SolidWorks–it’s not just for product design

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Late last year, I got a direct message on Twitter from Justin Wallace, who some of you may know as @jdub11500. I've known Justin for a while, and he's a good guy. But this message was a little different from the one I get from most SolidWorks users, because Justin was actually forwarding along a link to an app on the Apple app store.

It turns out that Justin and a friend have a side business developing games under the monker Critter Creek. The link Justin sent went to their latest game, called Fruitopia. The premise is pretty simple–you have a basket full of fruit, and you have a limited amount of time to swipe your finger along three or more adjacent fruits of the same kind to score points. My four and six years olds have no trouble playing it.

Fruitopia 1

But what Justin really wanted to point out to me was that the basket itself (shown above) was designed in SolidWorks, and then imported into the applications used to build the game itself. It's the first time I've personally heard about SolidWorks being used for something like this, and it made me wonder how other people might be using the tools for uses beyond designing products.

If you've been using SolidWorks for projects like this, let me know. We're always interested in hearing about unorthodox uses. And to Justin and company, keep up the good work.

Matthew West

SolidWorks alumnus. I like plate reverb, Rat pedals, Thai curry, New Weird fiction, my kids, Vespas, Jazzmasters, my wife & Raiders of the Lost Ark. Not necessarily in that order.