Green Design Contest in Full Swing
Thanks to all those of you who have participated in our Green Design Contest so far! I'm dying to preview your entries, but I'm going to wait until the formal judging starts on July 1st to check them all out
... ContinuedMade in 3D: The 3D Printing Challenge
By now, I'm guessing that most of you know all about rapid prototyping and 3D printing, and how they make it infinitely easier to visualise your design concepts before actually making a working prototype. But if you're not familiar, imagine
... ContinuedTrip report: my SolidWorks User Group tour
As you may recall from my earlier post, I spent the week of May 23 driving through the southeastern US with SolidWorks User Group Network coordinator Richard Doyle, attending user group meetings and visiting customers. It is always exciting to get out of the office and meet with SolidWorks users, and I learn something new every time. Rather than give you a day-by-day retelling of my trip, I thought I would talk about some of the highlights.
Each of the user group meetings was different and enlightening in different ways. The first meeting was in Atlanta, Georgia, and was held at the Quickparts headquarters. The second meeting in Greenville, South Carolina, was held at Clemson University. At this meeting, several resellers set up a display of 3D printers for the 70 attendees to demo, and SolidWorks customer Redneck Engineering brought out a few custom choppers. Here’s a picture of me sitting on one of them along with Vince “Nobody” Doll, who runs the company.
Beta program planned for SolidWorks 2012 this summer!
The SolidWorks beta program is returning this summer. Stayed tuned for additional information with further details over the upcoming weeks. The beta program is an excellent opportunity to preview new functionality in the upcoming SolidWorks 2012 release, to interact with
... ContinuedUniversity of Istanbul Solar Boat Team Competing in This Week’s Solar Splash Competition
If you happen to be near Cedar Falls/Waterloo, Iowa this week, there’s an interesting event taking place this week you might want to check out. Starting Wednesday, June 8, teams from universities around the world will be racing solar and
... ContinuedA Mom, a Wife, and an Engineer Walk Into a….
After more than 4 years of helping thousands (and thousands) of SolidWorks users learn more about the software, Gabi Jack has announced her “retirement” from the SolidWorks Community. This week, I’ll take a look back at Gabi’s work (and life) in
... Continued3DVIA Composer Views & 3D Interactive Animations
One thing that continues to amaze me about 3DVIA Composer is how quickly you can create 3D interactive animations that can be used for training manufacturing personnel, assembly instructions, repair/maintenance procedures, etc. It's as simple as this: Import your 3D
... ContinuedDesigning the hot rod baby buggy: your help needed!
The Let’s Go Design team is moving full steam ahead on our third project, the Hot Rod Baby Buggy, and we're starting to design bigger pieces of the stroller. But there are always challenges when you're developing a new product,
... ContinuedA Visit With the Laney SolidWorks User Group
I recently had the pleasure of attending a pretty unique user group event at Laney College in Oakland, California. The group is run by Elise Moss, a long-time supporter of SolidWorks and instructor at the school. If you’re not familiar,
... Continued3 Meetings, 3 Meals, and 2 Presentations
I don't often do three SolidWorks User Group meetings in three days, but when the CEO is making his first user group appearances, your schedule tends to change. The trip started in Atlanta where Tom Ellis treated us to vast
... ContinuedSolidWorks Early Visibility Period for SolidWorks 2011 SP4
The Early Visibility (EV) release of SolidWorks 2011 SP4 is targeted for availability the week of May 23rd. This Early Visibility period will be the most extensive EV period (3 weeks compared to typical 2 weeks) of all SolidWorks 2011 Service Packs.
... ContinuedWhat do bikinis, ATVs, and tank treads have in common? The new Let’s Go Design episode!
Well, Jeremy and the Let's Go Design team are at it again. If you haven't checked in lately, they launched a new project last month. The goal this time? To build a hot-rodded baby buggy, something any dad would proudly
... ContinuedThree Elements Timberworks cuts development costs by 50% with help from SolidWorks
Three Elements Timberworks, Inc. from Colorado isn't your average SolidWorks customer. They don't build motorcycles or medical devices or any kind of machinery. Rather, they design and assemble of hand-cut, custom timber frames for interior and exterior residential and commercial projects throughout the Rocky Mountain region.
Tips on free software for 2D CAD
Did you know that there is free to download a program for 2D CAD, developed by Dassault Systemes? The product is called DraftSight and can be downloaded here !
... ContinuedRecreating the U.S.S. Missouri with help from SolidWorks
I recently learned about an interesting project we're sponsoring here at SolidWorks. It's the work of a gentleman named Donn McKinney, who hails from Yorba Linda, California. Donn is a fan of the World War II-era Iowa-class battlships built for the United States Navy, and he has decided to attempt to create a fully-operational 1/32-scale model of the U.S.S. Missouri. And by fully-operational, Donn means that it will have full navigation, propulsion and radar capabilities.
If you're not familiar with your naval history, the Missouri was the last battleship built by the United States, and saw active service from 1945-1955, with a reactivation period from 1984-1991. Today, the Missouri is a museum ship. It weighs 45,000 tons, is nearly 900 feet long, and is capable of carrying a crew of 2,700.
That's a big ship, and it's hard to imagine turning something so huge into a 1/32-scale replica. Even at that size, the final result will be over 27 feet long. So to get started, Donn is using SolidWorks to create a full model of the Missouri. In fact, he's already started to build parts of the hull, and is making significant progress modeling the other parts of the superstructure. Donn is currently estimating that the project will take 2-1/2 to 3 years to complete. Talk about dedication.