The SolidWorks Blog

SolidWorks World 2012 Partner Profile: BOXX Technology #sww12

We're in the home strech now, but we still have a few more partner profiles in the queue. Today, we're hearing from computer maker BOXX. And yes, that should be in all caps.

 

1.     Tell us about BOXX.

BOXX is the leading innovator of high-performance workstations and rendering systems for product design, engineering, visual effects, animation, architectural visualization, and more. For over 15 years, we’ve combined record-setting performance, speed, and reliability with unparalleled industry knowledge to become the trusted choice for creative professionals worldwide.

2.     What kinds of computers do you sell?

U.S. built, professional grade BOXX solutions include 3DBOXX, the world’s fastest workstations, renderBOXX and renderPRO dedicated rendering systems, and Go BOXX, a line of mobile workstations that look like laptops, but perform like desktop workstations.

 

3.       How can BOXX computers help make a SolidWorks user’s life easier?

Because SolidWorks-certified BOXX workstations are the fastest (and most reliable) SolidWorks solutions in the world, they save you both time and money, increasing your productivity and profit.  And when it comes to your SolidWorks workflow, our expert sales consultants, engineers, and legendary technical support not only know everything about BOXX hardware, they also have intimate knowledge of SolidWorks (and a host of other professional software applications).

 

3.    Why should SolidWorks World attendees visit your booth?

This year, the BOXX booth at SolidWorks World 2012 will be, in a word—XTREME.  Stop by and experience true SolidWorks performance on the fastest workstations in the world which have dazzled reviewers and independent testers from Desktop Engineering magazine to MCADCafe.

4.       How can customers connect with you before, during and after the show?

SolidWorks World 2012 booth number   506

Website      www.boxxtech.com

Email sales@boxxtech.com

Telephone number    512.835.0400 or toll free at 877.877.2699

Facebook    http://www.facebook.com/BOXXTechnologies

Twitter handle   @boxxtech

YouTube channel    http://www.youtube.com/boxxtech

SolidWorks World 2012 Partner Profile: Dell Inc.

One of the things we've heard from SolidWorks World attendees over the past few years is that you'd like to learn more in advance about the SolidWorks partners who set up booths in the Partner Pavilion. So now through SolidWorks World 2012, we'll be posting a series of blog entries about some of the partners you might think about checking out, and the people who will be representing them. Today we hear from Richard Runnells, Vertical Market Strategist in Dell's Precision Workstation division.

 

1. Tell us a little bit about Dell.

Dell is a global leader in delivering customer-centric technology solutions for businesses and consumers. We provide end user computing, services, security, cloud, next generation computing and intelligent data management solutions. Dell Inc. listens to customers and delivers innovative technology and services that give them the power to do more.

 

2. What products do you sell that might appeal to SolidWorks users?

Dell’s end user computing portfolio includes notebook, desktop, workstation, smartphone, and tablet innovations. Dell’s Precision workstations are the company’s highest-performing and most scalable systems and provide maximum high speed rendering for the most demanding industrial CAD designers and engineers.

Dell Precision workstations are specifically designed for and certified for SolidWorks computing in intensive environments like modeling, simulation and visualization. Whether you draw, rotate, shade or render, Dell workstations offer the latest multi-core processors, high-end graphics, massive memory expansion and hard disk technologies to help you and your project stay ahead of the game.

 

3. Tell us a little about your partnership with SolidWorks

SolidWorks strives to bring value to the market with product enhancements that will allow users to maximize performance on leading hardware platforms such as Dell. Dell works closely with SolidWorks to deliver a comprehensive certification program for the Dell Precision Workstation product line that helps to ensure a trusted solution.

Aspects of the Dell/SolidWorks program include:

• Compatibility testing
• Hardware testing
• Benchmarking and tuning
• SolidWorks application support
• Specialized WorkStation support

 

4. Are there any customer success stories that you think embody the benefits of your partnership with SolidWorks?

Trek recently introduced the Carbon Session 9.9, which is the lightest downhill mountain bike ever made. To create this cutting-edge bike, the Trek designers drew on their unparalleled bike design know-how and employed equally cutting-edge design tools, notably SolidWorks 3D CAD software, powered by NVIDIA Quadro GPUs on Dell Precision workstations.

