I bet all of you are anxious to have someone stick their donut fingers all over your monitor screen as soon as these touchscreen displays start showing up. And showing up they will. March 2009, marks the month Albatron Technology will debut their 21.5″ Full HD multi-touch display. This sneaks in right on the heels…
While all the bloggers and SolidWorks people are busy freaking out about SolidWorks World 2009, I imagine there’s quite a few unable to go to. So instead of posting boring photos of wiring bundles behind exhibitor booths and other stuff you may not be interested in, you get to have your say about what shows…
Why, it was only a few days ago you were enticed to get your Certified SolidWorks Professional (CSWP) certificate. Now, however, SolidWorks is elevating the enticement by offering the exam to current subscription customers for the rest of 2009… for FREE. Customers wishing to take the exams must redeem their code no later than December…
Oh, the joys of using a really poorly modeled part and trying not to tear someone’s head off. Quell your rage with this. We’re going to deconstruct a simple part to show you exactly how to optimize part building in SolidWorks. The part is simple but each tiny facet hold the possibilities of wrecking havoc…
This bicycle concept has been on the web… A LOT. You may have seen it, but you may not know that it was designed using 3D. Yes, I know, it’s almost obvious. The design is also being refined in SolidWorks and that’s where you come in. Brad Waugh has a cool idea. A hubless bike.…
I saw it yesterday, a big ol’ metal silo that inches along the ground. It was filled with raccoons and smelled like cheese puffs. So, instead of calling the authorities, I sat down, had a cookie and looked at these links. Mecha Illustrations – Duster132 does mecha up so right. Excellent and inspiring illustrations to…
There are some things in life that are scary and others that are just plain fun. Robots and magneto-coaster-toy-thingies are both of those. If you’re a CSWP (Certified SolidWorks Professional), this year’s SolidWorks World CSWP event is full bore, roboteriffic, coaster-building fun. You have the food, drinks and a contest that’s even open to CSWP’s…
So, how many times are you sitting admiring the sunrise, contemplating the various ways to mirror an assembly in SolidWorks when you suddenly realize that’s not a bagel you stuck in the toaster, but your right thumb. With files sizes on the mind, you may have a tendancy to avoid mirroring SolidWorks assemblies as much…
3Dtastical. Just look at it. Is it a new kind of treadmill to zap off that flabby mid-section? Not quite. It’s a 3D scanner debuting at CES2009 this week and it’s got all sorts of buzz. The Real-View 3D Scanner claims that’s it the cheap way to create full 360° scan of objects. You’re probably…
Oh the pain! It’s rather like the most cinnamonny bits of breaded excitement you’ve ever laid your eyes on, plus it’s stain-free, has a nice texture, and some o’ these cool links. 3D robots – Some Mechoid inspiration for your Friday. 3D models of robots with all the trimmings. Robot Density by Country – Basically,…
It’s bound to happen. You’re walking past your local incinerator with that nice new shirt on and instantly your fine woolen threads are vaporized LEAVING YOU COMPLETELY UNPROTECTED AGAINST THE ELEMENTS. Scary isn’t it? So is not being able to protect those 3D models you’ve spent 1/3rd of your life working on. Fact is, sometimes…
Suddenly and without warning all of our robots have become decrepit, obsolete piles of gears and we now depend on virtual synthanoids that require no pre-programmed set of commands. Hmmm. Interesting thought for the future. But apply this to that mass sitting on your desk right now. Is it a workstation desktop wired to the…
Stop pouring Teriyaki all over your desk for a few minutes, Mr Ginsu, and take a look at this. You have the power to sizzle up one single pattern on different faces… of different parts… in an assembly. The shock and horror is overwhelming, yet your deeply drawn to find out how you’re able to…
After seeing the Herman Miller Embody Chair for the first time, I became a wee bit obsessed with what went into the design. With the design and development ranging over years of the incredible experience of Jeff Weber and Bill Stumpf, the process had to be something to talk about. Turns out it was. I…
Your feed list may be absolutely filled, boiling over with a slew of 3D CAD related content, but if you subscribe to any in the new year, you’ll want to check out these ten. They made the amount of online media a little more lean, and a lot tastier thanks to their knowledge, thought and…
It happened late one night. I was getting a special box of tree bark out for the kids. That’s when I saw them… teaching latin, throwing onions, and looking at these links. Microbotic – The freakishly amazing work of Christopher Conte. Robotic Spiders, Skulls and more. LogoInstant.com – Absolutely free logo design. Included Illustrator and…
