Wow. Woooooow. This year, SOLIDWORKS WORLD and the Certified SOLIDWORKS Professional Exam (CSWP) turn 20. What’s that? You were at the first SOLIDWORKS WORLD in 1998? You ARE OLD–Old as the hills. In 1998, I was at that first SOLIDWORKS WORLD (That was pre-SolidSmack… and pre-a whole lotta other stuff). I started using SolidWorks a couple…
SolidWorks World 2016 left 7,000 people overloaded by breakout sessions, inspired by customers, and smelling of the finest barbecue in the world. While the General Sessions were a bit all over the place, mingling product announcements amongst customer stories and keynotes (with beer, boobs and Yves Behar being the highlights), underlying it all was a…
It’s the first day of February, 2016. Time for the biggest CAD industry event for a single software package. SolidWorks World 2016 is on and there’s an ethereal feel in the air. Maybe it’s the rapturous, simultaneous geeking of thousands of SolidWorks users. Maybe it’s the 75 degree Dallas, Texas weather in the middle of…
I was finally able to get a proper live demo of the new SolidWorks Industrial Design product at SolidWorks World 2015, and while we still lack some really critical information (Uh, price?), a lot of the fuzz is finally coming into focus. We spread some misinformation on The Twitters yesterday, so today we set the…
Can’t make it to Phoenix, Arizona for SolidWorks World this week? It’s no biggie – although you’ll be missing out on the rare sight of seeing legions of awesome SolidWorks users who are taking a break from their usual screen glare for some real-life sunlight amongst the Phoenix palms. For those that can’t make it…
Leading up to SolidWorks World next week in Phoenix, we thought we’d take a moment to take a brief look at just how far the company has come from its original heyday when it was founded by Jon Hirschtick with his Blackjack winnings after a successful stint with the infamous MIT Blackjack team that was…
The second week of February is coming up, which means last minute plans for Valentine’s Day, Bacon Week and the SolidWorks World Conference. On February 8-11, SolidSmack will be in Phoenix, AZ covering the event, whilst avoiding rattlesnakes, rabid prairie dogs and (having good intentions of) ensuring everyone drinks and talks SolidWorks responsibly. With three…
It’s been almost a year since we’ve heard from Greg Mark, founder of MarkForged and creator of the Mark One carbon fiber 3D printer. When we ran into him at SolidWorks World 2014 last year, his 3D printer was the talk of the show and had SolidWorks executives including Gian Paolo Bassi talking about the…
SolidWorks World already seems like it was in the distant past, but in reality, it was just six weeks ago. However, now’s your chance to experience SolidWorks World all over again, or maybe even for the first time. Each and every break-out session and presentation that took place at SolidWorks World 2014 is now available to consume at your own rate, directly from their website.
Having been President and CEO of Dassault Systèmes (parent company of SolidWorks) since September of 1995, Bernard Charlès has seen better than most how much the 3D software—and software in general—landscape has changed in the last twenty years. From the transition of industrial designers increasingly adopting CAD engineering tools into their workflows to the concept…
Having been founded by aerospace engineer Greg Mark, MarkForged (or MarkForg3d) is already making waves since their debut at last week’s SolidWorks World in San Diego. Their flagship product—the Mark One 3D Printer—was on display in the Partner Pavilion and was perhaps the only product demonstration booth that had a crowd gathered day-in and day-out…
Well, the dust has finally settled from all the excitement in Orlando this year as thousands flocked to the fifteenth annual SolidWorks World at the Dolphin Hotel at Walt Disney World. Between the amazing guest speakers (Art Thompson, Technical Project Director for Red Bull Stratos for example) and exciting announcements (Mechanical Conceptual, Augmented Reality eDrawings),…
Day three of SolidWorks World 2012! It came and went with a quickness. Then the travel and the catching up. But not to worry, we’ve got the final overview video and some more details coming at you. As you may know, the Day 3 General Session is the day when the top ten enhancement requests…
Intense! SolidWorks World Day Two is always the craziest. Announcements, interview, lots of technical sessions and the off-site event that probably has people feeling a little shaky the next morning. We’ve got the highlights for ya and guess what… there’s one more day to go!