The result of Trek's Quadro-powered environment is the fastest downhill bike on the market – designed, prototyped and production-ready in about half the average time – and the model ridden by 2011 World Cup Champion Aaron Gwin.

 

5. How can customers learn more about your products:

SolidWorks World attendees can find us at booth #507 in the Partner Pavilion. You can also contact us at 

Phone: 1-888-221-1699

Website: www.dell.com/precision

Twitter: @Dell - http://twitter.com/#!/Dell.

Blog: www.direct2dell.com

YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/DellVlog

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DellBusiness

Rick Chin's 20 Favorite iPhone / iPad Apps

There is very rarely a time where I don't have my iPhone with me.  As a matter of fact, I am almost always with my iPad as well.  Whether at home, work, traveling afar, or in the car running an errand, these devices have become an extension of my brain.  They help me to explore new ideas, take notes, and look up just about any piece of information that I might need.  And when I am just looking for some down time, they also serve as great gaming devices.

I use these apps both professionally and personally throughout my day.  I hope you find them as useful (and fun) as I do.  Here is my list in alphabetical order.

Dropbox - Most everyone already knows about Dropbox.  It has become the leading cloud service for synchronizing your files on almost every computing device you own.  This includes your iPhone and iPad.  I keep all my active project files in my Dropbox folder.  Any changes I make are reflected on all my devices.  I can do office work on my home computer without bringing my laptop back and forth.  And the ability to access and share a file from your iOS device has saved my bacon on more than one occasion.  Navigate to a file using your iPhone, and send a link to that file to someone who needs it asap.

Evernote - Yes, another cloud service that most of you have already heard about.  I use it constantly to capture notes that then appear on all my computers.  With the iPhone app, you can also create notes that are snapshots from the phone's camera or even voice recordings.  Evernote will even do OCR (Optical Character Recognition) on images files you add to your notes.  The beauty of this is that you can later do text searches, and images will be included in the search results.

Fandango - Want to go to a movie, you have everything you need in your hand.  Find nearby theaters which you can see on map and get directions to.  See show times and even watch trailers.  And for certain theaters, purchase your tickets ahead of time from your phone.  I've used this and MovieTickets numerous times on business trips when I had a spare night with nothing to do.

Fieldrunners - This is a great game which is available both for the iPhone and iPad.  Your objective is to place various obstacles on a field of battle to prevent an army of little soldiers from reaching the other side.  There is a variety of soldier and obstacle types.  Combined with a near infinite way to arrange them on the field, this creates a game that always finds a new way to challenge you.  It definitely requires some strategic thinking.

GoodReader - This is a fantastic iPad application for viewing documents of different types: MS Office, PDF, and image files.  It even provides great tools for marking up documents with shapes, curves, and text.  I even use it to put my John Hancock on PDF documents which I can then email.  This is way more convenient that printing/signing/faxing.  When off to one of my kids lacrosse tournaments, I can load rosters, schedules, and field maps.  And the annotation tools allow me to highlight those things I must find at a glance.  GoodReader along with Evernote has allow me to almost never print a piece of paper.

GPS Drive - This GPS app is as full featured as most Garmin and TomTom devices you can buy.  Integration with the rest of you iPhone, like contacts, makes it even more versatile.  I've used it on business trips when I didn't have another GPS, and it worked great.  When packing light for a trip, all you need to bring is a car mount for your iPhone.  To get turn-by-turn directions, it is an ability that is actually an in-app purchase.  For $10/year you get this feature, which also includes traffic alerts.

Houzz - I really appreciate great architecture, and I hope to one day build my right-sized dream house.  This app and online service impresses me all the time with great images of beautiful homes.  It is packed with images of homes, landscaping, decorating ideas, and home products.  The images and descriptions are provided by architects, landscape and interior designers, along with home product companies.  The images are thoughtfully organized so it is really easy to find what you are looking for.  You can even tag photos which are added to your own idea book.

