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Archive for September, 2009

One Week From Yesterday. Dassault Systèmes Customer Conference 2009

30 Sep, 2009 by Josh Mings in NEWS
3D Human CAD Models

Ya see those people in the image to the left. That’s not a stock photo friends. nu-uh. That’s Dassault Systèmes product users being highly productive, and highly excited about being highly productive. There’s a special place for these people and it’s not where you’re thinking. It’s Orlando, Florida.

In one week from yesterday, Dassault Systèmes is having their state-side Customer Conference, aptly named, the Dassault Systèmes Customer Conference (DSCC). The CEO, Bernard Charles, will most likely be there with his crew.

Even better, SolidSmack will be there covering anything interesting. How could there be anything interesting at a Customer Conference? Oh, there’s always something. Check out some of the topics.

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You Say Electrobeam Freeform Fabrication. I Say 3D Metal Manufacturing Magic, So There.

30 Sep, 2009 by Josh Mings in DESIGN

3D slicin’ spiders are cool and all, but how would you like to harness the power of VACUUMS… and LASERS? Well, guess what, some fancy group called ‘NASA’ has done just that.

The claim is they can melt certain heat-sensitive metals layer-by-layer into parts, with advantages of decreasing waste and forming it around electronics or other materials. Sound Cool? It is, it’s very cool and just one more way in which the future part of your 3D designing world is gonna be hung over a railing and shaken vigorously by the legs.

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CNC Spiderbot Not Scary At All, Until It’s Sitting On Top of Your Face

30 Sep, 2009 by Josh Mings in TECH

So, a spider was crawling across the roof of my car yesterday. Fast and very poisonous looking. Considering what you’re about to see, I’m fortunate it didn’t hop across the hood, onto my face and start drilling another face into my head bone.

This video has been around a while, but I’d never seen it, and I’ve now watched it repeatedly to my own detriment. So, I thought you would enjoy seeing the tech, hearing the high-pitch whine of the drill as this CNC spiderbot, called the Hexapod, routes a 3-dimensional face into high density foam.

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2D Exorcism Quick Tips! From Adobe Illustrator to SolidWorks to Rockin’

29 Sep, 2009 by Josh Mings in CAD

What kind of insanity could this be? People using a 2D drawin’ tool to get some curvy art into SolidWorks? It’s heresy, I say!

Well, we may wish to banish them to the nether regions, but for some, working the Adobe Illustrator machine is a daily task. And, every once in a while, they need to squeeze it’s wily eyes to pop out a few paths to start a design in SolidWorks. It’s really one of the best options out there to get usable vector-based art into SolidWorks.

So, lay down the pitch forks, wrap your arm around an Illustrator user and feast your spectacles upon a few tips to keep you rollin’ out the designs. Huzzah!
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♪ ♫ Computer Assisted Design, It Takes An Idea, and Makes 3D Stuff ♪ ♫

29 Sep, 2009 by Josh Mings in ROCKIN'

I know you love a good sing-a-long. Who doesn’t in this day and age. You can make any economic condition seem less dreary with a little smile, a song and perhaps some heavy sedation.

The fa-la-la duo They Might Be Gaints has some sing-alongs that rival any after-school special. Their latest is called Here Comes Science and just let me say, it will open your mind and imagination to unknown depths of.. the deep… and stuff. You should be able to relate to this one. It’s called Computer Assisted Design. Ring a bell or two?

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CloudFab 3D Printing. For Those Just Hankerin’ for Distributed Manufacturing.

28 Sep, 2009 by Josh Mings in DESIGN

I’m serious as printed Nutella when I say this. You’re about to get silly thoughts in your head. Silly thoughts about fabbing up this type of trinket or that type of trinket, in a really different way than ever before.

CloudFab is set to provide you with more options for your sly design fabrication needs. How? They’re gathering all the print shops and rapid prototyping manufacturers for you. You upload the model, they take care of the rest. How much easier could it get?

We caught up with Nick Pinkston of CloudFab to see what’s going down. He uses that big, scary ‘democratize’ word, but don’t worry, he’s also thrown in an invite code for all you lucky SolidSmack readers to try out the Beta site going live TODAY.

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Cyborg Insect Initiate. Stimulate Left Beetle Muscle. ATTACK. {Video}

28 Sep, 2009 by Josh Mings in TECH

Aaaccck! Yeah, forget the fact that the bug you just swallowed was, oh, say the size of your palm. It also happens to have the newest in remote radio control gadgetry, and probably the diseases of a hundred generations, strapped to it’s muscly exoskeleton.

As if we didn’t have enough to make us cringe with super agile robots and flesh-eating mechs, you can now rest less easy at night as you tumble into dreamland with the fear that cyborg insects can be controlled to fly left… AND RIGHT. Pleasant dreams. I’d keep the lights off.

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3D CAD Virtualization on a Mac. SpaceClaim and AutoDesk Rock It. Anyone Else Care to Join?

25 Sep, 2009 by Josh Mings in NEWS

Oh yes, 3D product development on a Mac. ‘Tis a glorious thing isn’t it? Although maybe not completely glorious, but sure, glorious enough to get a mob of Mac users riled up with spasmodic glee.

Autodesk just cracked open the Mac ‘Pandora’ box to provide More Options for Mac Users. AutoCAD, Inventor, 3ds Max and Revit are all getting support for virtualization via Parallels. This is, of course, in lieu of having actual, native support for Mac. SpaceClaim is another MCAD company that has divulged their support of virtualization.

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3D Scanning Goodness. More Fingers For Your Nubbin’s Via SolidWorks

25 Sep, 2009 by Josh Mings in DESIGN

It’s so not cool when someone looses a finger or five or when a movie like Body of Lies shows one way it could happen. Fortunately, there are companies working on impressive new ways to give those fingers back.

Discover Magazine has an article on Sucking the Real World into your computer via 3D Scanning. One slide features a 3D scanning company named GKS who also do a bit of engineering. The project? A prosthetic finger, designed in SolidWorks with the aid of the scanned appendages.

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Friday Smackdown: Mulch Your Meat

25 Sep, 2009 by Josh Mings in SMACKDOWN

Now that’s a mess to be impressed with. Just look at the style, the fluid lines. And you’re saying it only took 5 yaks, 20 amps and these links? Very impressive.

Andree Wallin – He is a feasting piranha that creates amazingly composed scenes of city and machine. Jump on in.
Did You Know? – I’m sure you did, but talking on a cellphone the size of a blood cell… is just way cool.
Get Rich Slowly Guide to Roth IRA – Still tuckin’ money away under the sheets? This might lead you to a better option.
Making Big Daddy Bioshock – He’s Big, he’s tough, he has a drill. Here is one prop builders process to create the protector from start to finish.
The Intricate Art of the Banknote – This barely touches the surface of what’s out there, but maybe you’ll appreciate your bills even more now.
30 Pro Logo Design Processes Revealed – OOooo, the secret is out. Step one: draw, step two: draw, step three: cool logo.
Record Pictures – You know those old government and engineering industrial documentary photos. That would be these.

Bonus! Random Awesomeness:
1 Million Spiders – you to can create a rare silk cloth. Spider handlers and the 1,000,000 spiders not included.
Biz Development Tips for Entrepreneurs – Glory be! Business Dev? Yes, and all you need to know is wrapped up in this tiny little post.