So, what were the best and brightest post of 2008 on SolidSmack.com? I was sifting through all of them and thought the quickly-trained monkeys that wrote some of them did a pretty good job. I kid. It was actually just one monkey, with a day job and an extra finger… I kid again. Here’s some…
The ‘S’ key. A single key on that clicky ol’ keyboard that can give you the POWER to HARNESS… tiny little icons… on a customizable pop-up toolbar. Power? Yes, faster access to commands and less time between them. Everyone knows it’s easier to get away from going through the menus by setting up keyboard shortcuts.…
If you comment here on the post regularly, you’re extremely privileged to be using the most powerful commenting system of all time, Disqus. Yes, it’s quite a lot to take in, but it’s gone one better. If you don’t like logging into a Disqus profile, you can now just sign in using your Facebook account.…
OOooo, those wire don’t look right. They should be coming out of the upper metatarsal region. It probably shouldn’t look as cuddly as it does, but hey it’s furry and keeps talking about these links all cute like. 3D Art – Amazing, futuristic, 3D mechanized elegance all wrapped up in super cool renderings from Zamak.…
Hey everyone. I imagine you’re a few Chirstmasy plates and a fair number of drinks into this holiday season, but totally missing ‘best wishes’ from SolidSmack. You all make this blog rockin’ in more ways than you know, so here’s to you and wishing all the coolest blessings for you and your family. I hope…
I’m telling ya, you wake up one morning and screens are just sliding out all over the place. Soon they’ll be yelling, ‘touch me!’, ‘no, touch me!’ – but for now look what Lenovo is sliding out to the masses January 5th at CES. The Lenovo W700ds. A laptop with a slide-out secondary screen. Magnificent,…
How many times do you get to tell somebody what they need to do better during the day without being unduly ignored? Time’s are a’changin folks, and SolidWorks has whipped up a socially acceptable way to get your insight and look real cool while they take all you can dish out. Each year at SolidWorks…
Hmmm, Scooby flavored. Now doesn’t that just sound appetizing? Not so much, but if you’re into testing your SolidWorks installation and comparing it with others, you may want to sink your geek teeth into this 3D interpretation of old-school, mystery-solvin’ cartoonery. Anna Wood, at SolidMuse, is gather quite a collection of benchmarks to test rebuild…
It was almost inevitable, but tree bark and buttons? Small woodland creatures don’t just gain the ability to mechanically modify their skeletal structure and innate jumping habits. It had to be these links. Best Sci-Fi art of the YEAR – Besides yours of course, but this is pretty darn good too and it will make…
Oh the craziness of climbing on a stationary bike and pretending you’re escaping a beating with poorly designed bike locks. What can you do? How about designing a bike that calms your fears, enhances your environment and well-being? That’s exactly what Mark Hagen did with his new take on a exercise device often seen crumpling…
SolidWorks users. You are in for a treat. A free add-in treat for SolidWorks. A couple weeks ago SolidJott hit the scene aiming to get your questions and issues answered fast, online. Today they are announcing that it’s available inside SolidWorks. Direct access to the collective brainpower of SolidWorks users worldwide baby. Best of all,…
Some of you are so crazy about going to SolidWorks World that you’ve done some mildly crazy things and some really crazy things. What are they? SolidWorks wants to know. Oh, plus… there’s another secret brewing. So, head over to make a comment or leave one here. Did you have to promise to wash the…
When you tug on something that hard, something is bound to happen. It’s just odd that it happen to be that much bacon, a can of Sprite and these interesting links. 30 Inspiring Type Treatments – Cause I like typography and you should too. layout, form, design, feeling 30 Ways to Die of Electrocution -…
It’s time to get all activism on ya. Imagine just getting a seat of your favorite 3D CAD software with plans to create some sweet kids products. Imagine being a small toy manufacturer, a hobby woodworker that sells wooden kid’s toys online, or somebody that makes cool robot dolls. In Feburary of 2009, you will…
Prepare to wrap yourself in some warm flexible display technology on a cold wintry night. The news is getting more common and the screens themselves are getting larger. Gamers and advertising is getting all excited about being able to wrap ‘experience’ in every corner of a room or building, but how it could effect 3D…
Cut, trim, copy, paste, delete, trim, spin, slap, aRRRG! It’s the same teeth-gritting routine to get one edge to match another edge, one face to move with another. What we need is an easier way to get multiple parts to capture change and make that model rock your bosses eyes out of his ever loving…
Nobody wants bloody digits laying about, cluttering up a finely dusted workshop floor. That’s just bad business. That’s why this one, designed in SolidWorks, is made to leave your nubs attached to the hand. News of the SawStop severed the airwaves a while back, but the Discover Channel Time Warp Show meets up with inventor…
