Back in January, just prior to SolidWorks World, you may have heard rumblings about T-Splines for SolidWorks. Well, those rumblings are actually magical jolts of surfacing joy hitting you straight in the eye. There’s a bit of a catch, but there’s a bit of a glimpse (and hope) of what is to come.
The insipid clicking of the rattler faded into the gears crunching against one another. Could it truly be that nothing was there? No… It was there. The shadowed ease of its oily mass moved closer. Slowly, the blades emerged covered in the flames of these links. Balloontree – The art of Marcin Jakubowski. Beautiful, epic…
First of all, I’m all for getting rid of legs. They’re way too convenient. As movies like Return to Oz will forever attest (cue creepy video clip), wheels are much more efficient. Self-balancing wheels… even more so. Product development company Inventist is bringing on the self-balancing, single wheel revolución. They’re doing it all with a…
You, and whatever you like to feed extruded bits of colored grain to, now have even more incentive to pour the tasty bits and a gallon of milk directly down your gullet. Nestle and Dassualt are teaming up to bring out a new augmented reality (AR) game based on the new computer-animated film from 20th…
I know you have dreams. Not the one where you’re falling and wake up floating, then realize you’re just falling the wrong way and then you wake up. Not that one. The dream I speak of is the one where you go to New York City, set up a giant platform at the Jacob K.…
You may have just shaken the dust of an old set of gloves, slipped into a memory of days gone by. Days spent hitting your brother after hogging all the Nintendo playing action with your new Power Glove. “IT’S MY TURN!” No, not until I beat this dragon… WITH MY FIST!! That’s right. You were…
When you think of modeling, you may think of features used when creating 3D geometry… or you may think of your days as a elbow model for L.L. Bean. You sexy beast. Either way, there’s a process and a need for both. In the case of 3D modeling, the process is dependent on what you…
Oh the joys of being able to put ‘Smack’ in a headline and having it actually rhyme. Don’t forget this day folks. DON’T FORGET IT. Not for the reason of rhyme, but for the very reason that Luxology, has automated package design ecology, and is crackin’ render scenes with no apology. Check the tech-nology.
There are times in life where you think up a design, so simple, so magnificent, it could change the properties OF THE UNIVERSE ITSELF… and then suck everyone into an awesome design crushing vortex. However, if one takes the power of that idea, shares it with some friends and enters it into the Staples Eco…
The papers and most of his arms were inked with the toenailed stains of the ages. Now, it was up to him alone to fracture the cusp of time, release the tendril sacks and shine the light upon the oozing follicles of these links. André Beato – Fabulously fabulous type design that twist letters into…
If there’s one thing I’ve learned from Japanese animation, it’s that elbow pitts can explode and some of us will fight each other, mutant creatures and evil robots in extremely large exoskeletons. This is proof. Skeletonics is a on-going project by an imaginative, and quite clever, group of Japanese students who are using simple kinematics,…
Three different versions of a free 2D CAD program made for three different operating systems, doesn’t exactly make a program 3D, but times are lean and we’ll take what we can get. If you’ve been gnawing the meaty bone of Windows or Mac OS hankering for the fatty goodness of open source drafting, you’r 2D…
There’s a time coming when we’ll all transform into machines who need no sleep and could care less if cupcakes had too much icing. One company who already realizes this vision of the future, and preparing us all for it, is DriveWorks. They’ve brought automation to SolidWorks with DriveWorksXpress, DriveWorks Solo and DriveWorks Pro. DriveWorks…
Seldom do we see the spark that ignites the brain butter of an idea. But, every so often we do. Take for instance, Mr. Alexander Graham Bell – the man who brought communication into the modern age with experiments in speech and voice. Yes, the telephone is his pride and joy and the sketch which…
Balls of soap tumbled down the winding path. There, amongst the mounds rose the helfertrogls, one by one. The air grew thick. The rhythm of their lathered grunts grew louder, and from their nostrils erupted, these links. Glennray Tutor – Have you not always dreamt of drawing super-realistic images of marbles, toycars and pickled veggies?…
Maybe you didn’t make it to SolidWorks World 2011. Maybe you’re still wandering the streets of San Antonio after days of drinking Riverwalk water and salsa picante. No worries for you. If you missed a few sessions due to work or inebriation a busy schedule, you have the option of catching up. A good month…
There is nothing, quite like the sound of the pan flute. Particularly when you’ve just escaped the mechanical mandibles of a decapitated swarm of robot heads robot rabbit babies. To celebrate your escape and then attract attention back to your meat flabs, why not offer up a song with the eerie melody brought forth from…
