You’ll need 67 terabytes just to contain the excitement your storage-deprived mind is about to feel. How do you build huge cloud storage? This is how. Online backup company, Backblaze, now providers of one of the cheapest cloud storage solutions known to man, gives you the cloud storage step-by-step scoop. It’s storage on a budget…

Sometimes, even for the gifted such as yourself, it takes more than the power of the mind to form massive chunks of steel into structures that look cool and don’t crumple when hanging bits of mountain from it. For Corbett Griffith of Instinct Engineering, it’s completely natural. Since graduating Georgia Tech with a BSME and…

I peaked around the corner and you wouldn’t believe it. 808 blarin’! the people they starin’! popped my caddies back-a’latch and tossed in a bowl of cornflakes and these here crazy links. Stefan Morrell – Not only is his website cool, he’s got a knack for creating cities and worlds with intense depth. 4 Lessons…

Have you ever wanted to create a 3D model of a car in SolidWorks? How about this? Have you ever wanted to be taunted by a video about how to model a car in SolidWorks? Well, you’re in luck, but it’s not all that bad. I contacted Daniel Lavoie after seeing his SolidWorks Car Tutorial…

OK, so the last poll revealed that no one cares if the OS goes away as long as our lovely apps work. Hoorah. But who cares about OS this or OS that when you can model up something sweet you’ve always wanted to, right? There’s the 3D modeling at your day job, but what if…

So there are a few things you won’t see in SolidWorks 2010. No big deal? Well, another one of those things is no CATIA-SolidWorks translation. Jeff Ray, CEO of SolidWorks, commented in a recent interview with Ralph Grabowski that, “Customers are fed up with not being able to share data between Catia and SolidWorks.” Are…

On a slow, muggy night I’ll sit back, pop open a can of high density polyethylene and take a look at all the activity happening in the world of 3D fabrication. It’s invigorating. I highly recommend it. Recently, on such a night, I came across two bits of info from my two favorite fab sites,…

So, last week we looked at a lot of new features in SolidWorks 2010 – the ‘best’ features and how to use some of the more prominent ones. It was, by far, a brief look at what will spill onto your screen come release day. There were a few mentions of what was lacking in…

Cruuuunch. Remember the sound, because it’s likely to be the last thing you hear as you see the contents of your body somehow digested through the visible Endoskeleton support structure of the latest in robo-gadgetry, the Eccerobot. If the name isn’t enough to make you contemplate full, electro-conductive body armor options, the clunky movement of…

How does a little more automation and a little less hassle sound to you? If you’re familiar with working with extruded text in a model, there’s no doubt you’ve had times it would have worked out beautifully to control it with a Custom Property through configurations. In SolidWorks 2010, you can now control what type…

It all started with a pony. Two as a matter of fact. Then it got ugly, but also pretty, but mostly ugly. Out of nowheres the drones appeared, dropping these links all over the ponies. It was cruel. Josh Nizzi – Ya know that Transformers Movie? The second one? Yeah, a lot of that, is…

Not that configurations aren’t pokeable or that I’m trying to stop something you enjoy doing, but really, it’s just a Configuration Publisher. It just so happens that is new in SolidWorks 2010. Kinda new, anyway. Call it an upgrade of sorts. It attempts to make the whole configuration creation a whole lot easier. What I’m…

That’s it. For the last time you’ve tossed your bicycle over the bridge. The traffic is maddening, the weather is ruining your stylish hair, and you’ve had just about all you can take of your leg being eaten by gear teeth as you round that one curve. If only there were a human-powered, weatherproof container…

Oooo, did I just use Multi-touch and SolidWorks in the same sentence? Yes, yes I did, but don’t get too excited yet. We need to talk about a couple new UI features you’ll see in 2010. One is, in fact Multi-touch support. The more noticeable Mouse Gestures, most will see and either be filled with…

You know that point where robots become more agile than humans and then dead, lifeless bodies scatter the streets of the cities. Yeah, that is approaching, and you’ll love to see what’s putting it all in motion. Ishikawa Komuro Lab has been busy over the past 10 or so years developing technology in high-speed visual…

So, you have stacks of bodies spilling out your doors, but none of them have materials applied to them huh? Not until now. In SolidWorks, it use to be that all geometry in a part had to be one body. Then we got the ability to create multiple bodies in a part with only one…

Slam a caffeine drink and stick some sparklers in your eyes, we’re about to take a surface-level look at the new features of SolidWorks 2010, complete with cheesy little award graphics and some special SolidSmack commentary. The 2010 version is still in beta, but that won’t keep us from pouring it half-baked from the beta…

