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Archive for September, 2007

Friday Smackdown

28 Sep, 2007 by Josh Mings in SMACKDOWN
3D Human CAD Models

zango-example-01.jpgIf I was a pastry chef I think that freak everyone out a little too much… on the other hand, I could see the bewildering power in the ability to prepare delightfully beautiful cakes and sorbets.

Zlango – a fun way to talk, post, and send messages with a global image language.
ZiiTrend – A social site to predict future trends. A really interesting look at what people think are going on in politics, sports, entertainment and technology.
DrummerWorld – Best site for Drum videos, drummer bios, solos, dvds, and more.
Digital Camera Enhancer – FREE digital camera software to help de-noise and enhance digital photos. Has some good tips too.
Heroes – Season 2 – the new season started this week. Watch the episodes here.

Joing SolidWorks

28 Sep, 2007 by Josh Mings in ROCKIN'

joing-solidworks-01.jpg

As if joining in the fun, is not enough, in one of the SolidWorks Tech Alerts, Greg at SolidWorks has asked you to “Joing” them for “SolidWorks Workd” coming up on January 20-23 in San Diego, CA.

Greg, that sounds like alot more fun. I wasn’t sure about going before, but since you put it that way, I’ll be joinging you for sure. :)

SolidWorks World 2008 Agenda

27 Sep, 2007 by Josh Mings in ROCKIN'

solidworks world 2008

For all you crazy people going to SolidWorks World 2008 and want to know what to expect, the (partial) agenda has been posted. Hit the Click Here button at the top of the Agenda Overview. Looks like there’s plenty to get your fingers into. I’m thinking “Stump the Chump” in Tips and Tricks sounds like fun.

Perfect Concept Models in SolidWorks: The Butcher Shop Version

27 Sep, 2007 by Josh Mings in CAD

coooked-meats-and-pies.jpg

Concept models are a lot like cooked meat and pies. “Hey butcha! that looks like some tasty meat there; give me 5 lbs and a pie for the kiddos!” You see what you’re getting, you take it home and have a delicious and satisfying meal. And like a butcher shop, concept models take away all that messy prep that can turn into a rotting mess faster than Bruce Springsteen can say, “but I’m a vegetarian.”

Concept Models are one of the single most important design methods you can use when designing something in SolidWorks. Concepts have always been a general method of communication and coordination between different departments, but the benefits of having a concept in 3D are as vast as the types of meat cuts and you know when you have the perfect one. Here’s some things to help develop perfect concept models.
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5 Ways to Make More Money They Don’t Teach at School

26 Sep, 2007 by Josh Mings in CULTURE


I started working as an engineer in the CAD industry at a pretty measly wage. I didn’t know it at the time. I was happy just to have a job in an area I was actually going to school for. One thing I wish they taught more in school is the business aspects of career life. But it usually boils down to Student Services giving you a personality profile.

While some will pawn off advancement to luck or experience, these five actions can get you on the road to making more money.
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Sketching Your Way on the Web

24 Sep, 2007 by Josh Mings in REVIEWS, TECH

sketchcast.jpgWhile many of use would be happy with a No. 2 pencil and a blank sheet of paper, it just wasn’t good enough for Richard Ziade who decided to make it possible, and might I add easy, to do it online.

Sketchcast.com eliminates that old pencil case and allows you to create and share sketches online within minutes. You can embed it on your website (see blow) or send a link in an email. You can also grab someone’s RSS feed and stay up to date on their sketches.

While it’s going to be easier to use with a tablet it’s got a lot of quick, fun uses. Sketch a note to the kids, sketch your thoughts to a loved one, etc. I’d like to see them add private areas and a way to add to sketches or mark-ups. In the meantime, it’s a cool way to get a quick sketch to someone.

Friday Smackdown

21 Sep, 2007 by Josh Mings in SMACKDOWN

This is some slick stuff. I mean slick as in you look at it and you immediately fall on your hind-end and people are laughing at you and you are too, but don’t know why. That’s how slick it is. be careful.

weeplanets-flickr.jpgWee planets – Panoramas made into tiny planets.
HistoryShots.com – I love timelines. These are great graphical illustration of political, military, sports history and more.
BearskinRug – Kevin Cornell, an artist from the UK. Great site design and illustration.
Does Chuck Norris Blend? – If he doesn’t your illegal gambling ring and secret love for chocolate strudel are in big trouble.
Complete Your First Book with these 9 Simple Writing Habits – For my brother Jake who has 3 epics, 4 novels and 37 other books in progress.
British Architectural History – Excellent resource and images of British architecture, ol’ chap.

How to Get Print Quality Graphics from Solidworks

20 Sep, 2007 by Josh Mings in CAD

solidworks tipsSolidWorks is known for it’s exceptional 3D design functionality, but what if you want to take some of those amazing products you’ve created and get them printed for a display, brochure or screenprinted t-shirt? You can get a print quality image straight from SolidWorks and it’s simple as saving a file.

Technical stuff
Typically a design department for a print shop or screen printer will need a file that is at least 200 dpi (dots per inch), which indicates the image resolution. the higher the dpi the higher the resolution. A vector (property-based) image is usually preferred, but you’ll only get a raster (pixel-based) image out of SolidWorks so dpi is important. Now, let’s get started.
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Ponoko Featured at TechCrunch40

19 Sep, 2007 by Josh Mings in DESIGN

ponoko rules manufacturingThe TechCrunch40 is being held this week and Ponoko made an appearance.

Ponoko is a site where you can turn your product ideas into income. When they were in Beta, I immediately went to sign up. Even though I didn’t get an invitation I’m still excited about using it now that it’s out of beta. Now I just have to wait till their servers can handle the load of traffic they’ve gotten.

My view is that this will actually change the way people think about the possibilities they have for creating their own design. It’s not just an idea anymore. It’s a prototype or a product that has the potential of bringing in money.

Thier blog is also a good source of insight on design and news on Ponoko.

Go check out the possibilities.

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Put on a Helmet: SolidWorks and Orange County Choppers

19 Sep, 2007 by Josh Mings in DESIGN

orange-county-choppers-logo.jpgWhat are the statistics you’ll die on a motorcycle designed in SolidWorks? I have no idea, but if you visit the SolidWorks homepage, their exclusive feature is a plug for Orange County Choppers (OCC) and HP with a video that shows Jason Pohl of OCC developing one of their motorcycle designs.

The hardware he runs is indeed “rockin” and the video is pretty good. In fact, it’s excellent. It gives a real world application and how-to of surfacing. If you want to know more about surfacing and how to do some interesting things, check it out.

solidworks-occ-design.jpg

There’s was also an episode that was on a while back that shows Jason working on another design. This one wasn’t going so smoothly and he demonstrates the proper method of dismantling your keyboard after a crash.