We’re doomed. The robot armies are massing. As if simple non-humanoid robots were bad enough, now tiny, toddler-like and highly functional robot are coming to the market very, very soon people. Start packing. Aldebaran Robotics is bringing on the dream that many have of a personal robot companion to romp around with and they just…

Hold on to your 3D lovin’ hats people. Shapeways is about to change how you feel about 3D Printing… and also how you go about doing it. The issue is getting a quality 3D Print of your design fast and cheap. ShapeWays is aiming it’s 3D hearted plastic extruders right at that market and plans…

I occasionally choose to point the fire hose of SolidWorks tips and information into an unsuspecting person’s face without realizing how overwhelming it can be. A few hours later I see the the expressionless blank stare of a skinless and slightly tattered face gazing, begging me to stop. A few tips to simply get started…

I’m lovin’ me some algorithms. I’ve actually become so interested in them it’s affected my posting frequency and I’m starting to see domino-like creatures forming beautiful patterns in my numerically challenged nightmares. An algorithmic approach to design. Boring huh? Well, the results these patterns of numerical data create are the most amazingly fluid and kinetically…

The giveaway is now closed. The winner will be announce Monday July 28th! Thanks for entering and be on the lookout for more contest coming up soon! This is the 500th post here at SolidSmack and what better way to celebrate than giving away an expensive piece of software that will make you so productive…

I’d say it’s about like when you’re in the barn moving bails of hay and you’re suddenly surrounded by all the farm animals for no apparent reason. Yeah, these links are kinda like that. 2008 Web Design Trends – Some of you think this web design stuff is cool. This link is for you and…

Why, it ws only a few weeks ago we did a comparison of the Twitter talk about SolidWorks and AutoCAD. Jeff Clark at Neoformix is at it again with their stream of consciousness version that shows the density of words used in for a term over time. What do you think the most used word…

Way back, in a recent post that showed all you Mac-ophiles how to use SolidWorks on a Mac a commenter named Peter Privitera was having graphics issues with his MacBook Pro when using SolidWorks. His MacBook Pro uses a NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT video card, a low-end 512MB card that runs around $130 and up.…

“That storefront looks spectacular. I’m tellin’ ya, it looks like it’s sizzlin’ right up from THE GROUND.” Yes, the colors are mesmerizing your eye holes and you grasp for word to explain how structures can seemingly float curvaceously in front of you. Steel, screws and a little SolidWorks magic, I say, and Feature Factory has…

It’s absolutely insane, I tell you. How are you suppose to get a good nights sleep when your brain is obsessing about the intricacies of how to model inventive new products? I wonder what it is that makes us bring our 3D models into our nightmares dreams. Is it the challenge? the hours? subliminal messages…

Funny thing, these 3D CAD user interfaces. I figured I’d spare you any 2008/09 SolidWorks interface opinions and show you what the other CAD companies are doing. It looks like some are getting a little inspiration from each other, but really it just the onslaught of Ribbon bar bliss brought about by Microsoft and their…

Lou Gallo of SolidWorks Heard (twitter) has apparently recorded a recent phone conversation between us and has put it up online so that all my glean my mildly incoherent ramblings. I told my friend Alex Ruiz that my voice sounds like a conversation between Kermit the frog and miss piggy, but in actually, it sounds…

Your SolidWorks drawings are standing out in the open like a very large and overly dressed target of 3D ninja violence. Hey, I’m just sayin. It’s actually a secret society of defected and very agitated ANSI and ISO standard authors that have passed this info on to me. Your fancy drawing is filled with more…

You may start to see some changes around the trusty ol’ SolidSmack site. For one, I’ve integrated the Disqus commenting system into the site. Sound fancy? It is, and it’s got some cool features that will make commenting 100% more fun than before. I’m using the Disqus commenting system for a few reasons, but mostly…

Really, are you saying you squeezed a blueberry between your elbows and created anti-matter? I believe sir, that you are a natural energy source. Please attach these links, it won’t hurt a bit. Texture Showcase – Wow, textures can be downright dangerous to play with in design, but when used like some of these sites,…

3D online maps are so yesterday, and so is the news of Google’s new web-based 3D Virtual World, but after looking into it more, I had to let all of you interested in 3D and CAD know what the possibilities could be. You may know about the popular Virtual World SecondLife. It’s a full-featured World…

I had a conversation with someone yesterday about how to create really great looking images without using the SolidWorks rendering add-in, PhotoWorks. I told him it was simple and you can do it in just a few steps. ‘No way, show me.’, he said. If you have PhotoWorks, great; you can create some very slick…

