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…

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,…

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…

What do you get when you mix a Canadian, a laser, a web camera and a penguin sitting in a corner? The perfect ingredients for a show on how to build a laser scanner for $30. Patrick Norton of Revision3 SYSTM TV take on Ben Eadie of SolidMentor to show you step-by-step how to build…

Seems that most of the comments about running SolidWorks on a 64bit Microsoft Vista system are positive and there are quite a few that are curious about what will work best. If you want to run programs on Vista, you may want to test them out first by downloading a trial version of Vista. However,…

Take a big, long sniff. That’s not your CAD skills that smell so sweet, it’s the smell of a slick new add-on to make your jaw drop in abject horror at the price it will cost to have a 3D model printed. But that is ok, because Print3D has made it work right inside SolidWorks…

Right when you thought the product inspectors were coming after you with rude and ambiguous looks of disapproval, a company out of North Carolina rises from the ashes of poorly documented drawing sheets and reveals the most beneficial tool a tightly toleranced engineering company could ask for. ExtensibleCAD brings you InspectionXpert, a program to automate…

For those who just won’t allow that shiny, white MacBookPro to be torn from their cold, dead hands and insist on having the best of both OSX and Vista on one box, this post is for you. We’ve shown you how to go about soft-modding your nVidia graphics card for RealView graphics on a Mac…

Last week on June 20th, Google Trends for websites was launched to allow a look into competing sites and aid your plans for worldwide domination. Similar sites, like Compete (my favorite) and Alexa already exist, but this leverages the power of Google’s simple, yet masterful use of analytical data. Anyone can use it to find…

The brand spankin’ new 3D technology magazine, Develop3D, has just gone to print. You’ll definitely want to get your hands on this, because for one thing, yours truly is a columnist for the fine outfit based out of UK. I gotta say, I’m not a regular industry magazine reader, but the way this is laid…

Today is the official Download Day 2008 for the new version of the Firefox web browser. Their mission: to set a Guinness World Record for the most software downloaded in 24 hours. Since Firefox will probably be the first browser you use 3D CAD on in the future, you’ll probably want to download it. The…

Close your eyes. Imagine sending a plain ol’ PDF to someone. Ok, now imagine sending a 3D PDF… got that? Now, picture being slapped out of your daze by the Adobe Acrobat development team and having the ability to send someone all your project files in a single PDF, upload, share and discuss it with…

Slap me sideways and constrain me to X/Y coordinates. SolidWorks Labs has released a new web app, called BluePrint Now, that allows you to create/edit/save DWG files online. That… is just wild people. Whatcha think the AutoDesk folks think about this. hmmm? Honestly, when I first tried to use it, I felt like we have…

My brother, who is trying to shed the hooks of life on dry ground for a life at sea, shared this site with me. It’s a giant repository for details of old boat plans that includes everything from row boats to ski boats and even a few sail boats. Ah, to escape to the islands,…

Yesterday my copy of SolidWorks Surfacing by Matt Lombard arrived in the mail from Amazon! My boy likes all the colored images in the book… and I like the colored images in the book. We discussed boundary surface and debated lofting conditions. From first glance, this book is full of insight that will get you…

It’s new and shiny and doesn’t hurt, plus… The conversation is happening there You find out stuff before anyone else You have access to people you normally wouldn’t I’ve meet a lot of people and a lot of SolidWorks users I’ve found new CAD related and SolidWorks Blogs (see below) It’s pretty amazing when you…

Sometimes it takes a little while to get a blog post up. Franco Folini from the NovEdge Blog last posted on December 17th, 2007. Ya see, he’s been busy… creating THE MOTHER OF ALL CAD DIRECTORIES … IN THE WORLD! I’m sure he’s tired, passed out on the floor, waiting for you to tell him…

For ya’ll that like to make your models look like the real deal, there’s a (soon-to-be available) new book for you to cozy up with. Rob Rodriguez and Jim Boland have joined together to expand the PhotoWorks step-by-step series with the 2008 PhotoWorks Step-by-Step Self-Study Guide. If you’re familiar with Rob’s talent, you know it…

If you’re wondering why the presentations to SolidWorks World 2008 haven’t been made available to the public, here’s the answer… I have no freakin’ idea. But, you can download them all now and you don’t need top double secret access. Matt Lombard has put all 1.3GB on his site, so time to get a drink…

This could also be called “Why Engineers Should Not Have Cats.” I’m sure this will help someone and also disturb others. I’m sorry, I just can’t stand cats. It’s not so much the cat though. It’s more the giant whelps I get when scratched and the incessant amount of hair that spills out of their…

If you are thinking about upgrading to Microsoft Windows Vista or think that SolidWorks will not run well on Vista or that everything in the world sucks because of Vista, you NEED to read Mike Puckett’s SolidWorks on Vista experience. With Vista SP1 now available this makes the move to Vista even more important in…

Oh, the joys of putting a product online. All you want to do is get it out there. But what is the best way to actually do that without searching and testing and paying way too much for something really frustrating to use? Well, you’re in luck. I’ve been looking at online web stores and…

I know how you feel. You’re out with the kids or on a hot date and you’re wondering how to maintain design intent and still get that profile extruded to that surface. Sad state of affairs my friend… until now. The boys at Inspirtech SolidWorks Training just launch their web-based video course that will allow…

