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Oct 9, 2011, 1:26 pm
As all of you, my loyal readers, know, I went home to the Boston area back in August. As has become my habit, I arranged a visit to SolidWorks with the hope of interviewing some of the employees, as well as getting a glimpse of 2012. How surprised was I when Kristen informed me that …
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Sep 7, 2011, 10:00 am
When I ventured back to Boston on vacation a couple of weeks ago, I made my annual pilgrimage to SolidWorks headquarters in Concord, Mass. I’d gone with the hope of meeting up with a few friends and doing a few interviews. However, Kristen Wilson, PR Manager for SolidWorks, managed to wrangle me a... Comment - Like
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Aug 30, 2011, 4:22 pm
This past Friday, I spent the day at Z Corporation and SolidWorks. It was my first time actually visiting Z Corp, and I was excited for it. So much so, that I got my days messed up and actually went down Thursday. Sucks getting old…Anyway, Julie Reece, Z Corp’s Director or Marketing Communicatio... Comment - Like
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Aug 16, 2011, 4:04 am
Deelip Menezes, of deelip.com, started out as an Mechanical/software engineer who wanted to use his domain name for good. Unfortunately, he fell a bit short of his goal… I kid, of course. Deelip’s blog is widely read and he is a well respected member of the CAD blogging community. How did he get... Comment - Like
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Jul 25, 2011, 10:05 am
A couple of months ago I got the opportunity to review a new SolidWorks training manual. This one is called “Beginning to Advanced SolidWorks 2011 Modeling, Assemblies and Drafting from Machined Parts to Blobjects”. Quite the mouthful. It’s put out by Design Visionaries, a group of highly inte... Comment - Like
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May 19, 2011, 1:37 am
If you were to close your eyes and imagine what the stereotypical New Englander sounds like, there's a good chance you'd hear a voice similar to Joy Garon's. Comment - Like
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Apr 24, 2011, 5:33 pm
SolidWorks wants to send one lucky award winner to Chaa Creek Resort in Belize. All you have to do is redesign a chair. Ready? Go! Ok, so it’s not quite that simple. First, there are rules for this contest. Next, there are three separate categories for SolidWorks commercial designers, Students and... Comment - Like
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Apr 2, 2011, 2:38 pm
You know him, you love him, you wish he’d retire so you could have a shot at his job. SolidWorks’ own Richard Doyle is my latest interview victim. For the one or two of you who don’t know who Richard is, allow me to enlighten you. Richard’s official title is User Community Manager. I hardly ... Comment - Like
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Mar 26, 2011, 6:09 pm
It wasn’t until I joined Twitter in July of ’08 that I first became aware of Alistar Dean. How this was even possible is beyond me. Al is one of those people who, upon meeting him for the first time, you know you will never forget. If asked to describe him, I would say he’s …
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Mar 7, 2011, 2:34 pm
Upon first glance, Matt West comes across as a quiet, unassuming guy. Perhaps even a bit geeky. These, I believe, would be apt descriptions, even if a bit contradictory to his current role. There’s more to Mr. West than meets the eye, however. He’s also an avid music lover (indie rock anyone?). ... Comment - Like
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Feb 14, 2011, 9:35 am
Another SolidWorks employee that got to suffer through my attempt at being a journalist at SolidWorks World 2011 was Rick Chin, Director of Product Innovation. A Mechanical Engineer by education, Rick is another shining star in the SolidWorks Universe. He holds no less than five patents, has worked ... Comment - Like
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Feb 3, 2011, 7:24 pm
During SolidWorks World 2011, I sat down with Asheen Phansey, Sustainability Product Manager of SolidWorks, to find out a bit more about him and what drives him. I’ve enjoyed giving Asheen a hard time about being a tree hugger, among other things, but all of it in jest. For one, I think sustainabi... Comment - Like
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Jan 26, 2011, 6:13 pm
Where to begin? Let’s rewind to last night and the “special event” at The Cowboy Dance Hall. I use quotation marks because it really should be called what it is, a bash. Party is too tame of a word. The bash was simply incredible. Kerri Dunne, and her team, hit a grand slam with this …
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Jan 25, 2011, 1:57 pm
Day two started early for me. Five-fricken-thirty in the morning early, and I don’t know why. Both mornings here I’ve woken up at 5:30 and, admittedly, that completely sucks. I’m getting off track though. After a breakfast that consisted of a triple 20 ounce mocha from Starbucks, some cold Fre... Comment - Like
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Jan 24, 2011, 3:56 pm