Ahhh, it’s the middle of the summer. Vacations are planned, mosquito are biting and there’s so much going on in the world of SolidWorks the coffee pot at SolidWorks HQ in Massachusetts is on 24/7. Yes, things are heating up and it’s a perfect chance for you to get all your incredibly helpful designs, thoughts,…

Feast your eyes upon this odd lookin’ chair. Some products you can just look at and know it was designed with SolidWorks. The The Dreeben Billet Chair is one of those. It’s as if you are looking right at the model and recognize the features used to create it. Micheal Dreeben is the designer and…

Recently, SolidWorks thwarted a would-be Zombie attack by launching the SolidWorks Geniuses marketing campaign. First up was the Leonardo Da Vince Self-Powered (Zombie-eliminating) Cart. You saw it, I’m sure, and desired to get your hands on the model so you too could prevent an ensuing Zombie onslaught. Well, you’re in luck. Rob Rodriguez is putting…

Suddenly and without warning, I leapt to my feet, only to realize I had no feet and the ceiling was much shorter than it was when I had a beard. That can really throw off your concentration. Fortunately I came across these links. Desktop wallpaper for July – I was gonna make one for ya,…

I know what you’re going through. Every time you boot your computer the Windows ‘Bliss’ background, circa 2001, burns holes right through your retinas. You desire something with a little more snap. Maybe a cool looking product design. huh? yeah? Then check out the SolidWorks World Wallpapers site. This isn’t new though. It was put…

Right now, I currently have 3 versions of SolidWorks installed on my computer – 2007, 2008, and 2009Beta. oh, and 2005 till just recently. It’s crazy I tell ya. I use 2008 mostly right now, but have to switch back to 2007 for some models. It made me wonder what everyone out there is actually…

Lena Gieseke has taken Picasso Guernica and transformed it into a version of the painting that will leave you deeply immersed in the canvas of the Cubist master, Picasso. Guernica has got to be incredible to see up close (it’s currently at the Museo Reina Sofía in Madrid, Spain), But when you look at it…

I’m telling ya people, robots are taking over the world and SolidWorks is doing their part to aid in the onslaught of automated fulfillment like you wouldn’t believe. SHOES. The robots are in control of our footwear and it’s all starting at Zappos, perhaps the most brilliant shoe store you’ll ever find. Kiva Systems has…

BOM’s. Bill o’ Materials. That list of parts that moves across the disco floor like only you wish you could. DID I really just compare a BOM to a dance genre we long to forget? Yes, yes I did, and I’m feeling the nostalgic and stomach-churning affects of doing so. Nevertheless, a BOM provides that…

Despite the fact that it looks like a very large, very colorful, yet well designed, doily, this is one of the winners of the lucrative 2008 Red Dot Design Award. This year alone 3,203 designs were entered ranging from textiles, like this fancy rug, to technology and just about anything else that spans product, conceptual…

They didn’t attack at first, but then Earl threw one of his gravy biscuits at’em and right after they made some real weird screeching noises, they devoured all these links. Dale Mathis Gear Sculpture – Yes, you too can make gear sculpture, but not like this guy. 101 Photoshop Tip in Five Minutes – Try…

MCAD is running like heck from the desktop. The possibilities of where CAD data is accessed from and where you are when you access it just keeps on growing I tell ya. First you have laptops coming out sporting the AMD Turion X2 Ultra to integrate processor and graphics card capabilities. That equals more power,…

As if our soon to be robot overlords are not scary enough, now there’s a Robot University for them to systematically learn how to take over the minds of small children and impressionable young college students. I exaggerate a bit. This is actually a place where the academics and the automaton-interested can gather via an…

Oh man, your SolidWorks assembly is looking a little crooked my friend. In fact, I’d say it’s just about to tip over and probably hurt a small family of mice or a vagabond waiting for you to set some scraps out on the porch. I’m going to suggest a way to improve assembly creation, so…

That atomic rubidium vapor you’ve been storing in those old canning jars may soon be put to good use as a storage medium for images which, in turn, could allow 3D data storage, display and possibly manipulation. A group of physicists from the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology in Haifa, Israel… yeah, that place, warmed up…

I was working on a somebody’s computer this morning and their email notification kept popping up asking you to choose to go to the email or not. For one thing, that was incredibly annoying, and incredibly inefficient for another. A little experiment So it made me want to offer up a little experiment to show…

