SOLIDWORKS Simulation
Climbing Ladders With SolidWorks: Don’t Just Stress About Strength
I love this time of year in New England–the weather, apple picking, the colors as the leaves turn. But what I don’t love is the half a trillion leaves that fall into my garden that I then have to blow/rake
... ContinuedBig Ass Fans Move Big Volumes of Air With Help from SolidWorks
Whether you’re trying to cool off your living room, restaurant, industrial plant or business, you’ll probably need a “big ass fan” to circulate high volumes of air and get the job done right. Big Ass Fans, a Kentucky-based manufacturer, produces
... ContinuedNexxt Spine is developing the next generation of spinal implants with SolidWorks
A few weeks ago Richard Doyle and I were attending some
SolidWorks User Group meetings in the American Midwest. Whenever I go on a tour like
this, I like to spend the day visiting with SolidWorks customers in the area.
During my most recent trip, I met with a very interesting SolidWorks customer
called Nexxt Spine, located in Indianapolis, Indiana.
Nexxt Spine creates spinal implants and instruments for the
medical community. They focus on creating products that are both
high-performance and easy to use. Most of their implants are made to screw
directly into vertebrae and other bones connected to the spinal column, and all
are manufactured in their own facility in Indianapolis.
While I was visiting, the team at Nexxt Spine actually let
me try out the practice system designed for spinal surgeons. As you can see in
the image below, they let me use one of their precision instruments to screw an
implant into a simulated bone.
Maximize your punkin’ chunkin’ catapult with SolidWorks Simulation
Have you ever wondered how far you could throw a
pumpkin? No? Me neither. However, a lot of people not only give this significant thought, they also meet in a big field to test their weird and wonderful contraptions
at the Punkin' Chunkin' World Championships.
In a nutshell, teams compete to see how far they can launch
a pumpkin by catapult, trebuchet, or air cannon. I first learned about this weird and wonderful completion a while ago, and I
decided that rather than build my own physical catapult and test it, I would do the smart thing–build and test it in SolidWorks first. Now, I
didn’t want to spend a ton of time creating a detailed model to test; I just wanted
a quick and dirty model that I could use to test my design hypothesis and make some initial determinations, namely:
- What beam sections to use on the design?
- Where to put the arm stop?
- What are the impact stresses?
- How far would the pumpkin go?
So my first design was quite basic, but it still had enough
detail to provide meaningful design data. This is a really important point for any design analysis: analyze early and often to get the
maximum benefit.
How POLYRACK Makes Its Products “Cool”
Complex technologies, such as desktop computers, involve many different components that have the tendency to overheat, including multiple printed circuit boards. How do you measure the impact of electricity and heat running through your product? POLYRACK Tech-Group employed the help
... ContinuedSafe Offshore Equipment with Leenaars Marine and Offshore Design BV
Construction of offshore platforms can often be costly and dangerous considering weather conditions and the possibility of drops into the cold ocean. For reliable and innovative vessels and equipment designs, the industry turns to Leenaars Marine & Offshore Design BV.
... ContinuedNew in SolidWorks 2013: Simulation Sub-Modeling and Incremental Meshing
These new features in SolidWorks 2013 let you focus on and refine specific areas of a larger multi-body or multi-part structure while automatically applying loads from a larger model for fast, accurate analysis. Quickly get detailed simulation results for specific
... ContinuedAssuming Small Displacement: The Large Displacement Flag
SolidWorks Simulation Premium includes a variety of analysis types (click here for full list). An assumption that Linear Static analysis makes is that the stiffness of the structure remains constant no matter what type of load is being applied. This
... ContinuedSolidWorks 2013 has arrived
Every fall, a new version of SolidWorks is unveiled. We’re always really excited about all of the new functionality that goes into every release, and you’ve probably heard that over 90% of enhancements are driven by customer requests. That’s true
... ContinuedBosch Designs Across Industries with SolidWorks Software
Car maintenance is a necessary evil for most car owners – you know you have to do it, but many of us avoid it or put it off until the car needs repair. While going to the auto mechanic may
... ContinuedGrow your business with the SolidWorks family of products
There's a lot that goes into running a successful business. You need a great product or service, a profitable business model, and good employees. But sometimes that's not enough, and you have to find ways to reduce costs while improving
... ContinuedStep up to a new level of 3D!
Equip yourself for design success with 3D Power Features for productivity and validation in SolidWorks Professional and Premium. The world of 3D design is fiercely competitive. Designers and engineers need to take advantage of any technologies that can keep their
... ContinuedCongratulations to The University of Michigan Solar Team
On Saturday, The University of Michigan (U-M) solar racing team won its fourth consecutive American Solar Challenge (ASC), which is a 1,600 mile, week-long endurance race that began in Rochester, NY and concluded in St. Paul, MN. The win earned
... ContinuedIntroducing the SolidWorks Plastics Dream Team
Munich, Germany Dream Team Hi – while you might have heard about the release of SolidWorks Plastics back in April of this year, you may not have heard about the SolidWorks Plastics "Dream Team" – the world's largest field organization
... ContinuedBreaking a World Record with SolidWorks!
There seems to be a few sporting events going on this summer; one in London seems to be a bit of a big deal and it got me thinking. Could I use SolidWorks to discover something about the track and
... Continued