SolidWorks World »

[5 Feb 2010 | No Comment | ]

The first General Session of SolidWorks World 2010 began in Anaheim, CA, with SolidWorks CEO Jeff Ray taking the stage.  Jeff mentioned that in the current state of the economy, most companies were scaling back events, but that there were over 5000 people registered for this year’s conference.
MEET THE PARENTS
Jeff mentioned the fact that over the last couple of years, signs of SolidWorks’ parent company, Dassault Systémes (DSS), had become more apparent.  He wanted to talk more about the relationship of SolidWorks with DSS.  He introduced Bernard Charlés, …

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SolidWorks World »

[1 Feb 2010 | 2 Comments | ]
That Looks Like A Mac!

At the start of the SolidWorks World 2010 General Session this morning, there were several computers on a table.  A netbook, a regular monitor, what looked to be a Wacom tablet, and some big monitor with a cloth draped around the back.  I thought to myself, “That looks like a Mac…”.
One of the cries from some of the users here lately has been about porting SolidWorks to the Mac (and also Linux).  Could it be that SolidWorks was going to announce ports to other operating systems?
As it turns out, …

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Design Resources, Reviews, Technology, Tips & Tricks »

[28 Sep 2009 | 22 Comments | ]
20 of My Favorite Improvements in SolidWorks 2010

SolidWorks 2010 has many improvements and new features that can help engineers and designers create and documents their designs more efficiently.  As is often the case in life, it’s the small things that matter, and small, simple improvements can make a big difference when designing or detailing a design.
SolidWorks seemed to have spent more time this go-around on polishing rough edges and speeding things up.  The themes for this release were user experience, reliability, and performance.
Below I have listed just a few of my favorite improvements in SolidWorks 2010 …

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Design Resources, Miscellaneous, Technology »

[20 Aug 2009 | 8 Comments | ]
What Really Happened in Concord

If you haven’t already heard, SolidWorks graciously hosted some of the bloggers at SolidWorks Headquarters in Concord a couple of weeks ago.  The main purpose of the event was to give us, as SolidWorks users in our day jobs, a guided hands-on tour through the new upcoming 2010 release.  And after the morass that was the SolidWorks 2009 Hands-On press event in Barcelona last year, they thought it more prudent to do a hands-on event just for the bloggers.
Now there has been a lot of flak thrown around because …

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Miscellaneous, Technology »

[20 Aug 2009 | 3 Comments | ]
SolidWorks Usability Testing

If you are interested in participating in SolidWorks usability testing, check out the post on the SolidWorks Blog for details.  They are looking for folks from all skill levels to do exploratory, free-form usability test on development builds of SolidWorks.
Most of the time, the tests are done online, and you will get to see possible new functionality and have input on the direction of the software!  Sign-up is free and all you have to do to sign up is fill out a short survey.
Image courtesy chabster.

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Design Resources, Tips & Tricks »

[18 Aug 2009 | 17 Comments | ]
3 Ways To Model The Same Thing

If you haven’t noticed, people are different.  They have different tastes in clothing, food, and music.  You say tomato, I say ‘mater.
So it follows that designers will have different modeling methodologies.  Sometimes, even circumstances or desired design intent dictate how you model something.
Take for instance this simple part with an o-ring groove in it:

I had a new SolidWorks user approach me a while back with the question, “How do I create something like this?”
I responded by showing them several different methods to achieve the same result.
One approach would be to …

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SolidWorks World, User Groups »

[5 Aug 2009 | 4 Comments | ]
Registration for SolidWorks World 2010 is Open!

I received an email earlier today informing me that registration is now open for SolidWorks World 2010!  SolidWorks World 2010 will be held January 31-February 3, 2010 in Anaheim, California.
To register, simply point your web browser of choice to http://www.solidworks.com/swworld/.  The first early bird deadline is October 9, 2009.  If you register on or before that date, you can save $200 off the regular conference admission.

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Interviews, SolidWorks Labs, Technology »

[24 Jun 2009 | 8 Comments | ]
Interview With Rick Chin, Director of Product Innovation

After hearing of SolidWorks’ new sustainable product tool, code-named “Sage”, at this year’s SolidWorks World conference, I decided to learn a little more about it.  So I contacted Mr. Rich Chin, Director of Product Innovation at SolidWorks.
After a few rounds of email tag over the last few weeks, I am pleased to bring you this dialogue on the day that SolidWorks Labs has released SustainabilityXpress.  I hope you find it informative!
CADFanatic:  Hi Rick, thanks for agreeing to do this interview. Before we begin, could you please tell us a …

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SolidWorks Labs, Technology »

[24 Jun 2009 | 6 Comments | ]

The free Xpress version of the Sage add-in mentioned at the Wednesday General Session of SolidWorks World 2009 is now available at SolidWorks Labs.
The add-in enables users to perform an environmental impact study of designs by means of a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA).  The LCA considers all aspects of a products life cycle from drawing board to end-of-life.
The Environmental Dashboard enables tracking of four data points: Carbon Footprint, Total Energy Consumed, Effect on Air, and Effect on Water.  As changes are made to the design, the user can see …

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Tips & Tricks, Video »

[19 Jun 2009 | 3 Comments | ]

Last November, I posted a tip on how to more easily mate components using an Alt-Drag technique.  A reader had a question about it, so I thought I would create a video demonstrating it.  I hope it helps.  (Tip: switch to full screen or view in HD on Vimeo)
This is my first attempt at video in quite a while, and I was impressed with the results!  Sorry about the audio, but I don’t think it’s too bad.
Like it/hate it?  Let me know what you think in the comments!

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Miscellaneous, Technology, Troubleshooting »

[4 Jun 2009 | One Comment | ]

Mike Puckett has posted that the upcoming SolidWorks 2010 Beta test will be starting up within the next two weeks.  To participate, simply go to the SolidWorks Beta Program page and follow the directions.
Please note that you will need to have access to the SolidWorks Customer Portal in order to participate.  This is your chance to see what’s new in the upcoming version, get a jump start on any migration issues, and to help SolidWorks by reporting any issues that you may have.
Are you going to be participating in …

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Miscellaneous, Off Topic, Technology »

[4 Jun 2009 | 5 Comments | ]

Now thru 5:00PM EST Friday, June 5, 2009, TechSmith is offering a free license of their screen capturing and image editing program SnagIt.  Now this offer is for an older version (7.2.5) that will not work under Windows Vista, but by taking advantage of this offering and becoming a registered user, you can secure upgrade pricing to the current version, 9.1.  After installation, you can upgrade to version 9.1 for $24.95 USD, half-off the regular price of $49.95 USD.
To take advantage of this offer, please visit this page.  For …

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