Konichiwa, SolidWorks ninjas. Welcome to the dojo (Designing Objects Journeymen Organization). Let’s flip roll right into our training regime. Mid Plane Is Your Symmetrical Friend As we take our 2D sketches from the flat world into the third Extruded Boss/Base Feature dimension we have options. Some options utilize references as drivers. When not using reference…
Sure, you can ask your grandmother about it, but I’m certain her explanation of how cookie cutters are made won’t be as relaxing (or intriguing) as the “making of” videos from Cookiecutter.com. This family-owned and operated business may not sell actual cookies, but their love for the baking craft shows through in their various baking…
I feel like I’ve stepped out of reality and back in again, then back out. But it’s real folks. Possibly the most anticipated version of Fusion 360 has been launched and it includes an immense amount of new features (and one in particular) you have been waiting a long time for. Fusion 360 Sheet Metal…
Use Onshape? Well, there’s a reason why, today, your coffee is tasting especially good, why your underwear seems to fit a little better, and why you don’t have to pretend Onshape has sheet metal tools anymore… because now THEY DO. Onshape just announced sheet metal. They’re out at the Pacific Design and Manufacturing Show where they’re previewing…
The oceans of the world are vast, covering approximately 72% of the planet’s surface. Many people across the ages have travelled the seven seas in search of new worlds! The more bold at heart have sought to explore beneath the surface uncovering the mysteries of the deep. Tales abound of encounters with strange and enormous creatures,…
While glimpses into the design process and fabrication methods have become more available than ever thanks to cheaper video cameras (e.g. smartphones), free online video hosting and overall public interest, it’s still not too common when a video spans the entire manufacturing process from raw material to finished product. In ‘BEAM / The Making Of’,…
Invented just one year after the invention of Scotch tape in 1930, the tape dispenser is a unique package design-tool hybrid that can be found in just about every household. Due to the frustration of finding the loose end of tape on a roll, 3M Engineer John A. Borden invented the serrated-edge dispenser to keep…
Among the best ideas to take away from modern architecture are new studies in materials and applications. The Bloom installation is one of those new and rare architectural pieces that begs the question: What the heck could I do with thermobimetal?
Go ahead, open the fridge. What do you see beside the fruit salad? A fresh bottle of SpaceClaim 2010. It’s fizzy and brimming with all sort of new features that make 3D product developers say things like, “refreshing!” and “titillating!” but mostly, “I’m so excited, I’ve torn my eyebrows off my face!” Yesterday, SpaceClaim launched…
I DARE you. Try to make a million holes in a sheet metal part with whatever 3D design tool you’re using. Go ahead… I’ll wait… anything happen right before your arteries surface to your skin and workstation starts smoking? Most likely, it can’t be done. I’ve never seen it done… till now. I received a…
So, last week I was bending up strips of sharp sheet metal with nothing but loud screams and occasional spewing of coffee from my nostrils when I got an email from a very cool ID chap asking about flattening an imported conical surface in SolidWorks. I thought, this should be a cinch, opened it up…
Attack I say! Attack and plunder the riches… of … imported… geometry and… stuff. Ok, battle faces everyone, we’re on a warpath today, a warpath to create usable 3D geometric data from imported files. It’s an interesting issue submitted by a user tired of recreating sheet metal part when he already has a 3D .IGES…
Put the crackers down. The shop is calling. Nope, not to tell you they have to remake everything, but to let you know the part-makin’ is going perfectly. Why? You knew what to look out for. On the screen it looks spectacular, right? but can it actually be made? For many designers and engineer’s designing…
You want’em? We got’em. Hot, steamy nuggets of SolidWorks tipage you can wad up and stick under your pillow, give to your coworker or completely ignore. Let me warn ya. These are not your regular old tips. These are the most obvious…and when I say obvious, I’m talking around 38-41% mostly obvious… give or take…