Jeremy Luchini gives a brief behind-the-scenes tour of the LetsGoDesign.tv studio at SolidWorks headquarters in Concord, MA.
SolidWorks World 2011 Connect Tweets
I mentioned SolidWorks World 2011 Connect website a couple days ago. I guess it was a little ironic that my tweet about the Connect website was the first tweet to appear on the Connect website. I guess even more ironic is that this article (the one that you are reading right now) will likely be the second tweet to appear. 🙂 No, no, I take that back. I’ve purposefully left off the #sww11 hatchtag to avoid just that.
SolidWorks 2011: Auto Arrange Dimensions tool
There is a a set of new drawing functions in SolidWorks 2011 that’s catching a lot of attention. These are the Auto Arrange Dimensions tools which are built into the Dimension Palette. Using a thumb wheel and available options, the user may automatically space dimensions from smallest to largest, aligned and centered (where possible), spaced with the pre-set offset distances, adjusted to avoid overlapping, and staggered (where necessary). In short, these tools automatically space and align selected dimensions with very little effort.
Currently, SolidWorks 2010 does have auto spacing for dimensions, but this can sometimes be more of a hassle than a benefit. There’s a lot of potential with these new Auto Arrange Dimension tools. They may allow the user to save time while giving them direct control over dimension placement.
Auto Arrange Dimensions is reportedly so easy to use, if dimensions of an entire drawing are selected, they can be spaced and aligned at once using this tool.
If these tools work as well as promised, they can potentially save a lot of time when inserting or adding dimensions to drawings. I guess the only addition I’d ask for is an option to automatically select every dimension on the drawing with the click of the mouse button to allow an entire drawing to be aligned and spaced in one quick action.
SolidWorks World 2011 Connect
Even though SolidWorks World 2011 is quite a number of months away, SolidWorks Corp wishes to keep everyone in-the-know. SolidWorks World 2011 Connect is on the SolidWorks website. The new webpage features feeds from Twitter hashtag #SWW11, many SolidWorks blogs, and the SolidWorks World forum.
Even for the casual reader, this aggregation webpage may be a good one-stop location to see whats going in the realm of SolidWorks World 2011. There is content that will be relatable for most types of SolidWorks users.
- The Twitter feeds tend to be live and very lively.
- The blogs are usually in depth with a lot of helpful information.
- The forums are a good place to interact with the online SolidWorks community for questions and answers.
Scania chooses Dassault Systemes’ PLM solutions
Dassault Systemes recently announced in a press release that Scania chose to invest in ENOVIA as their PLM for integrated production design, product development, processes and manufacturing. Scania is a company of over 32,000 people and is reported to be one of the world’s leading manufacturers of trucks and buses for heavy transport applications, and of industrial and marine engines.
Anders G. Lindberg, technology manager, R&D, Scania states, “the biggest difference [as a result of this investment in ENOVIA] for the user today is that we have a platform where we can construct in 3D from the start and make cross functional use in a whole new way. We also have other possibilities for parametric design, optimization tools and kinematics compared to our previous solution.” Lindberg also talks about CATIA by stating, “we realized that CATIA was still the best authoring solution for us.”
Dassault Systemes seems well positioned to suit the needs of large corporations. However, when one sees press releases that talk about being selected by such organizations, one may be left wondering about Dassault Systemes’ ability to adjust their business model to suit small to mid-size companies. What are the CATIA and ENOVIA adoption rates for smaller organizations? Among those small adopters, how many have positive and beneficial experiences?
New Product: 3DVIA Mobile HD
Dassault Systemes announced the release of 3DVIA Mobile HD, which they claim is “a first-of-its-kind interactive 3D model viewer for the iPad.” Connectivity (cloud?) continues to be a theme from Dassault Systemes. 3DVIA Mobile HD gives users access to view and interact with thousands of 3D models which are hosted on the 3DVIA.com content warehouse. Most 3D modelling software applications are able to connect to 3DVIA.com to share work on the iPad platform, including content in over 30 3D formats.
Also, Dassault Systemes claims that “3DVIA Mobile HD retains the speed, fluid movement and easy-to-navigate interface of the [original 3DVIA Mobile] iPhone app [while taking] advantage of the increased screen size and resolution of the iPad, making this a powerful 3D content demonstration tool.”
3DVIA Mobile HD will feature the following:
- Interactive 3D viewer: pan, zoom and inspect models with intuitive iPad finger movements
- Integrated 3DVIA 3D model search: search, download and view over 20,000 3D models published to 3DVIA.com
- Compatible with popular 3D formats: .dae (COLLADA), .3ds, .obj, .iges, .step, .kmz, .3DXML and many more
- Save and export 2D renders (images) to Facebook and e-mail
- Private publishing on 3D models: restrict access to sensitive product information by publishing to your private account
- Interact with the 3DVIA.com community: comment on and rate 3D models from the iPad
3DVIA Modile HD for the iPad is available for the temporary price of $1.99 in the App Store; full price will be $4.99.
As of right now, there is no word yet on if/when a similar application will be available for Android. I would be excited about an Android offering since it wouldn’t be limited to just one device and Android is the best selling smartphone OS now.