Quickly now. Stick your hands against the screen. Now, lift them off slightly and move your head to either side. Did you see that? A physical 3-dimensional object rising from the aether around your digits? No, no you didn’t, because it hasn’t happened yet… but it could. Three technologies have surfaced showing how we may…
There are only a few things that get me excited: mild shocks, alligator punching and web-based 3D. I wish I could say the following combined all three, but two outta three ain’t too shabby. Benjamin Nortier from London, UK has done the unthinkable. He’s taken it upon himself to develop a free, parametric 3D modeling…
Deciphering the patterns of yellow flowers and whirring things was all but he he had known. On this day, however, he discovered, not a pattern, but power over the things which whir themselves. He discovered, these links. Ikaruga – The edges, sketch lines, shading and perspective are just a few aspects which make his style…
Sometimes when the sun is shining and there’s a light, misty acid in that air… you run screaming, jump into a barrel with your friends and push yourselves down a hill to escape the skin melt. Inevitably, the conversation in the barrel turns to the edgy discussion of Direct vs. Parametric modeling. For good reason…
You may have seen Ian’s Kickboxer which boasts a race-ready Turbocharged 2.5L Subaru WRX engine. I so thought that was the sweetest looking ride. But now, now he’s wrapped awesome around Subaru’s Boxer turbo Diesel engine for the Kickboxer Diesel. The result, as you’ll see, is nothing but spasm-inducing beauty.
If you can believe it, there’s a webinar this week. I’m usually not one for webinars, as the word ‘webinar’ itself reminds me gagging on pen caps after drinking milk. However, this webinar is something that has caught my interest and it just so happens that good ol’ Ben Eadie of UsingSolidWorks is the one…
Like you, there’s one thing I’ve always wanted… massive freaking shoulders. That, and a chest cavity deep enough for dips. The first may not be so far off. Leave it to Ethan Rublee and a group of researchers at Temple University’s Computer Fusion Laboratory to become captivated by the possibilities around the hands-free manipulation of…
What’s better than being beat with the rough edge of a 3D printed car door? Many things… many, many things, but one activity that’s better, which totally relates (to cars, not being beaten) is surface modeling! Yes, hooray for surface modeling. You’ve seen Matt Perez’s site. Now, we’re gifted by another SolidWorks user who’s pulling…
There are a lot of secrets in the world of design – materials, processes, handshakes and very few know how many raccoons it takes to gnaw a smooth continuous surface out of a chunk of clay. Perhaps that’s changing and perhaps it’s beginning with knowing a little more about the secret process behind modern concept…
How do you keep from bashing the keyboard against your skull out of frustration with modo commands? Simple. A modo 501 keyboard shortcut guide. It’s all the rage with the modo kids these days. Jason Bartley has updated the version he laid out for 401. They could probably even be used with keyboard pants.
Once upon a dim lit night, when owl fowls hoot their silent flight. The children stomp in the land that sinks, telling tale upon tale bout the fate of these links. Maxim Revin – If I had one guess about someone who’s traveled to distant future planets, his name would be Maxim and he would…
Well, there’s been plenty of on-the-go excitement coming out of the Mobile World Congress (MWC) this week… who am I kidding. It’s mostly been tablet this and tablet that. They stand to be the ultimate tech toy this year and the variations of mobile computing companies are showing off are proof you’ll have plenty of…
What’s a Paper Engineer? Only the most pulp-tastic job on the planet, that’s what. Basically, it combines the art of paper folding and the mathematical precision of awesomeness. Matt Shlian knows the intricacies of such a task and exactly what it takes to fold paper like time and space itself. Starting with a computer generated…
If you ever go ridding a horse bareback through plate glass windows, you may often wonder how to reduce the amount of scarring by attaching a thin acrylic shield around yourself and the horse. I propose Ponoko as the single best resource for creating such a shield. However, you don’t want children attempting to try…
It’s dark. The air trembles with the hum of an endless printing cycle. The lights flicker, the printer stops and the toothless document clerk looks up and smiles a bone-chilling smile. But what’s this?! The drawing, thick with the smell of toner is on revision C… but there are Revision B bubbles on the sheets!!!…
Unfortunately, “beetle larvae” is not an option you will see in this survey. You could add that answer, but then you would likely disrupt the most serious survey in all the world of engineering software. COFES ( The Congress on the Future of Engineering Software) is coming up and part of the festivities include a…
