When Siemens Software announced their adaptive UI for NX, we knew there were good things ahead for NX users. Well, this week at #SiemensMAC2020, @siemenssoftware introduced #SketchNX, a new (and I would say the first) adaptive, inference-driven, selection-aware sketch solver that continuously evaluates the sketch. Over the last several weeks, I’ve had the chance to use the next version of NX with the new sketch solver. After moving from “this is just plain ol’ CAD sketchin’ business as usual…” to “well, that’s new…” to “whoa… WHOA,” I realized it was more than the usual sketching. In a word, it’s game-changing for 3D data import, sketch edits, and dimensioning. The best…

Unlike skateboarding, rollerblading, or cycling, the art of surfing relies heavily on… ya know, water, and waves in the water. No waves = no surf. But what if you didn’t need to wait for the high tide to kick in? What if you could just ride your board whenever you wanted to? The Waterwolf is an electric surfboard with its own propulsion system. Located at the rear of the board, it’s a relatively quiet propeller drive craft with a max speed of 16-19 mph (25-30km/h) and easy maneuverability to generally live out your surfing fantasies. The initial premise was to make a surfboard which could help surfers catch waves more…

If you’ve been holding out for a high(er)-end GPU option before taking a Macbook Pro plung, AMD and Apple have announced the option you’ve been waiting for. As of today, you have the option to choose the new 7nm AMD Radeon Pro 5600M and add +$700.00 to the 16-inch Mackbook Pro base price of $2,799.00. The new Radeon Pro 5600M houses 8 GB HBM2 memory while you were previously limited to maxing out on the 5500M with 8 GB of GDDR6 memory (for a +$100 addition). The difference? The GDDR6 memory clocks in with a bandwidth of 196 GB/s while the HBM2 memory nearly doubles it with a reported bandwidth…

Since time immemorial, CAD users have faced challenges when adding shell features to their designs. Typically used to convert solid 3D objects into hollow shells with walls of a specified thickness, challenges are met when adding shells to solids with small radii, unreasonably thick walls, intricate details and, sometimes, even very simple geometry. nPower Software’s new Power Shell and Power Thicken software additions for SOLIDWORKS were made to handle any and all problems related to shelling. With them, you’ll have fewer adjustments to make to your geometry and the ability to shell objects with the most intricate or challenging features. According to the official press release, Power Shell shells faces,…

Get your sculpt brushes and buckets of inspiration ready. Today, Pixologic introduced ZBrushCoreMini, a free entry-level version of its ZBrushCore and ZBrush software designed to help people get started with digital sculpting. ZBrushCoreMini provides a simplified version of the Academy Award Winning ZBrush software used by leading digital artists around the world. ZBrushCoreMini is designed for new artists of all ages, with a streamlined interface that lets anyone jump right in and start sculpting immediately.” ZBrushCoreMini The new software comes with some exceptional features for those who want to ease their way into ZBrush or need to 3D print their designs. ZBrushCoreMini includes the following features: Sculptris Pro – Frees…

It was a slow ride over to SketchUp subscription city but you saw the road signs along the way. First Trimble put SketchUp online bringing you SketchUp for Web. Then, in February 2019, they announced a subscription pricing option, retaining the perpetual license option. Now, they’ve announced a complete move to an annual subscription model with classic perpetual licenses and maintenance renewals no longer available after November 4th, 2020. If you own a Classic Perpetual License today, you will be able to use the latest version you own in perpetuity. In addition, if you’d like to update your Classic Perpetual License, you can do that until November 4th, 2020.  Please…