Huddle around the computer a little bit, your digital detox is a farce! How can you stay away from great stuff that you can read and chew on … mentally that is! We got you covered, while you were away, busy with your digital detox diet. Don’t be shy, take a look at the week that was, right here on SolidSmack. Cause we are ROCKIN! A “Personal Car Factory 3D Printer” Coming Next Year? I was a bit shocked when I saw a press release from Israel-based Modix that touted a coming “Personal Car Factory 3D Printer”. Tutorial: Model Wave Forms using Creo Parametric Variable Section Sweep and TRAJPAR Function –…

In this post, we’ll delve into the world of TRAJPAR. Now I’m not talk’n about some distant galaxy, but rather a somewhat hidden parameter nested inside PTC Creo Parametric modeling software. TRAJPAR is short for Trajectory Parameter. This puppy is one of the advanced modeling goodies that allows you to turbocharge your Variable Section Sweep (VSS). The exciting thing is that with relatively little effort (aside from wading in the waters of mathematical formulas) you can model some amazingly complex shapes that are parametric and robust to-boot!

I was a bit shocked when I saw a press release from Israel-based Modix that touted a coming “Personal Car Factory 3D Printer”. Could someone 3D print their own car? It seems to me that level of additive manufacturing tech is still a bit into the future. Maybe quite a bit. But it turns out that the announcement has more to do with “Factory” than it does to “Personal”. The new Modix MAMA (“Modular Additive Manufacturing Assembler”) is a thermoplastic 3D printer with a selection of possible build volumes between 1 x 1 x 1 m to an enormous 2 x 5 x 1 m. To put that in perspective,…

You may have ridden on Boeing 747. You may have even designed parts of a 747. But have you ever created an entire 3D model of a Boeing 747-8 exterior (including landing gear) in SOLIDWORKS?! Well, one of our favorite Product Designers and SOLIDWORKS trainers, Jan-Willem Zuyderduyn, has introduced a new Boeing 747-8 video course that combines 30 TRAINING MODULES and 43 STEP-BY-STEP VIDEOS that takes you through the process of modeling the amazing Boeing 747-8. Jan-Willem has over 10-years of experience developing SOLIDWORKS tutorials with LOADS of free tutorials and even more amazing premium tutorials at LearnSOLIDWORKS.com. Each module of the course goes into great detail on modeling everything…

You’ve seen tons of LEGO car builds in the past (some of which can even be driven), but I bet you don’t see something like this everyday: If your first instinct was to pick up this ATV and plop it on your homemade Hot Wheels track, you aren’t alone. This is a Sherp – a Russian ATV whose main features are its boxy design and ginormous tires. Built as an all-terrain vehicle, the Sherp uses a Kubota V1505-T diesel-powered engine which gives it an underwhelming 44.3 horsepower. But what this thing lacks for in speed it makes up for in traversing surfaces most off-road vehicles would have trouble crossing (you…

While a large house can definitely benefit from having a ton of furniture in it, too much furniture can make a small apartment or condo unit look cramped and unsightly. Seoul-based designer HyukJoon Choi has found a nice middle ground by creating a collection of furniture which both is and isn’t there. Dubbed the “invisible” furniture series, his pieces use a number of thin, reflective surfaces which are held together using small screws. When viewed from a front-facing angle, these pieces give off an illusion that what they’re holding is levitating off the ground: The two pieces in the collection both have small shelves which are strong enough to hold…