While searching for a SolidWorks model of a presser foot for a sewing machine, I ran across the site of a place called the TechShop. I must have been living under a rock all this time, because I had never heard of anything like this before.  This place is a public access workshop, like a Kinko’s, only full of all kinds of equipment that can be used to work on almost any kind of project you can...

This is a little tip that those who are seasoned SolidWorks users probably already know, but that can be very useful for those who are not so experienced in “the art” of top-down assembly modeling (I’m not extremely experienced but I learned this one by hitting my head against a wall a few times). It’s also a very simple tip, because all you need to do is remember one thing:  the infamous...

ME!!!! Just a few minutes ago, I finished taking my CSWP test and… I passed!!!! Thank you, Jesus!!! And thank you to my wonderful husband for supporting my crazy dreams!! I feel soooo tired, and sooooo happy! I’m crying, but these are tears of happiness! I still can’t believe it! I passed!!! And now to sleep for a month… If I can… ...

Learning how to use the different tools for drawing and detailing in SolidWorks is not precisely the most fun I’ve had with the software so far. I’d much rather work with the solid model!   Maybe that’s why I had been putting it up for later, and why I get sidetracked so often.  Anyway, after beating myself up for not being more diligent, I’ve spent most of this week studying and practi...

As I had mentioned in my previous post, while looking for a SolidWorks Routing Manual, I came across the website of another SolidWorks user who created his own manual and was offering it for sale. Unfortunately, right at that moment he was out of town and not taking any orders, but today I’m glad to announce to all of you who may be interested that he’s back, his site is up and he’s taking o...

This is about the wrong way to profit with people’s hunger for knowledge and need for information.  I know, it’s a rant, but I just couldn’t let it go without saying something about it.  Recently, our friend Jeff Mirisola, from the SW Blogging Squad, had voiced his need for suggestions and information regarding piping and routing with SolidWorks.  I really have no idea of how to use this ...

This is a little story that reminds me somehow about the way some of us approach SolidWorks and, more in particular, the new functionality that is added to it with every release. Read on and you’ll see what I mean. One of the many summer activities for kids in this area is a one week bowling camp. It’s really fun and a great value for the money, because at the end of it all the kids receive a ...

The next meeting of the Tri-Valley SolidWorks Users Group will take place on September 10th, in Dublin, California, and it already promises to be a really special one, because this time, in addition to all the useful information and tips and tricks that we all look forward to (Kenneth will be presenting the deconstruction of a vaccum chamber just as he promised some time ago), there’s also an un...

This week is exciting, as I finally venture into the world of finite element analysis through COSMOS Works.  I have waited for such a long time! Unlike many young engineers nowadays, I didn’t receive a foundation on finite element analysis while in college.  Sure, we did have a class on numerical methods, where finite element methods were briefly discussed, but nothing else. Years later I had ...

As I’ve mentioned a few times before, my husband’s job requires him to travel frequently, at least one week of every other month, usually to places in Asia, although he’s also been to England, France, Ireland, Netherlands, Australia… Well, you get the idea.  This time he’s in China, and trying to access my blog to no avail (he’s my one sure reader).  After quite a few failed ...

Revolved sections (also known as rotated sections) are really useful for adding clarity to drawings of parts with features that have a constant shape throughout the length which can’t be easily shown in an external view.  By using revolved sections, the shape of the cross section of a bar, rod, arm, spoke or other can be shown  in the longitudinal view of the object, instead, as a section that...

This year’s Create the Future Design Contest is now open for entries. I must confess that, up until this day, I had never heard about it, but it looks like something really neat. According to their webpage, the contest was launched in 2002 by the publishers of NASA Tech Briefs magazine to help stimulate and reward engineering innovation. Ever since, the annual event has attracted more than 5,...

Do you have something (SolidWorks related) that you think would be interesting and useful for other users in the community? Do you know any tricks or techniques that may help others in their everyday use of the software? Are you comfortable speaking in front of an audience? Well, this is your chance to contribute and share your knowledge with hundreds of other SolidWorks users as a speaker at the ...

I know this little piece of information is extremely basic for those with lots more experience in SolidWorks, but believe me, I just found out about this one while working my way through the SolidWorks Drawings training manual. Well, you know there are multiple views you can choose from to display your part or assembly, right?  You have top, bottom, right, left, isometric, trimetric, etc.  Did y...

The inspiration for this post came from a question a friend asked me about an alternative way to have a component in an assembly display in different colors, without using a configuration for each of the colors. He complained that the assembly was growing large in size due to all the different configurations. I suggested he used Display States, instead, since I remembered I had done something simi...