What else is happening the last week of August? NOTHING. Absolutely nothing, but the raucous sound of you splitting your eyelids wide to read what lies in store for the upcoming release of SolidWorks. And it’s happening right here on SolidSmack. This week only, we’ll squeeze all we can out the SolidWorks 2010 Beta release…

Ya think a corndog, travellin’ 500 mph isn’t gonna make a couple onions burst or tear a hole in the universe? Well, it did and took half the city block and these links with it! Markus Vogt – The Sci-Fi fantasy, surreal, and almost Gigeresque 3D/Photoshop art of Markus Vogt. Reduce distractions from Co-workers -…

If you’re anxious to spray sweet gravy out your nose at the site of the new rendering capabilities in PhotoView360, your wait is mostly over as of right now. Spoon it on, cause the Photoview 360 2010 Beta Rendering Contest has gone through the first round, and the entries… are not too shabby. You’ll notice…

Gather round the coffee table family. You’re about to see one of the most gut-grabbin’, practical applications of touchscreen tech yet. Your coffee table serves a lot of purposes, but Media Interaction Lab has one more to make your odd-looking neighbors peer in amazement, through the back window.. The premise is simple. Make the coffee…

Guest Post by Matthew Loew of DAXCON I realize this will be a controversial subject, but I am compelled to raise awareness of how rare a breed the Design Engineer is in industry. The Design Engineer may be headed for extinction (at least in the US). There is a HUGE difference between a design engineer…

Can you even imagine? No OS? No compatibility issues with this system or that system. Pure 3D CAD applications delivered to your screen regardless of what you ‘boot up’ at your desk, or on the road, or on the plane? Could it happen? While visiting SolidWorks, Jon Hirshtick addressed a question about SolidWorks on a…

I bet two old tires and a bag of tortillas you’re a Engineer or Designer that loves to model flat-pack, laser cut designs in SolidWorks, but has never ventured to have them made, yeah? Or, maybe you’re curious about a company called Ponoko, but not sure how to get started creating your designs. Well, it’s…

W… what the..? WTWH, of course. The media conglomerate that harnesses the combine power of Design World, WindPower Engineering, MCAD Central and a slew of other paper and web properties. The past couple of days I’ve received multiple Twitter request in my inbox with the nicknames “wtwh_(name)”. At first I thought spam, but then I…

You’re looking for the perfect beach cruiser, but nothing, I mean nothing, has tires fat enough to match the coolness you want to bring to dune dude. Your search is over. The Fat Tire Sand Bike designed by Mike Scarani could be the sand-spittin’ scrawler you’ve been looking for. He designed it using no 3D…

I found it, you! Sneaky it may be, but you don’t see me tossin’ arms and oatmeal about it. Good point though, it does go well with these links more than most forms of death. Brian Despian – Robots and other Illustration like none other. Really, you may start to like robots and hat wearing…

Don your cap and uncomfortable rubber mask bat fiends. Your friends await the sound of harrowing theme music as you serve up equal portions of fear and justice around the neighborhood. It’s just what you’ll be doing with your head sticking out the top of your very own Mini-Tumbler Go-kart. Designed in SolidWorks and constructed…

In a move to spur economic growth and increase market share, EVERYTHING… in the entire world… has been marked down to a bare-bottom price of, yes, $99. In actuality however, the only things that have been marked down are two pair of all-season radials, Coast-to-Coast Flights on JetBlue and Alibre Design Standard. Yes, Alibre, arch…

Are you ever ‘dropping a beat’, and it’s just not flowin’? This won’t help. I’d actually love to see a raise of hands though. How many people use Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) for flow analysis in their designs? My experience with flow analysis and looking at scenarios surrounding flow of any kind has always been…

Hold your gasps for a few minutes… ok, just a bit more, hold it… and release. I know, it’s almost shocking. And your friends? They probably won’t believe you for a few minutes, but yes, it’s true. SolidWorks is dropping support for Windows XP and phasing out PhotoWorks after 2010. Thanks to Matt Lombard for…

Prepare your drive systems and Plastruders my Cartesian coordinating friends. The great “Horn of DIY Fab” has sounded and the battle to maintain your 3D print fix and MakerBot units sold is EMINENT. Since MakerBot released it’s printer mid-April 2009, demand has been so high they’re turning to the MakerBot community to keep production of…

Ya want me ta blast it!! I’ll bet half a bottle of whiskey and a old, crooked post against making it through a ring of bunnies of that caliber. You’d need at least five direct hits and links so vicious it’d make yer feet swell! Experience the Planets – Because you can’t breath in space…

