While the Northern Hemisphere is getting ready for SolidWorks World 2008, our friends on the Southern Hemisphere are getting ready for SolidWorks World 2007. The SolidWorks 2007 International Users Conference,hosted by InterCAD, a SolidWorks reseller, is being held in Melbourne, Australia on September 10th, 2007. It runs shorter than the User Conference in the States…
Yep, it’s easier than pushing an orange through a keyhole. You can become famous just by doing what you do everyday (that would be thinking) and come up with a new and innovative product or just show off your crazy skills. There are currently two design contest going on for you to expose your genius…
There’s nothing quite like a good hat. Once I had a hat, but it was too tight, so I checked out these links. Instructables.com – Step-by-step instructions on how to make everything. my favorite. 2D Kids Slow Down Traffic – I guess 2D is handy for something. 🙂 BrandBud – a really slick and refreshing…
Developing a way to layout your models can be daunting. It’s kind of like having shards of glass thrown at you by a very small man with beady eyes named Karl. A modeling methodology defines how you construct your models and keeps it consistent across the models and the company. For this reason alone, it’s…
I have absolutely no interest in golf. Before you choke or stop reading the blog, It’s not that I don’t like it, I’ve just never really played. My excuse is that I’m left-handed… which is working less and less each time I’m asked to play. For the first time since 1994, the PGA Championship is…
Google Patent search has been one of the primary means of finding free patent information online since it’s launch in December 2006. Brian Law at Solid Impressions has put up an extremely useful post on Patent Searches and gives his experience with using Google Patent Search. I agree that finding patent information use to be…
It’s one thing to take 3D models and make 2D drawings of them. Sure it’s a lot of work and has it’s place, but what if you could take a bunch of 2D photos and turn them into 3D representations. Several companies are doing just that. Fotowhoosh constructs a 3D representation from a single photo.…
You may be interested to know that SolidWorks PR 1 is available for download. This is the step before the final release and is intended to be used in a production environment to test for quality. If you’re going to use it in production, be sure to make back-ups of whatever you try it on…
When I was growing up, our house was filled with plants. We had a huge greenhouse on the side of the house that I would explore and play in. My mother is a horticulturalist and plants have always interested me, as well as the greenhouses. These greenhouses and conservatories, designed by Alitex in SolidWorks are…
I can dance like you wouldn’t believe, is what I’m saying! I shoot this way and that way! you can’t keep up unless you check out this links! Modern Approaches to Data Visualization – spreadsheets? yeah right! how will we view data in the future. Here’s how it’s being viewed now. DesignFlood.com – a virtual…
The measure command is probably the single most used tool in the arsenal of SolidWorks Tools. But, if you’re slappin’ holes and fillets all over your models and someone ask you to measure a minimum distance between holes, what do you do? I’ve seen some start a sketch and proceed to lay out lines and…
Graphic Systems has a recent post that discusses some considerations when moving ahead with Vista. I’ll address those here and touch on some others. I’ve written before on What You Need to Run SolidWorks on Vista. That post should help you determine if you can upgrade to Vista using your existing system, but if you’re…
Here’s a handy little tip that 4 out of 5 tech support guys recommend for getting a quick perpendicular- to-tangent relation in SolidWorks. This is really simple, but I don’t see it used too often. It can help you avoid a bunch of steps, as well as prevent unnecessary construction lines and geometry. To create…
I just received an email from Richard Doyle telling about a new show in town. A Cad Show. It kinda got me all unexcited, but I thought I would check it out anyway. It’s called CCNTV, which stands for CAD CAM NET TV. It’s a bi-weekly newscast focused on the CAD business and making some…
Most everyone has posted about SolidWorks World 2008 and Mike Puckett has given a really good breakdown of what to expect. I’d just like to add two things: Three for the price of two You can get a ‘Three for the Price of Two’ pass here. That’s a savings of $795 smackers you could use…
If you’re wondering what one of the basic things you can do to make creating parts, assemblies and drawings easier without pushing it off onto someone else, I may have a solution for you. Steps that prevent repetitive tasks can usually be some of the most simple. While things in SolidWorks are not always so…