Kayak - When arranging for travel, the number of flight and hotel choices is dizzying.  How do you wade through 75 flight choices to find the best one for you considering price, schedule, and convenience?  You use kayak, that's how.  It will search all the major travel sights for you and then consolidate the results to eliminate any duplicates.  But wait, it gets better.  It then provides you with an interface with handy sliders which allow you to quickly filter the results down to your ideal choice.  Move a slider for departure time, and in real-time, you see the choices quickly reduce down.  Even when I must use the company's selected travel service, I always start in Kayak to quickly identify my best travel options.

MindNode - If you are someone that knows me, or have read my blog, you know that I am crazy for mind maps.  I use them all the time.  Whether it be to clear my head, explore ideas, take notes, or brainstorm; I almost always have a mind map open on my computer.  The application I use is MindNode.  On the Mac, it is fast and simple to use.  There are also versions available for the iPad and iPhone.  Mind maps I create on the go are easy to send to my desktop version of MindNode.  Want to share a mind map with someone that does not have the app, no problem.  It provides a very convenient way to send image or PDF files.

MovieTickets - Though the user interface is different than Fandango's, the two applications offer near identical capabilities.  I have both on my iPhone since you can buy tickets for certain theaters in Fandango, and different theaters in MovieTickets.  By having both, I have most theaters covered.

OpenTable - What a fast and easy way to find somewhere to eat.  Search by location, restaurant type, and preferred dining time.  Options are presented in a list or on a map.  Explore each restaurant to see how they have been rated by other diners, though I take most reviews with a grain of salt.  Find a restaurant you like, lock in your reservation right on your phone.  I have found this app useful both near home and while away on business trips.

Penultimate - Need a notebook to actually scribble in?  With this app, you can draw in a handful of colors and line thicknesses.  You can even place a photo in the notebook and draw over it.  There are a lot of sketching apps on the iPad.  What I like about Penultimate is that it is fast, easy to use, and has a very light user interface.  Most importantly, the line quality and behavior when you draw is better than just about any other app out there.  Sketching apps work best when you use them with a stylus, such as the Bamboo Stylus.

Plants vs. Zombies - This is another fun game for people who like games oriented towards strategic thinking.  Use different kinds of plants to prevent a horde of zombies from entering your house.  As the game progresses, new zombie types increase the game's difficulty.  This is a great distraction when you have 15 minutes of down time at the airport or while waiting to pick up your kids from practice.

SoundHound - You've been there ... your driving and a song comes on that you can't remember the name or artist.  Or it is so good, you want to remember to buy it later.  Tap the big button on the SoundHound screen and it listens to the song being played.  Moments later, it will tell you everything you wanted to know about that song.  It will even play a clip for you to confirm that it is the right song.  It can get you the lyrics, find similar songs, and even buy the song for you in iTunes.

Starbucks - I never worry about having money when I go to Starbucks for my favorite drink, a non-fat vanilla chai tea.  I have this app set up to auto-reload my account every time my balance falls below a certain amount.  When buying your drink, just hold your phone up to the scanner and your drink is paid for.  I really doesn't get any easier.

Things - This is a To Do app that follows the productivity techniques of David Allen, described in his book Getting Things Done.  If you buy into the process, it is a great way to empty your inbox and reduce the chances of forgetting to do things.  Be warned, it does take a bit of discipline.  My To Do list is synchronized between my computer, iPhone, and iPad.  I have been using this for years now, and it has served me very well.

 

Tripit - My absolute favorite feature of Tripit is that you can email the trip itinerary (which you get from Expedia, Travelocity, and the like) to plans@tripit.com, and it magically parses it.  It just about always correctly identifies your flight, hotel, and car information which is then entered in the correct fields in the app.  I never have to manually enter the details of a trip.  I have a pro account, so it tracks my trip and let's me know if there are any problems like delayed connections.  With the iPhone/iPad app, you have not only your trips itinerary easily accessible, but you also have all your frequent travel information.  Account numbers, accumulated points (automatically updated), and important phone numbers.  Don't leave home without this service and app.

