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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
... ContinuedFive Questions Friday with Anne Yust of Micromedics, Inc.
Name: Anne Yust Title: Engineering Document Control/Drafting Company: Micromedics, Inc., a company that develops, manufactures and markets FibriJet® Biomaterials Applicators for dispensing biomaterials such as platelet gel and tissue sealants. Job description: Support Engineering Department with drafting and document control
... ContinuedHowe & Howe use SolidWorks to shorten fabrication time by 1000%
Michael Howe, star of the Discovery Channel’s “Black Ops Brothers, Howe & Howe Tech,” and President of Howe and Howe Technologies, Inc., recently took time out from his busy schedule to discuss how SolidWorks software is helping him, his twin
... ContinuedEven the CEO has to study for the CSWP test
One evening at SolidWorks World 2011 I was having a conversation with Matt Lorono, who manages the SolidWorks Legion blog. During our talk, Matt brought up the topic of certification, and asked if I had already earned my Certified SolidWorks Professional (CSWP) certification. I had to admit that I hadn’t, but promised Matt that I would have it by SolidWorks World 2012.
Early last month, I started working toward meeting that goal, and thought that some of you might be interested in following me through the process. So over the next few months, I plan to post occasional updates letting everyone know how things are going. First, some background.
Five Questions Friday with Rachel York of Applied Robotics, Inc.
Name: Rachel Diane York
Title: Mechanical Draftsman
Job description: Responsible for routing and completion of Engineering Change/Support Requests submitted to the Engineering Department.
Company: Applied Robotics, Inc. Applied Robotics is a leading global provider of specialized end-of-arm tooling and connectivity solutions designed to meet unique application and market needs, and bringing new levels of flexibility and efficiency to bear on the industrial material handling process.
Hometown: Atlanta, Georgia
1) Why do you choose to do the work you do?
I grew up the only child of a man who could fix anything, almost to the point I would want to break things just to watch him work his magic. Watching him tear things down and build them back up to something even better made me want to take everything apart, just to see how it worked. Worse case scenario: Dad could fix it.
My mother encouraged my curiosity; whenever something broke, a can opener, garage door opener, radio, lawn mower, whatever it was, she would always give me the chance to mend it before it was deemed a lost cause and handed off to my dad. My favorite part of what I do is seeing the ‘insides’ of machines and applying what I know about how one works to fix and improve, or even help create another. The greatest challenge of all is wanting to be a part of creating something that can’t be improved, simply because it was perfect the first time – come on, it could happen!
... ContinuedNew SolidWorks case study: ElliptiGO elliptical bikes
Ironman triathlete Brent Teal recently took a break from training to do a SolidWorks case study on how he developed the ElliptiGO, the world’s first elliptical bike. ElliptiGO Inc. was founded to create a low-impact alternative for distance runners. By
... ContinuedFive Questions Friday with Chris Petersen of Wolverine World Wide
Name: Chris Petersen
Company: Wolverine World Wide
Title: CAD/CAM Manager
I started the CAD department in 1986 using specialized CAD software for the footwear industry running on a smoking hot 2 Mhz PC-AT with a 20 megabyte hard drive. Not even one of our current SolidWorks part files would fit on that drive today.
... ContinuedCelebrating the Patron Saint of…Engineering?
In my short tenure at SolidWorks I have learned that more things are connected to engineering than I ever thought possible. Take St. Patrick’s Day. I could tell you about all the beer mugs or beer taps or Irish products designed with SolidWorks, but that would be expected. But, did you know that the patron saint of Ireland is also considered the patron saint of engineering?
It’s at the bottom of the Wikipedia listing, hidden among the ways in which different cities celebrate. An engineering college in Rolla, Missouri has been celebrating St. Patrick, the legendary snake chaser, for the past week – in fact, the past century. After a little digging, I found out that the Missouri University of Science and Technology (Missouri S&T) is one of our customers, and gave them a call.
... ContinuedBionic Builders premiers tonight in Canada
One of the highlights of SolidWorks World 2011 was the presentation by Casey Piretti and Bill Spracher, otherwise known as the Bionic Builders. I just found out that those of you in Canada can catch the premier of the series tonight at 8:00 pm ET on Discovery Science Canada.
... ContinuedThe SolidWorks World 2011 Proceedings Website Is Live!
I know some of you have been waiting for this since SolidWorks World 2011 ended on January 26. And if you're one of those people, I won't make you read any more than necessary. Just go here to visit the SolidWorks World 2011 Proceedings website.
... ContinuedToday is National Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day
Today is a very special day here in the US, especially for those of us here at SolidWorks—Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day. If you’re not familiar, this is a day intended to spotlight engineering as a real career opportunity for girls and women, sponsored by the National Engineering Week Foundation.
... ContinuedHelping prepare Rwanda’s students for the future with SolidWorks
As some of you may know, we at SolidWorks have been active in Rwanda for a number of years. SolidWorks' founder Jon Hirschtick first heard of Rwandan president Kagame’s vision for improving Rwandan design and manufacturing education from a friend (and SolidWorks customer) in 2005.
... ContinuedIt’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
... ContinuedSolidWorks User Group Network hits 200 groups!
I copied and pasted this from Richard Doyle’s blog on the SolidWorks forums. For those of you who haven’t met him, Richard is the SolidWorks User Group Network coordinator, and all-around great guy. I know he’s really excited about this.
... ContinuedFive Questions Friday with Ed Gebo
Name: Edson Gebo Title: Owner, Mechanical Designer, SolidWorks Administrator, Eastern SolidWorks User Group Network Representative, Executive Officer of the Connecticut SolidWorks User Group, blogger wanna-be Job description: Anything I can get my SolidWorks hands on. Company: Digital Detail & Design
... Continued