Today, my little boy is turning 1 year old. I extremely excited and just can’t help but tell you all and show you some photos. His name is Sebastian Alexander and he’s a bubble of fun. He’s taken over our personal blog at joshandmaggie.com where there are some videos also. Here’s some photos. Custest Boy…
I need a banana and a wet-nap stat. These links are bleeding out all over my new rug. Faveup.com – a simple site for inspirational media design. very nice gallery layout. Art in HK – an art outfit in Hong Kong with a sweet 3D sketchy site. CMS Matrix – with so many blog and…
Dassault Systemes released their 2nd quarter earnings today. Overall they’re doing well. Although the increases seem small, Dessault continues to grow thier research in technology, in particulalrly web-based technology with 3DVIA product. I would like to see them spend more in R&D than marketing but they are at least spending as much in Research as…
There’s nothing quite like a fresh-squeezed glass of OJ in the morning, unless you’ve had a traumatic experience in an orange grove and you’re deathly afraid of oranges. Then, not so good. That’s probably pretty common. So instead, I’ve got some fresh-squeezed tips for new SolidWorks users, although just about anyone could use them some…
MCAD, a UK based product development and manufacturing magazine, has put up a 4 page review of SolidWorks 2008 this month. It’s basically a rundown of the most talked about features. If you’ve seen a 2008 demo or have read other reviews it won’t really tell you anything new though. I would just skip to…
Reading a post over at WorldCAD Access about a recent article makes me realize just how fortunate we are that AutoDESK “finally broke the market open” in 1999 with Inventor and saved us from expensive modeling programs like CATIA. Hmmm. Man, if it wasn’t for the creative talent behind Inventor, I would still be typing…
DELCAM has a CAD CAM product that allows you to open, view, manipulate, measure and save 39 different CAD formats. It’s called PowerSHAPE-e. The ‘SHAPE’ part is in caps cause they mean business… FREE business. They put out a press release about it today. Just last week, I was looking for something I could use…
Seriously, that squirrel was just standing there puffing away on a cigarette. Tell me, have you ever seen anything as crazy as that? I think not. Google streetview invades America – coming to a window near you. Bioshock Trailer – Xbox 360 game out in August 07 with incredible graphics and non-linear responsive environment. dang…
Here’s a quick tip that will help keep your eyes from spurting blood when you’re working those long hours. ClearType Tuner This tool will help the fonts on your screen show up better which can make a night and day difference in how productive you can be. You may need to download the Powertoy Version…
I’m not sure if this will be a regular type of post, but I thought, after being slightly over-exposed to the sun and having an icy beverage, I’d tell you a short story about a little company and a big company and what happens when 3D is used with 2D processes. A little drama, a…
I particularly like furniture design and I recently came across this company in a SolidWorks Case Study. Strand-Hvass is a furniture and product design company in Denmark. It formed as a merge between the two design companies of Christina Strand and Niels Hvass. The two attended the Danish Design School. Some may think this style…
Many times I will be cruising along on an assembly and realized I should be slapped hard for not taking time to do a few things that will make my work much easier. Yeah, my assembly is looking like that thing from John Carpenter’s “The Thing” and the room is getting dark. So, to keep…
I’ve had to search for some models lately and I was going to do a helpful little post on the best places to find and download models, but after searching for hours and messing around on a bunch of sites, there is just one that stands out. I bet some of you could have told…
Burton Car Company, the largest sports car manufacturer in the Netherlands, holds a design competition each year for a new concept sports car. The 2007 grand prize is a €12,000 Burton kitcar. The concept has to be designed in SolidWorks based on an available chassis and meet specs for kitcar manufacturability. SolidWorks.nl, HP, W3D, and…
Congrats to Steve Calvert for winning the 2GB SanDisk Crusier in lasts weeks dimensioning tip contest. He now has 2GB more room to carry stuff around with him. I have one and have even run an Apache web server off of it! enjoy Steve! Keep an eye out because there will definitely be more contest…
In response to the post about The Vital Key to an Organized SolidWorks Team, one of our readers, Kyle Mason, sent a response about his experience at college where Inventor is really pushed. I have [created a Reg file for Inventor users] to make SolidWorks a little more “Inventor friendly.” I am going to college…