 

TuneIn Radio - I'm a big fan of NPR, but I'm not always at a radio.  This app lets me listen to radio anytime and anywhere from my iPhone.  When traveling, you can even bring along your local favorites from back home.  Hundreds of stations are available and are organized by location and genre.  It even acts like Tivo for radio.  You can pause and resume live broadcasts.  You can even schedule it to record the same show everyday to listen to at a later time.  Combine this with blue tooth speakers like the Jawbone Jambox, and you have a very nice setup for radio listening.

Zinio - I've been slowly letting my traditional magazine subscriptions run out so that I can instead subscribe on my iPad.  Zinio has hundreds of magazines available and the subscription cost is comparable to what you would pay for a paper magazine.  I would rate the reading experience as pretty good by iPad standards.  It works well, but you know the iPad is capable of so much more.  You can still easily navigate pages and zoom in on pictures.  You can also bring up text only views for easy uncluttered reading.  Apple's Newsstand has a ways to go before it can compete with this.  Its magazine selection is small, and the prices seem to be pretty high.

Zombie Gunship - Hmm, what does it say about me when two of my three favorite games are about battling zombies?  In this game, you're safe in an airplane at altitude as you "bring the rain" down on the zombies who wish to invade your base station.  Blast the zombies, protect the base, and save wandering humans.  But be careful not to kill those people running past zombies who are trying to reach the base for safety.

[Editor's note: This was originally posted on Rick's peronal blog, Absurdley Ideal.]

Adding value through subtraction

I was fortunate enough to recently stumble on the online edition of “Getting Real,” a book written by the founders of 37signals (you can click the link above to read it for free online, or check out the updated version titled “Rework”).  If you’re not familiar with 37signals as a company, you probably are with at least one of their products. They’re the guys responsible for Ruby on Rails and Basecamp, as well as other well-received Web applications for project management and collaboration. The book is broken up into short chapters drawing on 37signals’ own experiences in building successful products.

 A few takeaways:

• build only the most essential features for your product (say “no” again and again)
• don’t write functional specs
• use real words in Web prototypes vs. the ubiquitous lorem ipsum verbiage

I became interested in 37signals a few years ago when I found myself the only non-Rails user on a plane full of users bound for a Ruby user group conference. Asking “what is Ruby on Rails?” elicited an enthusiastic discussion on what they did and why they LOVED Ruby on Rails. Looking back, their passion was reminiscent of SolidWorks users. Curious about the company, I ended up becoming a Basecamp user (the SolidWorks marketing team uses Basecamp extensively).

Given all of the Apple succession discussions taking place in the wake of Steve Jobs' departure and passing, the “saying no” theme is particularly relevant. Jobs famously called thousands of features “ugly” in response to a record industry exec’s demand for additional features in iTunes pre-launch. In fact, the Apple culture is to say “no” in order to focus on making the best products you can.

"Getting Real" states “each time you say yes to a feature, you’re adopting a child” and talks about the need to make each feature prove itself and show it’s a survivor.  I asked a few members of the Product Management and R&D teams how this “fight club” process applied to SolidWorks, given that we just rolled our our 2012 release, which includes hundreds of customer-requested features.  Not surprisingly, SolidWorks follows a pretty rigorous process of elimination as well.  In fact, in the early days, the prioritization of which features would go into the next launch was affectionately termed “the food-fight.” 

Today, Bruce Holway, the Director of Product Definition, plays a substantial role. Product Managers collect customer requirements and requests from support, the field, and customer prioritization systems.  Bruce’s team then does additional customer research and winnows the proposed feature list down even further.   Each feature is ranked either 1,2, or 3 with 1 being a “must have” and 3 a “nice to have.”  The big question for every feature is “do our users really need it?”  R&D also factors in the ROI of each feature and time/effort to build a capability vs. the perceived customer value of a capability. 