I’ve got an idea. Let’s make starting a project really easy. Throw a bid at the screen and watch the assembly build itself. While that isn’t exactly happening (yet), SolidWorks Labs is stirring the boiling cauldron of 3D CAD efficiency in an attempt to bring that one step closer. The Treehouse project allows you to…
Ya know the speeder bikes in Stars Wars you always dreamed of riding on? Well, this bike is the next best thing for the moment. Storm Trooper, neat sound effects and wooded terrain sold separately. The Grasshopper, designed by David Gonçalves, is a collapsible, self-charging, energy-conserving joy-ride that can trasnform into a trolley or stationary…
Do you ever look at a chair and say, “that thing looks so uncomfortable.” and then you sit in it and yeah, it’s uncomfortable but then your like, “wellll, it’s kinda comfortable.” That’s the Wassily Chair. The icon of modern modern furniture from Marcel Breuer. You can actually download a SolidWorks model of this chair…
I don’t know what was so surprising about it. I mean, a jump kick to the face like that is rare but not uncommon. Granted, it was desktop lamp with no legs and spouting nonsense such as these links. Strange Happenings – The crazy animation art of Sheharzad Arshad MultiColr Search Lab – How cool…
I’ve just picked my monitor up off the floor and guess what I see underneath? The warm glow of a video showing some extremely cool sketch technology coming out of AutoDesk University this week. You remember I (Heart) Sketch? The 3D sketch system that brings conceptualization back to a native hand-drawn environment. Amazing isn’t it?…
Ah, it’s that special time of year. That time of year when we consider the ramifications of firing a harpoon gun blindly into the air and also the pain of asking the IT department about upgrading to the next version of SolidWorks. Point that spear away from the whirring server room and settle in. If…
Finally, I mean FINALLY were seeing some development come out with those fancy Microsoft Surface multi-touch displays and BMW is the company making it cool to have multiple appendages. The ‘BMW Product Navigator’ allows those in the mood for a BMW to select options, colors, see video of their configurations and save it to USB…
So much for inspiring kids to grow up becoming managers of salty, high fat, carb ridden fast food chains. Let’s inspire them to become engineers with the ability to bend biological matter (i.e. paperboard cutouts) to THEIR WILL. Chick-fil-a is featuring ‘3-D Insect Models’ as toys in the Kid’s Meal. Cool – introducing small, hungry…
You could mess around with sticks and Playdoh trying to mock up an idea for a design contest, but if you’re like me and end up eating throwing the Playdoh and burning the sticks, there’s a better solution. SolidWorks sponsorship. Not only will you get to put a neato SolidWorks decal on your entry, SolidWorks…
A deep-rooted hatred for rare game board colors drove him to the sudden realization that Bolivian Scarabs were classified incorrectly. These links did not help. Sparth Construct – What? Future landscapes, vehicles and mechs? The amazing art of Nicolas Bouvier. Best desktop Customization Tools – More ways in which to make your ‘puter screen perttier.…
Hey everyone. I’d just like to say thanks for reading, commenting, loving, hating, cheering, puking and pondering each post here on SolidSmack. I wish I could buy a turkey for everyone (and throw a cranberry at some) that make me wanting to keep doing this, at times with the incessant rage of a rabid beet…
It may not be enough that you know how to sort desktop folders, write a cordial email or sketch a straight line, you may actually need to know some software that allows others to see what’s going on in the recesses of your analytically-primed imagination. There are hundreds of software apps that help Industrial Designers…
If your fear of needles send you into a fever-breaking sweat, there’s nano-technology being developed in the recesses of multiple research facilities that would eliminate the tension and danger of delivering meds to your drug-laden organs. The skin, being your largest organ, is the target of a transdermal patch with microneedles to get the juice…
There’s a new site that might get you an answer quicker that you can say, arrrrrrrGGGGH! to a SolidWorks VAR. It’s a new take on Tech Support from Ben Eadie of SolidMentor called SolidJott. Ben says it’s simple and it is. You sign up and type a question. You don’t need a SolidWorks Serial number…
For most in the US, there’s dancing. It’s a three day week as happiness surrounds the Thanksgiving holiday and ensuing riots to get 90% off a ham brazier. We’re excited about the same here at SolidSmack, not with finely charred ham, but with.. oh yes, finely charred tips. A short week, with a limited fewer…
Two steps to the right and look up. You’ll notice how the symbiont has taken over each leg gear with a separate group of combat trained wombats. They’re weakness? These links my friend. Robot CGI – Pure 3D robot goodness from the 3DM3 CG Chosen magazine. A whole mag of robots? yes. Rogue Game Browser…