Wow. I don’t know that I can say anything more intelligent than that. It’s been a pretty incredible day today. I woke up way too early to start with. How early? Starbucks wasn’t even open. I had to wait for that to happen. Things started to pick up around 8:00 when we all started amassing … ... Comment - Like
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Jan 23, 2011, 1:16 pm
Currently, I’m in a plane 37,000 feet above the ground on my way to SolidWorks World 2011. This will be my 6th time attending SWW, and I’m just as excited for this one as I was my first one in 2006. For me, it’s a reunion, a learning experience and a vacation all rolled up …
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Jan 21, 2011, 11:52 am
And so it begins, the annual migration of the Humanus SolidWorkus. These creatures, a subset of Humanus Geekus, come together once a year in a feeding frenzy known as SolidWorks World. They come from all over the world to gorge themselves on each other’s knowledge of SolidWorks. To the uninitiated... Comment - Like
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Dec 11, 2010, 1:59 pm
My good friend, Ben Eadie, has a new teaching website (usingsolidworks.com) and to help get things going, he’s giving away a 32GB iPad. Check out the video for all the pertinent info. Using SolidWorks Giveaway Like what you see? Go here to sign up. Comment - Like
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Nov 24, 2010, 11:14 am
360 Enterprise Software (Mecanica Solutions) 3D QuickTools Ltd. 3Dconnexion Altium Inc. AMC Bridge LLC AMD Inc. AMV s.r.l. Barry-Wehmiller International Resources CAD Partner GmbH Camtek GmbH Capvidia CD-adapco Cideon America, Inc. COMSOL, Inc. Creaform Custom Tools Dassault Systèmes Delcam plc De... Comment - Like
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Nov 22, 2010, 10:23 am
Have you ever been lying in bed and have a vision of the ultimate widget float through your mind? Next thing you know you’re up sketching out a rough design, refining it, smiling at the simplicity of something so ingenious. Then it hits you, you don’t have the means to get it to market. Well, ... Comment - Like
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Nov 21, 2010, 3:11 pm
SolidWorks World 2011 is just over two months away and I’m getting really excited for it. It’ll be the 7th time I’ve had the opportunity to go, and I know I’ll be just as blown away as I have been the 6 previous times. There’s something awe-inspiring when you see 5000+ SolidWorks geeks com... Comment - Like
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Nov 14, 2010, 2:46 pm
Let’s get this legalese out of the way first: I was provided with a copy of Template Wizard to review. At no point in time was it implied that acceptance of said software would result in a favorable review. Let’s be real here, anyone who knows me knows that I’m not a sell out. I … Continue ... Comment - Like
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Oct 4, 2010, 10:47 pm
Wow, it’s been too long since I’ve posted anything. Work has been encroaching on my personal life quite a bit lately. 10-, 11-, 12-hour days will do that. We had a big push to get the latest press design done. By ‘we’, I mean me, as in I was being pushed to get the latest … Continue readi... Comment - Like
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Sep 8, 2010, 11:03 am
Asheen Phansey, the PM for SolidWorks Sustainability, came up to show us Sustainability. “Show” isn’t really the right word. Asheen is so passionate about sustainability, I felt guilty for not recycling the gum I chewed earlier in the day. Here’s the deal for me, though: I get sustainability... Comment - Like
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Sep 7, 2010, 11:00 am
Admittedly, Simulation isn’t my cup of tea. I use it minimally, but leave the hardcore stuff up to those that know. However, I am learning more about it. I may even take the exam some day…maybe. Stephen Ensby, the Simulation Product Manager, was quite happy about the changes they’ve made to Si... Comment - Like
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Sep 6, 2010, 9:00 am
That’s what customers are saying, according to Shaun Murphy, no more bells and whistles. What does that mean for the development folks at SolidWorks? It means they’re going back into the code to make it better, more robust. To that end, a major focus for the 2011 release was lowering the memory ... Comment - Like
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Sep 5, 2010, 1:08 pm
I was one of the lucky ones to be flown to Concord, put up in a hotel and fattened up on some great food last week. So much for the diet I’ve been so strictly sticking to. Although, being able to go home, see family and friends, enjoy a few cups of Dunkins and get… Continue reading Comment - Like
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Aug 31, 2010, 5:04 pm
I’ve had it. I’m tired of being an afterthought. Just because I’m only colorblind doesn’t mean you can ignore it, SolidWorks. Actually, it’s not just SolidWorks, it’s any software that uses color coding. It would be nice if you’d think about me, and my brothers and sisters out there, w... Comment - Like