You may be familiar with the book Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity by David Allen. I recommend it if you haven’t read it. If you want a taste, check out the video below. He’s addressing Google on the core principles of focusing your activity and being clear about decisions. It’s a bit…

For the 6.3% of us that are using Vista out there, a handy little program called Vista4Experts may come in handy for quick changes to the security settings and other difficult to change options in the Vista OS. It’s free too. Just make sure you’re comfortable making the changes and find out about some of…

If you’re wanting to immerse yourself in the depths of SolidWorks Surfacing, you probably won’t get a better opportunity to do it for less than the price of 150 cups of premium coffee my friends. Yes, through a special ‘limited-time’ offer from ConnectPress and SolidProfessor you can get the Advanced SolidWorks Surfacing Course from the…

OK, here’s one for ya. Imagine, ok, just for a sec, gliding your mouse…yeah… instead of dragging it…I can tell you’re shocked and amazed. Supposedly there’s a difference, and MousEX has defined it. Available now, in one flat and carpel-tunnel free flavor, is the mouse extension MousEX Glider. It not only acts as a mouse,…

There’s a new blog in town and it’s sporting a crop of writers. SolidWorks Legion has come on the scene and plans to give you the huzzah on SolidWorks. You may recognize the authors if you frequent the SolidWorks Yahoo group. FCSuper, and his two compatriots, are sporting a Wordpress Blog with a nice blue-gray…

You like free stuff? I though you might. You can now get Camtasia Studio 3.1.3 absolutely free and record all the computer screen goodness you want. Create video tutorials, zoom, pan, then share on a site like Vimeo. Here’s the simple 3 step process. Download the software from here (28.3MB). Go to this page and…

And I definitely mean that in a rock-your-cad-soaked-gourd kind of way. I’m always impressed by the articles on the MCAD magizine website and the diverse topics they cover. They’re based out of the UK, but you can see the current issue and back issues online. This month particularly caught my attention because they cover a…

A nice bin always comes in handy. In one way or another we are managing or organizing something each day. There’s no limit to the frustration that seems to be associated with that for some reason. But with there’s a lot more and a lot better ways to collaborate and go home early. This article…

SolidWorks has just linked up a group of tips by some VEX Engineers for the VEXplorer Robot. The videos concentrate on tips you need to build a good foundation for modeling in SolidWorks . They’re short and to the point. I’ve watched them as they came out at CADJunky.com, but I’d recommend downloading them to…

If you’ve always wanted to participate in the SolidWorks community without leaving your desk, nows your chance. SolidMentor.com, a central location for everything related to SolidWorks has just gone out of beta…un-beta. I would strongly suggest going over and signing up for two reasons. 1) It’s a great source of information and community and 2)…

Dassault Systemes in association with a stellar team of SolidWorks employees and community folk have launched SupplierSource Beta to give you access to a community of manufacturers. SupplierSource is being developed to provide a simple yet powerful network for the custom service manufacturing industry. Our mission is to connect buyers with suppliers in a whole…

Have you ever dreamed of joining the ranks of the SolidWorks Elite? Yes? Well, there’s currently 5,327 Certified SolidWorks Professional and you could be the next one… for absolutely FREE. That’s darn right, pick yourself up off the ground. SolidWorks has opened up the doors to allow anyone who thinks they are worthy to take…

In the past 14 years of my experience in CAD the wood end grain hatch pattern has always been one of the most elusive of the nocturnal hatch patterns. At least, it has been in the 5 companies of the lower southern mid-west I’ve worked at. I doubt it has to do with temperate zone…

Google Patent search has been one of the primary means of finding free patent information online since it’s launch in December 2006. Brian Law at Solid Impressions has put up an extremely useful post on Patent Searches and gives his experience with using Google Patent Search. I agree that finding patent information use to be…

DELCAM has a CAD CAM product that allows you to open, view, manipulate, measure and save 39 different CAD formats. It’s called PowerSHAPE-e. The ‘SHAPE’ part is in caps cause they mean business… FREE business. They put out a press release about it today. Just last week, I was looking for something I could use…

Here’s a quick tip that will help keep your eyes from spurting blood when you’re working those long hours. ClearType Tuner This tool will help the fonts on your screen show up better which can make a night and day difference in how productive you can be. You may need to download the Powertoy Version…

I’ve had to search for some models lately and I was going to do a helpful little post on the best places to find and download models, but after searching for hours and messing around on a bunch of sites, there is just one that stands out. I bet some of you could have told…

In response to the post about The Vital Key to an Organized SolidWorks Team, one of our readers, Kyle Mason, sent a response about his experience at college where Inventor is really pushed. I have [created a Reg file for Inventor users] to make SolidWorks a little more “Inventor friendly.” I am going to college…

Matt Lombard will love you. Order from here. I just got mine and it ‘s the best SolidWorks book out there.

If you’ve been wasting your time with liquid or gasous mentors, you’re in for a wake up call. That’s right, SolidMentor is on the brink of launching thee site that consolidates all the goodness that is SolidWorks, from blogs, to wiki, to events and webcasts. Here’s the low-down on the features: Syndicated Blogs Content-driven forum…