In fact, you would probably go through a few pack mules depending on the number of intersections you cross and your ability to steer a loaded ass from your hometown. So what’s the cheapest route? You could actually go for free, but you’ll have to do a presentation, get hired by SolidWorks or get on…

Pump up the Thump on the Bump man! Your renderings of soup cups and cyborgs just might get a bit more realistic, and guess what, it won’t require any harmful immunizations or soap throwing. Bunkspeed has released Hypershot 1.9, the latest version of their rendering software. If you’ve read the press release, you’ll see it…

If you’re the type of person that can turn peas into peas soup with a loud grunt from a squat position, this post may not be for you. However, if you’re mildly pea-challenged, like myself, and also wondering about constructing sub-assemblies to control them in other assemblies, read on. Often, you’re using SolidWorks, taking measurements…

Last week 3DVia started shooting broadcast signals out it’s eyes straight into your cerebral cortex. For some this may be disturbing, for others that use 3DVia products, it may be a long awaited resource for video on using them. 3DVia is part of the Dassault family, to which Catia and SolidWorks also belong. 3Dvia has…

…there was no mass hysteria, freestyle finger punching or the slightest mention of how to blow a wasabi peanut out your nose. Disappointing? No. Earlier this week, I had the privileged of spending 2 days with 8 other bloggers as guests to the SolidWorks User Experience Group, Labs, and Product Development Team. Yep, they flew…

Trust me, you’ll want to remove yourself for a few moments from the pile of various material samples heaped upon your pale face. You may also want to clear out some space in your “Useful Resources” bookmarks. The Material Information Society (ASM International), known for their material workshops, also has a very helpful material database…

I see laddie, plenty of gopher throwin’ goin’ on here I see, I do. Must be it’s time ta send yer’ granny up to MCClatty’s butterfly farm again fer’ more o’ thos’ magic darts that come in so handy. In the meantime, use these links. Fanatastic Mr. Fox Trailer – It’s Oceans12, but a stop-action…

They’re among us. Little robots flitting about, busy with the task of taking over this part of the world and demolecularizing that part of the world, exploring caves and enjoying the natural setting of coastline and atmospheric radiation. It’s all but a few know of… till now. Cris Rose, supreme leader of all creatures mechanically…

Well, from last weeks poll on Zombie Co-workers it’s clear… most of you feel your jowl kickin’ skills are in fine form. Good for you, not so good for your undead coworkers. This week, something to ravage your thought process and provoke the estranged feeling that you’ve forgotten something. We all probably have some sort…

Forget for a moment that you could receive permanent ocular impairment with the absorption of too much color. The new issue of Develop3D is about to force sunglasses and a cold cup of icy tea to your face. I just got the paper copy in the mail. Yeah, so I write up an occasional piece…

I am beyond the point of training badgers to scale brick buildings and form random binomial equation patterns on the side. Today’s technology is just too advanced and one German company is showing how it’s really done. UrbanScreen, in the attempt to completely redefine what is possible with the outer surface of a building, does…

Plug it in and crank up the DIY make machine baby, we’re about to roll out a huge vat of speculation. Last week at the SolidSmack Posterous site, I put up a tidbit on the new Shapeways 3D Part Database. I commented that it would be interesting to see 3DContentCentral, a user-generated 3D part library,…

The model you’re working on and the bad rice you had last night are sucking the will to live right out of your kabuto wearing head. Circular references are some of the most heinous problems to crop up in assemblies this side of ancient feudal Japan. The two worst things about these type of problems…

Well now. While you’re sitting around waiting for the 3DVia iPhone App or throwing your vote in for an eDrawings app, a relatively small band of developers has slammed 3D model viewing right into your sleek smartphone. Dan Halabe and Chuck Han have release NaviCAD, currently the only way to get silly with 3D viewing…

Don’t ya just get warm fuzzies all over when you hear of new over-priced, high-capacity storage options? Well, prepare to tell your coworkers once again the story of how much 6MB cost 20 years ago, cause Western Digital is dropping the single terabyte beat on your face. Today, Western Digital ships the first 2.5″ 1TB…

There were herds of’em, just standin’ around eatin’ my cabbages. I slapped the ugly one, and after he shook it off, he gave me a dirty look and these burly links. John Pugh 3D Mural Art – Your eye sockets are about to be fooled by the amazing illusionary murals of Mr. John Pugh. Ready?…

Those noises you hear over the cubicle wall…? *munch*… not Sam eating his ham and cheese. Oh no. Dare you take a look? You may think it’s an impossibility, but closed quarters and inadequate ventilation is a recipe for certain elements seeping into the nostril membranes, changing certain physiological elements of brain and bone matter,…