In many cases, the discussions are particularly lively because the developers and product managers feel strongly about never building something they wouldn’t love using themselves.  In fact, SolidWorks employees across the company use SoldWorks for their own side projects -- their boats, their souped up vehicles, and fine wood-working projects.  Jeremy Luchini is but one great example.

To quote Aviator Antoine de Saint-Exupery, “a designer knows he has achieved perfection not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away.” While it may seem contradictory, in product design and business strategy, subtraction can add value.  What about your products?  Can you identify maybe just one feature that you could remove from a product you are designing right now?  How might removing that feature make the product better?

Uncork Your Brain with Mind Maps

That great idea you are looking for is already somewhere in your mind or in the collective mind of your team.  The real effort in coming up with a great idea, is all about getting out of your own way so that your great idea can reveal itself.  I want to refer to this as the “idea release” process, rather than the idea generation process.

A very useful tool in the idea release process is mind mapping.  In this post, I will discuss how we inadvertently trap our great ideas in our mind; strategies for getting out of our own way; and finally how mind maps can help.

Atomik Cars: electrifying the Fiat 500 with SolidWorks

It’s been a busy few months for me, but between taking on a new job, SolidWorks World 2011 and traveling between the US and France, I’ve still managed to visit a few great SolidWorks customers. There’s one in particular that I thought would be of particular interest to the SolidWorks community.

Atomik Cars is a small company based in Paris. The Atomik team is made up of car industry veterans-everyone has at least 20 years of experience working for the big guys. They decided they wanted to do something different with Atomik, and use their years of experience to create something new that’s both exciting and environmentally sound.

They’ve decided on an interesting way to get started. Rather than build a new car from scratch, the team decided to take someone else’s car and improve on the design. The car they decided on is the new Fiat 500, which was originally discontinued in 1975 and resurrected in 2007. The 500 is a small car made for city life. The base model features a 1.4-liter, 68hp engine. That’s not what I would call powerful.

The Atomik team decided to take the 500 and turn it into the world’s first electric city supercar. What they’ve done is figure out how to remove the car’s original gasoline engine and drivetrain, and replace them with two independent electric motors—one for each axle.  The modified car can do 0-60mph in under five seconds, has a top speed of over 121mph, and has a range of 130 miles on a single charge.

But what impressed me most isn’t the actual design of the Atomik 500--it’s the innovation and creativity the company has put into the design process. For example, rather than source batteries from existing sources, the team has actually designed their own networked battery packs. In fact, one of the very first things they did with SolidWorks was redesign the battery packs to improve the safety factor, and at the same time provide more than 30kWh of power without losing the rear seats and/or trunk capacity.

 

To me, it’s exciting to see that it’s not just big companies like Toyota and Nissan working on hybrid and electric designs. Historically, small companies have always been at the forefront of technology, and like Tesla (another Dassault Systemes customer), Atomik Cars is really pushing the limits of what an electric car can be.

I was telling someone about my visit to Atomik Cars recently, and was asked if I planned to buy one. I have to say that I thought about it briefly, but then remembered that I have a wife and three children. A small Fiat probably isn’t in our future, but if Atomik Cars decides to take on a BMW sedan for their next project, who knows…

It's official—DraftSight is out of beta

Big news today from the DraftSight team. After an initial launch last June and over 400,000 downloads, DraftSight is now all grown up and out of beta. So if you're already a DraftSight user, go ahead to the website and download the official release.

If you're not familiar with DraftSight already, here's a little background. DraftSight is a professional-grade, open 2D CAD product for users who want a better way to create, edit and view DWG files. DraftSight is easy to use and is available for professional CAD users, students and educators to download and activate for free.*

DraftSight allows users to create, edit and view DWG files. It generally takes just a few minutes to download and runs on multiple operating systems, including Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7 and Mac OS (in beta).  In conjunction with DraftSight, Dassault Systèmes launched an open, online community, where users can access support and training resources, along with an environment to interact, ask questions and share their opinions.  

