector Techniques – A look at how to get some amazing looks with some really simple techniques…
You’re driving down a winding road and suddenly your car goes flying off a cliff into a den of wild boar. Not a good situation to be in. While getting some parts to stay on track in SolidWorks is not nearly as morbid, it can be a pain in the neck, especially when it comes…
The Consumer Electronics Show (CES) is going on next week week and one of the coolest things that will be debut has gotta be this LG-Philips 14.3″ bendy screen you can… bend. This is a little bit bigger and a little bit cooler than Sony’s smaller razor-thin screen. Source Engadget
For the 6.3% of us that are using Vista out there, a handy little program called Vista4Experts may come in handy for quick changes to the security settings and other difficult to change options in the Vista OS. It’s free too. Just make sure you’re comfortable making the changes and find out about some of…
As discussed in the previous post, SolidWorks is the disco queen of features. Sketches drive these features and sometimes you want to use them in another part or nice Gorgonzola salad. There are library features and copying features, sure, but to get a quick copy of a sketch that you’ve already created, you may want…
If you’ve been using SolidWorks for more than a couple hours you know you parts are created by stacking up a bunch of features on the left side of the screen. It’s a veritable tower of sand, held together by the spit of fully-defined sketches. Based on what you do in that stack, the FeatureManager…