Yep, he jumped off thar and his kneecaps done shot out his legs and clear through that window over thar. Said he was tryin’ to get to these here links. PicFindr – free stock photo search engine. Will an iPhone Blend? – The ultimate product stress test. guess what. it fails. A new breed of…
In the realm of somewhat useless but cool stuff you can do to customize SolidWorks, I recently did a post about making your own background. This can in actuality be very useful for two things Making things on your screen easier to see Giving a custom feel to product presentations So, in light of all…
There’s lots of things that can make a team efficient – collaboration, coordination, communications, 24” monitors, donuts. But there’s one thing that can make a team of SolidWorks users take those first three things and spread them like a warm stick of butter. It has to do with standardizing SolidWorks settings in your group. At…
I know it’s been hard on us all having to manually unroll the toilet paper for the past 100 or so years, but your worries are over and good old SolidWorks may have had a large part in it. News was announced yesterday that Kimberly-Clark, the name most are familiar with in public restrooms, has…
After being with SolidWorks since 1996 and leading since 2001, John McEleney has stepped down as CEO. Dassault Systèmes has named Jeff Ray as his replacement. He brought vast amounts of knowledge, a friendly face and a well trimmed goatee to SolidWorks. I’m sure he’ll be missed… but not till the end of the year.…
A few weeks ago I did a post about Dimesioning tips. Looking back at it, I feel it was limited. So, I want to open it up to you and provide a little incentive as well. I will be giving away this brand new SanDisk 2GB Cruzer Micro USB 2.0 Flash Drive. To enter the…
I was going to wait and have some links from this site in the Friday Smackdowns, but there’s just so much good stuff I thought it deserved a post of it’s own. If design matters to you at all or you’re interested in color, art or just making things look good you need to check…
Since their launch in March of 2007, SpaceClaim, out of Concord, Mass. has been making some waves with their new solid modeler. I’m even starting to hear more talk about it amongst the casual uninterested CAD users. Their assertions to a “highly flexible design environment” make some wonder if this is a fresh approach to…
Have you ever seen five tons of fire-breathing hamsters running at you? It would be best to turn and RUN. Dave Quiggle Artwork – I love this guys artwork. His new Tattoo Flash is incredible. Bionic Arm Uses Elephant’s Trunk as Design Model – elephant trunks can crush a man. I hope they took that…
Last week SolidWorks put out a press release about the two competitors in this years America’s Cup, Emirates Team New Zealand and Alinghi Switzerland. Emirates Team New Zealand (ETNZ) and Alinghi are competing in the America’s Cup 2007…Taking place off the coast of Valencia, Spain, the 32nd America’s Cup features a rematch of the two…
And when I say snot, I mean all that messy undefined-ness. That is some nasty stuff and can make your part sick I tell you. Sick, sick, sick. There is one thing that can help you though. One Command to dimension them all, One Command to relate them, One Command to bind them all and…
On August 4-5 Team SolidWorks will be going on a bike ride to support a cure for cancer. SolidWorks started officially doing this in 2002 and will ride with a team of over 70 people this year. Their goal is to raise 500,000, a goal they nearly achieved last year. I’m usually not into this…
This is so off topic it’s rediculous, but it’s the weekend. Two of my favorite movies are Goonies and Pirates of the Carribean. Now, imagine if they were mixed together? Don’t imagine skallywag. watch the trailer!
I want my drawings to be as clear as possible, but I also want the least amount of views and pages to get the information across. This can be difficult when there are parts weaving in and around each other. So, imagine if you could combine two views together to reduce a bunch of extra…
Oh! me bones and sockets! Shake me up, Judy! and give me some tasty links ya grimmy pole parrot! CSS Dock Menu – a very slick web nav menu like the menu bar on the Mac SimpleViewer – a free, customizable flash image viewing app. I made this. iPhone launches today – Imagine that. People…
Wouldn’t you just love to put a giant metal contraption on your hand and touch the stuff in your computer screen. Get ready to feel the warm buzz of the pixels against your skin with this very large 3D glove. Fellow blogger Ben Eadie of SolidMentor.com sent me a link to this story. The software…
I have no idea. This is the funniest video I’ve seen in so long. Leave it to the Japanese to make American television look boring. Basically, contestants have to contort their bodies into weird shapes to avoid being hit by huge blocks of Styrofoam that come flying at them or else be pushed into a…