I bet you didn’t think paintbrushes were still hand-made, did you? (I didn’t.) If you’ve drawn, painted or stepped foot in an art supply shop, you’ll know the name Winsor & Newton. They make an array of paper and art tools, and paints but you may be surprised to find out they’ve been making brushed…
Ahh the world of iPhone case designs. It seems that ever since Apple posted the iPhone blueprints for case designers, it is impossible to escape ‘the next big thing in iPhone case design’…especially when it involves 3D printing. Perhaps Graft Concepts is one of the more unique case designers, however. By creating a system of…
You all know it. Augmented Reality (AR) headsets are/will be all the rage. From the Oculus Rift to Google Glass, the size, shape and application of these devices is quite broad. Sketchfab, the site that brings you the ability to set up your own 3D portfolio, is holding their fourth Sketchfast competition, and this one…
Why it seems like only 1 month and 18 days ago that we announced the ‘Make Your Laser Cut Toy’ challenge and, in fact, it was. All entrants stepped up to such a challenge with 196 laser cut creations! A big handclap and a few prematurely launched fireworks for all of you. We have ONE…
3D printers are slow, but they can make virtually anything. Humans are slow, and most of them can make virtually anything as well. What does this mean? SHOWDOWN.
EngineerVsDesigner is teaming up with Makerbot Industries to bring you the first ever Absurd iPhone Accessory Design Contest! Have the perfect, insanely odd (or otherwise crazy) idea in your brain cage ready to spew forth? If so, you’ll be in the running to win a brand new, hot off the presses, Makerbot Replicator with a…
Yes! The time has come to announce the winners if the very first SolidSmack Design Contest. This… was absolutely incredible. We had over 130 entries across a range of categories spanning architecture, automotive, consumer products and more. You can just see all the entries at GrabCAD. With the amount of entries and the thought that…
The time has come. Like hot flaming liquid poured straight into a web server, pounded with a hambone made of lightning and set on the table for everyone to partake… the new SolidSmack site is LIVE. It’s about time also, the old site was kinda shiny lookin’ but had the content kickin’ factor of wadded…
It comes down to this. A typically Tuesday morning with nothing but the smell of hard work in the air, lukewarm coffee and multiple ways to make 3D happen. We had just over 50 entires in the Rock Your Desktop contest, which correlates to just over 50 GrabCAD portfolio submissions you should check out via…
It’s a fresh, slightly still doughy new year and what better way to start it off than with a contest and giveaway. This time i.materialise is bringing the opportunity to try out their fresh 3D printing service with a very slick tool you can use to create your own – very special, very unique -…
Hands down this has been the biggest giveaway on SolidSmack and you all made it an absolute BLAST. I know you’re all anxious to know who won, or if you won, or didn’t, so I’ll cut tho the chase real fast like. The winner of the the HP EliteBook 8740w Mobile Workstation is…
Our models. They’re dead… dead, pasty monoliths of engineering excellence plagued by the cold touch of a default color scheme. It must end. You must show the world what you’ve got and as the result, risk the chance of winning the ultimate in speed rendering technology, a license of KeyShot 2 Pro. GrabCAD and KeyShot…
Yellow is for me graphic by Azrol Kassim using Sketchbook Pro You remember that time you won a spanking for sketching all over your little brother with permanent marker? No? You’ve probably just repressed that event. No matter, because you can channel your creative sketching ability once again and win 1 MILLION spankings… in the…
BEEEEHOLD!!! Oh, ouch! Ok, muscles have tensed cracking most of the bones in my upper torso, but… (deep breath) No worries, because the endorphins are kicking in and some good ol’ modeling fun approacheth. T-Splines is holding a contest. Yes, a modeling contest using T-Splines for Rhino. The winner will be chosen from the best…
If your nerves, family or free-time have been affected by the frenzy of the shiny new iPad from Apple, you’re not alone. In less than a month Apple sold over 1 million of the 10″ touch-screen tablets. However, only a small percent of those people are obsessed with getting a 3D model of the iPad…
Well, well, well, well, well, well, well… ahem… it’s no big surprise that when I asked if I should upgrade to Windows 7 and SolidWorks 2010 or just start vomiting, that 61% of you said to UPGRADE, while 14% said to just start vomiting. We all know there are reasons to upgrade. We’ll touch on…
If you get the fever and shakes just thinking about moving to new technology, I’m with you. (I’m totally not with you) I’d much prefer to just stick my finger in my throat and vomit magnificent cad data all over a glass office table. Can you imagine?… you SO know that would be awesome. People…
The random number generator from random.org picked the number 80. Out of 113 entries that means the winner is: John D! John works for GageMaker, maker of, yep, fine gages. His PDF video idea was to, “use video in PDF’s to demonstrate the use of our gages and assembly procedures of our gages.” So what…
The giveaway is now closed. The winner will be announce Monday July 28th! Thanks for entering and be on the lookout for more contest coming up soon! This is the 500th post here at SolidSmack and what better way to celebrate than giving away an expensive piece of software that will make you so productive…
Ahhh, it’s the middle of the summer. Vacations are planned, mosquito are biting and there’s so much going on in the world of SolidWorks the coffee pot at SolidWorks HQ in Massachusetts is on 24/7. Yes, things are heating up and it’s a perfect chance for you to get all your incredibly helpful designs, thoughts,…
Recently, SolidWorks thwarted a would-be Zombie attack by launching the SolidWorks Geniuses marketing campaign. First up was the Leonardo Da Vince Self-Powered (Zombie-eliminating) Cart. You saw it, I’m sure, and desired to get your hands on the model so you too could prevent an ensuing Zombie onslaught. Well, you’re in luck. Rob Rodriguez is putting…
Ahh, It’s one stormy day before April. What better time than this to give away a SpaceNavigator courtesy of 3DConnexion. Don’t know what it is? It’s a 3D mouse that allows you to move every which way in a 3D environment. I’ve been using one and really like it after getting use to it. So,…
SolidWorks finished up their second year Student Design Contest a couple weeks ago and I’m finally getting a chance to look at some of the designs. I’m two things: hungry because I haven’t eaten breakfast and impressed cause these students did a rockin’ good job. Most of the entries were from Universities around the world…