Day one at SolidWorks World 2012. If there was such a thing as a firehose of flaming CAD vodka, this would be it. Attendees have been drenched with inspiration in the keynote, getting their geek on in the tech sessions and livin’ it up at the evening parties. One product, 5,300+ people, insanity. We caught…
Robots!! YES. You’ll see some like that cute little guy up above at SolidWorks World 2012. We’re on the scene at SolidWorks World and the show is in full effect with the Welcome Recpetion kicking things off Sunday night in the Partner Pavilion. We’re taking loads of video as well and will be blasting coverage…
CAM Mania is going down at SolidWorks World 2012 in the HSMWorks booth #313. If you recall, HSMWorks is the makers of the free CAM solution for SolidWorks, HSMXpress. They’ll be showing the CAM features integrated directly into the SolidWorks interface. And, you’ll definitely want to take the CAM Mania challenge with first prize being…
SolidSmack and SolidBox are bringing you the SolidWorks World 2012 goodness this year. We’ll be on site with cords and cameras we’ve unnecessarily hacked into our ocular cavities to scare off any would-be event security. We’ll be keeping those camera eyes open for anything that may be of interested or mildly offensive, covering the General Sessions LIVE…
Tony Fadell. You may have heard of him. At the very least, you’e seen, or let sweet sound emanate from the device he is know as the father of. Tony was Apple’s senior vice president of the iPod division as well as adviser to Steve Jobs. He’s now CEO of NEST, a company that reinventing…
Maybe you didn’t make it to SolidWorks World 2011. Maybe you’re still wandering the streets of San Antonio after days of drinking Riverwalk water and salsa picante. No worries for you. If you missed a few sessions due to work or inebriation a busy schedule, you have the option of catching up. A good month…
Ah, SolidWorks World 2011 has come to an end. Yet, the superbly pungent taste of a three day SolidWorks shellacking and a San Antonio Riverwalk feasting still lingers. Here are a few of the highlights which encapsulate a wee bit of what made up the General Session at SolidWorks World 2011. Add hours of talking…
So, we were able to escape the urge to wander out into the warm San Antonio sun and spent a few minutes with the CADFaster boys to see more on this cool, new 3D mobile app tool. which makes us wonder why no one else seems interested in developing more for the mobile.
Actually, these guys would fill two space helmets and then some. You may have been a small child when the Apollo 13 spacecraft launched, you may have been non-existent, or you may have just recently learned of the space mission on a TBS re-run of the film starring Tom Hanks. No matter your age, you’ve…
Prepare to be smote with a clever play on words… nevermind, cause the headline already gave it away and saying it again would be so LAME. There are only 7 other things that are more requested that the option to Dangle Children. My babies!!!!!! You may have seen them from some of the coverage of…
I know, the last post clearly stated (with images) that SolidWorks and your precious models would get sucked up into ‘the Cloud.’ So, while we’re all getting comfy with that idea, I’d like to destroy it. The concept of it. We won’t use SolidWorks (or any other program) on the cloud. We will simply use…
I’m so close to SolidWorks World 2010, I can almost smell the enormous influx of SolidWorks geekery blanketing the So Cal city of Anaheim over the next week. This is going to be my 4th SolidWorks World, with an unexplainable gap between thoroughly enjoying the very first SWW out in Palm Springs and the last…
I know what you’re thinking. Pretty much anything free these days has something to do with throwing beets. That, or eating them, and who wants to eat beets. So, this is big news. You can get into SolidWorks World 2010 for free and all it requires is the use of your hands and your wit,…
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…
Some of you are so crazy about going to SolidWorks World that you’ve done some mildly crazy things and some really crazy things. What are they? SolidWorks wants to know. Oh, plus… there’s another secret brewing. So, head over to make a comment or leave one here. Did you have to promise to wash the…
Going to SolidWorks World 2009? Oh, you haven’t decided yet. We’ll maybe this will convince you to drag yourself and your vacation starved family down for a nice little jaunt across Mickey’s organically fertilized lawn. This year’s conference is being held at Walt Disney® World Swan & Dolphin, February 8 – 11, 2009. If you…
It is here folks. Yes, very soon, a fate better than sandy shorts and blistered skin will wreak havoc upon Orlando, Florida. The 3D modeling mass of SolidWorks users will join their compatriots in the massive gathering of SolidWorks related products, information and technology lovingly known as SolidWorks World 2009. It’s time to prepare, bribe…
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,…