In DESIGN

3D Printing THROWDOWN! Why 3D Printers Will Go Mainstream

5 Mins Read

OOOOOhhhhh, it is ON. SolidSmack has been challenged… and when I say challenged, I mean we are pickin’ fights with anything or anyone. Mr. Joseph ‘Mass Customization’ Flaherty over at Replicator Blog recently wrote about Why 3D Printers Won’t Go Mainstream. That’s just yelling to have an opposing view thrown at it. So that’s what were about to do. A friendly throwdown in the field of the interweb to avoid any type of debilitating physical damage. We’ll take on Joseph’s viewpoint and look at just how 3D Printers will go mainstream. FIGHT ON BABY.

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In CAD

The Extremely Huge (and Slightly Imaginative) Augmented Expectations of Future 3D CAD Users

3 Mins Read

Set the sticks and mud aside. Playing with objects in our physical world is nothing against the impending sensorific-digitized-virtual-realitastic onslaught of completely augmented playtime for you and the kiddos.

You may be seeing Frantz Lasorne very cool concept for a ‘blaster bot’ style kids game floating around. It uses nothing but the pure goodness of Augmented Reality and overactive imaginations juiced by years of uber-gaming and bags of twizzlers.

The future of CAD and PLM is bound to undergo some changes due to the expectations of kids playing games currently available and games like these that are setting up new ways of how people (future CAD users) interact with their environment. You’d expect there would be some expectations, right?

Here they are, but be careful… expectations are not what you may… expect.

First, check out the video.

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In CAD

The Big Book of SolidWorks Selections Tricks (In One Little Post)

5 Mins Read

Guess what. You’re most likely moving a little mouse cursor around, selecting this link or that link (clicking anything to escape this post?), perhaps not realizing that soon, instead of a mouse cursor you’ll be using your digits or some other multi-point device.

We’ll get into that tech in future posts. For now, we’ll take a look at just how many selection options you and your little cursor friends currently have in SolidWorks. Some you probably use. Some you may yell sensibilities at.

However you use SolidWorks, you are selectin’ things with blazing speed, or would like to. Here’s all the types you can use and some tips to make your finger burn right through those mouse buttons.

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In CAD

Design Juice To Boost: A Little Bit'o Tuesday Inspiration – Franco Ceccotti

1 Min Read

Oh man are we about to blow the door of your creative gourde WIDE OPEN. You might just call a meeting to discuss new ways to design those pump housings you model all day. Be warned.

I’ve been wanting to find some simple design to showcase. Simple design that can inspire designers and engineers alike to the possibilities of what they could produce within a 3D modeling program… and even more easily with a program like SolidWorks.

So, what better way that too look at some products from a acclaimed Italian bathroom furniture designer, FRANCOCECCOTTI. It’s simple, kinda elegant, but has some really pronounced profiles that you, if familiar with few 3D CAD commands, can translate into your own ideas. Have a look. Is this type of design inspiring?

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