If you want to find out more and download DraftSight, visit the website at http://www.draftsight.com.

*Standalone license. Activation required.

More on SolidWorks n!Fuze, and how to sign up for beta

Two weeks ago at SolidWorks World 2011, we showed off SolidWorks n!Fuze, our newest data and file sharing application. If you couldn't make it to San Antonio, here are a few more details about the product.

SolidWorks n!Fuze is a new Web-based offering that lets you share and collaborate on files and ideas. It outperforms traditional approaches for sharing files, such as email and FTP sites, because it integrates with your design tools to facilitate the way you work, uses familiar social networking concepts to engage with others, and avoids costly IT infrastructure and administration. SolidWorks n!Fuze is quick and easy to get started with, simple to use, and accessible from anywhere.

Access anywhere, without costly infrastructure

SolidWorks n!Fuze gives you a home on the Internet for your designs and related materials that you need to collaborate on or work on from multiple locations. Every n!Fuze user gets 15GB of storage space, and an unlimited ability to create workspaces in which to share design materials with others.

Share with colleagues, customers and suppliers

SolidWorks n!Fuze offers a social approach to sharing your designs with colleagues, customers, suppliers – really anyone who you need to collaborate with. With n!Fuze, you create a network of people you want to work with, and invite them to join the SwYm social networking platform and the workspace(s) where you’ve loaded content you need their input on. You can have an unlimited number of other SolidWorks n!Fuze users in your network, and invite up to five guests at a time who are not n!Fuze subscribers.

Control your content

SolidWorks n!Fuze lets you decide how to share. You decide who is invited to a workspace, and what they can do there. Can they just read your files and comment on them? Can they upload their own work to your workspace? Can they edit the work you’ve put up there? You decide! There are many scenarios that make sense for collaborating on designs, and the flexibility built into SolidWorks n!Fuze means we have them covered. We even track versions of SolidWorks files, so that if changes from your group don’t work out the way you’d hoped, you can revert back.

Get and track feedback about your designs

SolidWorks n!Fuze has a great commenting feature, which allows collaborators to post comments about your designs. Rather than having comments lost in email, they’re directly associated with your work, right inside n!Fuze.

Work in a browser or inside SolidWorks

SolidWorks n!Fuze offers two ways to work. People who need to be able to work directly with CAD files can use an add-in to SolidWorks, and people who just need the ability to view your designs or post non-CAD files can use a Web client. Either way, they get access to the information you’ve shared, and can participate in the way you’ve envisioned.

Work from a PC or (soon) a mobile device

Advances in mobile platforms (iPhone and iPad, and the Android phones and tablets) have made mobile collaboration in design work a practical possibility. SolidWorks n!Fuze will support PCs initially, but we will be adding support for mobile devices soon.

Use independently, or complement your SolidWorks PDM solution

SolidWorks n!Fuze is designed to meet the needs of individuals who need to share and collaborate with others, but don’t necessarily need or want to invest in or administer a centrally-managed, network-based system for collaborating on designs. Its social approach means that each user administers their own list of contacts and their own workspaces, and invites others to collaborate on an as-needed basis.

If you have already invested in a PDM solution, SolidWorks n!Fuze can still be a great addition to your suite of SolidWorks data management products.  Since SolidWorks n!Fuze is hosted on the Web, it offers a great way of collaborating with suppliers, clients and partners outside the walls of your organization. Customers of all sizes, both with and without PDM solutions can benefit from the simple and easy collaboration that SolidWorks n!Fuze can provide.

SolidWorks n!Fuze is a great way to share and collaborate online, in ways that are uniquely tailored to the needs of SolidWorks customers.  We're excited to bring this new solution to you, and are looking forward to hearing how you use it, what you like about it, and what you'd like to see us add or change.

You can also sign up for the public beta, which is scheduled to start in the next few weeks. Just send your name, company name and contact information to nFuzeBeta@solidworks.com. When the beta program is ready to start, we’ll contact you with program details and instructions.