You’ve tried to warn your children, your pets, your boss’ thumb that pops up over the cubicle wall and whispers movie quotes to you in a raspy voice. Screaming doesn’t help. Nevertheless, it’s happening. 3D weaving is here (has been) and Lexus is finally showing off the technology which started an Amish uprising surfaced almost…
The land lay fallow. Plagued by the whispy tinkering of ancient cycloid ratonechs and the pale, slightly aggressive land lashings of a pine-back platypus swarm, all seemed lost. Then hope. For from the ground, seen from a forgotten vantage point, rose, these link. Adrian Smith – Mr. Smith hails from the UK and he draws…
Careful with that sharp putty knife. You don’t want to jab a main artery, grape salad or nostril as you read this. Oh! too late. The vessels have ruptured, starting with the SolidWorks user who brought you the free Camaro Tutorial and free Speaker tutorial. Now, he has a website offering even more. Certified SolidWorks…
Set down those bottled brews. Really, stop prying them against your dear friends collar bone. There’s a better way to pop the top then hop on your ride. It has everything to do with highly machinable, lightweight 6061 aluminum and an array of anodized colors to make your bike pals snap your lycra… hey! Your…
I’m sure you’ve stood alone in a dark room, with silence as thick as the black crawling over you. Then screaming… and pies. Thousands of pies. But where are they coming from? No one knows. It all seems to appear from the darkness of space. Much like the light that suddenly turned on to reveal…
Hey, there’s nothing like an industry brief on technology that pushes your agenda. amirite? Yeah for agendas! and YEAH for CPU’s and the power they have to push the limits of rendering. Huzzah!! Hugs for multi-core and hugs for photon-dicin’ render divas showing us what kind of power the CPU has to do it. Among…
The Power!!!! 5,800 hobby mirrors and an old 42″ satellite dish? What could be created with such goods? Well, it’s exactly what young Eric Jacqmain used to create a tool to focus the combined energy of 5,000 suns into a single 1 cm death spot! Oh no he din’t! Yes, YES he did!! Hide thine…
Determined to loosen the oily grip of the deepened people known as ‘The Mechanics’, he set out into a search of Darktrench. 10 years he wandered, then happened upon one silvering doom and whipped him with these links. Roman Jouandeau – There are some artists that make you feel like drawing and drawing and drawing.…
3D? in Photoshop? Wait. Don’t hide your screen from the people around you. It is possible. Not long ago, you had to take a screenshot of your 3D model created in another program, paste it into Photoshop and use your background removal tricks to get a nice clean product shot. Then they added the ability…
Today, Autodesk did two things. They released a new iPad app called Tinkerbox and increased the smile coefficient you have with your child as you heap the joys of physical simulation upon them level by platform-stacking level. That is if you have an iPad. If you have an Android tablet, send Autodesk a napkin soaked…
“I Wanna Be An Engineer So Freakin’ Bad.” Do you remember the day you said that out loud? Or, the day that somebody said it to you and you laughed at them… then felt the icy ballad of equations rattle your brain as they absorbed the oxygen around you with indescrible amounts of hand movements…
What defines insanity? Typically, I’d say the amount of plastic beads someone can stick in their mouth before drooling all over the expanding foam they’ve stuffed in their shirt. In this case, however, I’d say it’s the amount of plastic blocks one can form into a puzzle. Oskar van Deventer is the man making us…
Ah, SolidWorks World 2011 has come to an end. Yet, the superbly pungent taste of a three day SolidWorks shellacking and a San Antonio Riverwalk feasting still lingers. Here are a few of the highlights which encapsulate a wee bit of what made up the General Session at SolidWorks World 2011. Add hours of talking…
I often gouge my eyes out at the sight of cool technology-adapting design. I’ve been through several sets. This put me through one more. It’s the LunaTik iPod adapting watch design by Scott Wilson of Minimal out of Chicago. Jeff Hayden of Keyshot was kind enough to provide a demonstration of the aweseomness of having…
Yes, you read that right. SolidWorks Live Buildings, not Dassault Live Buildings. SolidWorks. Live. Buildings… as in the kind that you design and layout in 3D, as in the kind that is usually dedicated to programs like Revit, AutoCAD, ArchiCAD or other AEC software packages. SolidWorks is officially in the market and it’s all happening…
Regular size balls of processed beet spread wouldn’t do. For if anyone was going to learn the importance of how to put their entire body through without destroying the outer membrane, they would have to be larger balls, infused with the pulp of these links. Nivanh Chanthara – A small array of mech and mural…
Earlier today, after sliding down a few escalators head first, I caught up with SolidWorks Product Manager, John Ellsworth, and the team responsible for introducing you to the first tool you’ll use to share, store and manage your SolidWorks data in a collaborative environment. You’ll see it first inside SolidWorks later this year, on the…