Last week on June 20th, Google Trends for websites was launched to allow a look into competing sites and aid your plans for worldwide domination. Similar sites, like Compete (my favorite) and Alexa already exist, but this leverages the power of Google’s simple, yet masterful use of analytical data. Anyone can use it to find…

I’ve been playing with the Spore 3D Creature Creator for the past couple days and I gotta say it is one of the funnest, most addictive ways to create creatures that I’ve ever seen. Not only that, the 3D controls and manipulation are just amazing. It’s drag-n-drop-n-modify creature makin’ hilarity at it’s best… and it’s…

If I hadn’t gone there, who knows, I may have gotten a few more appendages, but I’m pretty happy with the one’s I have. These links certainly help. Desktopia – Yeah, you can pretty much always go here from now on for cool backgrounds. Upgrade your skill level in 24 hours – That’s darn quick,…

Ok folks, so here it is. The beginning of the end of the mouse and 3D desktop controls. The first I saw of this was a craptastic video back in March of some guys fiddling with a glove and a wiimote to control SolidWorks. Little did I know, a cool guy named Brian put up…

It’s inevitable. A hundred models of a screw and they’re all created a different way. I’m telling ya, it’s an open flesh wound just waiting to get infected. Companies often jump into the 3D modeling fray without laying out an SolidWorks implementation plan. But, even when things are implemented correctly, the details of model creation…

The brand spankin’ new 3D technology magazine, Develop3D, has just gone to print. You’ll definitely want to get your hands on this, because for one thing, yours truly is a columnist for the fine outfit based out of UK. I gotta say, I’m not a regular industry magazine reader, but the way this is laid…

Designing a door seems like the simplest thing you could attempt right? A panel, some holes, and a bit of glass. Contemporary door design makes it even easier with all the straight lines. These doors from Swedish designer Snickarper caught my attention though.

Today is the official Download Day 2008 for the new version of the Firefox web browser. Their mission: to set a Guinness World Record for the most software downloaded in 24 hours. Since Firefox will probably be the first browser you use 3D CAD on in the future, you’ll probably want to download it. The…

The SolidWorks Confirmation Corner. That little island in the corner just tempting you to become a more decisive person. One option, to accept the ensuing fate of the changes you’ve made to your sketch. The other, to abandon all the relations you’ve jacked up.

I’ll agree with you, workstations nowadays are just not cuttin’ it. Our desires for widescreen monitors, THX Dolby surround sound, air filtering, light therapy, web cams, and battery backups are diminished by plain old systems that just ‘get the job done.’ NO MORE! NovelQuest introduces… to you… in July… the ultimate in killer workstations… THE…

It’s one thing if you’re just standing there waiting for the subway to come by, it’s a completely different thing if you’re standing there minding your business, maybe reading a paper, and someone throws beans point-blank into your face. These links help the stinging though. Creatures in my Head – The enchanting and wonderful illustrative…

“Son, that boy is faster at sketchin’ some 3D than a greased zebra chasin’ a three-legged yak.” Now wouldn’t you want to be described like that? Well, there’s more to being fast in SolidWorks, than flipping through commands and some fancy assembly tricks. The System Options have a few setting that are not always used,…

What incredibly functional complex designs could you possibly think up if you only had fabric, sheet metal or wood to work with? More than you could do carpet scraps and hot glue I imagine. Design can be interesting, but it gets downright inspiring when you see common flat panel materials used in different areas you…

The SolidWorks 2009 Beta program that was rumored to launch Monday (yesterday) has just gone live at the customer portal. If you’re a subscriptions service customer, and signed up to be notified for beta launch, you can download it and enjoy the new version till your eyes shoot blood. So, get on board, man the…

SolidSmack has been around for just over a year and I’m lovin’ every bit of every juicy 3D/Tech/Design/SolidWorks Tip post I put up, but last night in the wee hours of a foggy night I wondered, “What the heck do all the wonderful people that visit SolidSmack like (not like) about the site?” So, the…

If you look over the edge of your coffee cup you’ll notice everything is going 3D. There’s more news about 3D maps, 3D TV’s and 3D games than ever before. Then I see this article from the January 1931 issue of Modern Mechanix about a 17,000 sq. ft. model of what modern day (1980) New…

Right now, everything is in this amazing state of flux. The Apple WWDC (Worldwide Developers Conference) is kicking off (10AM PST) on the WestCoast and on the East Coast SolidWorks 2009 Beta may be announce (12AM EST). It’s just about more than someone interested in new technology can handle. These two things are obviously not…