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Aug 27, 2010, 9:10 am
At 10:00 tonight I’ll be on an airplane heading to the east coast. I’ll spend the weekend with family before heading to Concord to get my first real glimpse at SolidWorks 2011. The only time I’ve seen it was at SWW back in January, so it will be interesting to see what they’ve come up… Con... Comment - Like
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Aug 26, 2010, 12:47 am
Today, while running a simulation, I saw on Twitter that Roopinder Tara had put up a new blog post titled ‘Practicing FEA Without a License’. Naturally, I surfed on over because, well, the title described me. The gist of his post was that CAD jockeys shouldn’t be doing analysis, it should be l... Comment - Like
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Aug 16, 2010, 12:21 pm
Most people are well aware of SolidWorks up front capabilities, i.e. creating 3D models. However, there are nuggets within the basic package of SolidWorks that some are aware of. Things like SimulationXpress, FloXpress or DriveWorksXpress. You can find these tools under, strangely enough, the ‘Too... Comment - Like
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Aug 1, 2010, 10:56 pm
Yeah, yeah, boring title, I know. I was pretty limited in my options here, y’know? I suppose I could have gone for some long, convoluted title, but why? I’m mean, when all is said and done, you’re here now aren’t ya? SolidWorks has put out a great self-study guide, but I̵... Comment - Like
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Jul 14, 2010, 5:19 pm
First, I should ask if you’ve heard of Mechanical Mashup. No? It’s another one of Ben Eadie’s ideas, he of SolidMentor and SolidJott fame. Mechanical Mashup is for the DIY’ers out there. From their ‘About’ page: This site is for you if…. -If you own something th... Comment - Like
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Jun 29, 2010, 6:54 pm
I’ve been busy lately, super busy. I figure I’m averaging almost 60 hours per week here at my new job. Why you might ask? Because of the crap I’ve been trying to polish. I was brought in to replace a couple of engineers who just weren’t getting things done and, it turns out, ... Comment - Like
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Jun 3, 2010, 1:40 pm
If you watch College football, you’ve seen their products. If you’re a Chargers fan, you’ve seen their products. Bengals or Packers? Yup, you too. DJO, Inc. designs and produces state-of-the-art knee braces, among other things. 90% of NCAA Division I teams use them. Shawn Merriman,... Comment - Like
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May 26, 2010, 3:18 pm
Do you know about the Dynamic Mirror tool in SolidWorks? No? Well, stick around and I’ll show you.
The Dynamic Mirror tool is a sketch tool that allows you to dynamically mirror (duh) as you’re sketching. To use it, you first have to find it as it’s won’t be on your sketch t... Comment - Like
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May 18, 2010, 3:01 pm
I’m constantly amazed at the stuff that’s designed in SolidWorks, or 3D-CAD in general. The layers of complexity, the swoopy surfaces, the level of detail; it all amazes and awes me. Then there’s the “everyday” stuff that it never even crossed my mind that it was design... Comment - Like
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May 12, 2010, 4:28 pm
Warning: this is going to be another of my opinionated posts. I welcome any, and all, well thought out comments. However, should you make things personal, I’ll be forced to call for the immediate removal of all your body hair so that you end up looking like this (yes, it’s safe for work)... Comment - Like
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May 5, 2010, 1:57 pm
When it comes time to deciding whether you’re going to attend your upcoming SWUG meeting, what topic(s) would compel you to go? I know that everybody loves Tips & Tricks presentations, but how many can you actually see before they become mundane? SolidWorks employee speakers? Much easier to ge... Comment - Like
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May 2, 2010, 10:29 pm
How does one go about reviewing a book, without bias, when said book was written by friends? Well, if you’re me, you just do it. I’ve never had a problem separating business and pleasure and, in this case, this is all business.
Alex Ruiz, with help from Gabi Jack, has written a SolidWor... Comment - Like
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Mar 31, 2010, 3:37 pm
I know, this subject has probably been discussed adnaseum but I don’t care. This is my blog and I write what I want. Today I want to write about why I hate external references. Specifically, why I hate it when someone creates an entire assembly that is so intertwined with external references t... Comment - Like
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Mar 12, 2010, 12:44 pm
By a show of hands, how many of you have tried SimulationXpress, or any of the ‘Xpress’ products available in SolidWorks? Sure, they’re meant to be like gateway drugs, tempting and teasing you into purchasing the full-blown product, but that doesn’t mean that they’re ba... Comment - Like
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