By Evan Yares, Senior Editor & Analyst, Software SolidWorks 2013 may be one of the best releases ever. SolidWorks Corporation was founded in 1993. The company’s initial plan was elegantly simple: build a CAD program that runs on Microsoft Windows, competes with Pro/Engineer, and sells for $4,000, through local resellers. Today, almost 20 years later,…

It’s been a few weeks since I was at the SolidWorks 2013 media event in Waltham, MA. There have since been several articles written about SolidWorks 2013, by Roopinder Tara, Brian McElyea, Anna Wood, Ricky Jordan, Matt Lombard, Randall Newton, and probably many more. I already gave a preview of my observations about SolidWorks 2013, […]

3D CAD Tips

By Evan Yares, Senior Editor & Analyst, Software Why you may—and may not—want to consider an integrated solution. There’s a simple question you can answer that will help you figure out whether you should consider using an integrated CAD/CAM system: Is your current CAM system the biggest source of frustration in your work life? If…

If you believe the buzz in the blogosphere, there are a lot of engineers and designers who are not at all happy at the prospect of some day being forced to use cloud-based CAD. The public lashback on cloud CAD started building several years ago, and it’s hardly abated since. The conversation has taken on […]

3D CAD Tips

SolidWorks launched its SolidWorks 2012 at a media event in Boston as Hurricane Irene blasted through New England. The newest version of the software boasts more than 200 enhancements. According to the company, 90% of the new features were prioritized by SolidWorks users. Automated design costing integrated with your design can help keep you on…

Bertrand Sicot, SolidWorks’ new president and CEO, discusses long and term goals for the company, upcoming new technology, and trends in the 3D CAD arena.

In many developing countries there might be only one eye care professional for every million residents. According to some experts, easily correctable vision problems can help those afflicted move from poverty to self-sufficiency. That is why U.K.-based Adlens developed affordable, adjustable eyeglasses that correct 80% of the refractive vision errors encountered by people in the…

The initial version of Delcam for SolidWorks will include the company’s technology for drilling and two- through five-axis milling. Future releases will cover a range of machining operations, including turning, mill-turn, and wire EDM. Delcam for SolidWorks will be fully integrated into the SolidWorks environment so that the program looks and behaves like SolidWorks. It…

This episode of Matt’s Minute brings a few tips to proportional spline control to light in SolidWorks. In a four point closed spline, Matt shows a couple options for re-sizing with a sketch function, and other fixed constraint options for different results when dragging and re-sizing a spline.

In this episode Matt demonstrates several ways to add dimensional control to your SolidWorks sketches.

Simulate Mechanisms with Blocks in SolidWorks Sketches In this episode of Matt’s Minute, I show how to use blocks in SolidWorks sketches to simulate mechanisms. Sometimes full-on 3D is too much for simple conceptual work. In cases where what you really want to do is cut shapes out of paper and make a little mechanical…

SolidWorks Corporation announces the winners of its second annual Student Design Contest, saying the winning student designs nearly matched the quality of professional engineers’ entries. Judged in parallel with the SolidWorks World 2008 Design Contest, the student contest spotlights future designers and engineers from middle school through graduate school using SolidWorks® software. “It’s important to…

SolidWorks 2008 delivers a new intuitive, time-saving user interface (UI) as well as impressive 3D graphics, builds on the company’s SolidWorks Intelligent Feature Technology (SWIFT), accelerates better product design, and includes more advanced design analysis capabilities. With more than 250 user-requested enhancements, SolidWorks 2008 lets users concentrate on solving design challenges, not on using the…

Lake Forest, CA — Roland ASD’s new LPX-60 reverse engineering solution dramatically improves the 3D-Scan-to-CAD process, boosting quality and productivity. With the touch of a button, the LPX-60 reverse engineering solution generates detailed models with a 0.008-inch resolution. The LPX-60 automatically scans, aligns, merges planes, fills holes, and decimates 3D models. It then exports complex…

By John Gyorki Dedication to customer satisfaction leads to software enhancements that often become industry-standards. Many engineers claim that SolidWorks 3D CAD software is much easier to use than most other comparable 3D design modeling packages. Why do they say this, and what major enhancements were added over the past few years that make it…