Introducing Post3D--the new way to showcase your design work

Earlier today, we announced a new product for SolidWorks customers called Post3D, which is based on current 3DVIA Scenes tecnology. As easy as sending email, 3DVIA Post3D creates virtual collaboration spaces, or posts, for designers to upload CAD assets and review their work with partners in fully interactive and realistic contexts.  Each post can be shared publicly or privately and allows users to meet virtually, in real-time through a personalized URL set by the author.  Post3D will take product design and virtual meetings to an entirely new dimension.

Publishing with Post3D is simple.  Users first begin by choosing a personal URL, (e.g. http://post3d.com/yoururl) combined with a few details like title and description.  Afterwards an environment such as a conference room for small objects or a large, beautiful retail shop for larger is selected.  With a click of a button, a virtual meeting space is ready to display design work. Users can upload their 3D model in over 30 file formats.  The completed design context can also be customized with items from the Post3D content warehouse.

Post3D is currently offered to the public as a free technical preview in order to capture user feedback and improve its service.  A public beta launch is schedule for later this year. Additional features will include themed posts, premium content (specialized contexts and models) and functionality add-ons allowing users to replicate almost any real-life scenario to fit their presentation needs.

Watch the video below to see Post3D in action, and visit the Post3D website to learn how you can get started.

 

SolidWorks World 2011 Partner Profile: NVIDIA

One of the things we've heard from SolidWorks World attendees over the past few years is that you'd like to learn more in advance about the SolidWorks partners who set up booths in the Partner Pavilion. So now through the end of SolidWorks World, we'll be posting a series of blog entries about some of the partners you might think about checking out, and the people who will be representing them. Today we hear from Jean-Marc Ludwig, Senior Strategic Alliance Manager at NVIDIA.

 

1. Tell us about NVIDIA
NVIDIA (NASDAQ: NVDA) awakened the world to the power of computer graphics when it invented the GPU in 1999. Since then, it has consistently set new standards in visual computing with breathtaking, interactive graphics available on devices ranging from tablets and portable media players to notebooks and workstations. NVIDIA's expertise in programmable GPUs has led to breakthroughs in parallel processing which make supercomputing inexpensive and widely accessible. The Company holds more than 1,600 patents worldwide, including ones covering designs and insights that are essential to modern computing. For more information, see www.nvidia.com.

2. Why should SolidWorks World attendees visit your booth?
Stop by NVIDIA booth 401 for a chance to win a Quadro 2000 each day of the event! Or get a jump on the competition and fill out the online entry form now.   

While you’re there check out live demos of how powerful Quadro can be. Demos from HP, Dell, Lenovo and BOXX will include side by side comparisons of SolidWorks performance, “day-in-the-life” production workflow by Travertson Motorcycles, touchscreen integration of Bunkspeed and SolidWorks, GPU Computing in the Cloud with iray and stereoscopic views with 3D Vision Pro.

We will also have exclusive show specials on Quadro 2000, Quadro 4000 and Quadro 5000!

3. How can your products or services help make a SolidWorks user’s life easier?
NVIDIA® Quadro® professional graphics allow you to take full advantage of SolidWorks® 2011. By enabling RealView and full scene antialiasing (FSAA), Quadro allows for more realistic, higher quality images. Zoom, rotate and manipulate large assemblies in real-time, without compromising image details or your standards.  The close collaboration on product development between SolidWorks and NVIDIA also assures you of the most stable and reliable user experience.

4. How can customers connect with you at the show? How about before and after?
Attendees can find us at booth #401 in the Partner Pavilion. You can also contact us at

Website: www.nvidia.com/solidworks

Email: JLudwig@nvidia.com

Twitter: http://twitter.com/NVIDIAQuadro

Blog: http://blogs.nvidia.com/category/workstation/

If you're interested in learning more about the partners who will be appearing at SolidWorks World 2011, be sure to check out the full list on the SolidWorks World website. You can also learn about our Certified Partner Theater, see when the Partner Pavilion will be open, and check out the complete floor plan.