Author: Ricky Jordan

  • A SolidWorks Training Diary

    Many of you are probably familiar with the TenLinks.com website.  I consider it the “go-to” source for CAD/CAM/CAE news.  The TenLinks Daily Digest is one of my “must read” e-mails every day.  (If you don’t receive the Daily Digest via e-mail, go to the link and subscribe, it’s free!) Roopinder Tara is the man behind…

  • SolidWorks 2007: PDMWorks Workgroup

    SolidWorks 2007:  PDMWorks Workgroup

    With the release of SolidWorks 2007, the entire PDM product offering is undergoing some pretty major changes. One of the most noticeable changes has been the renaming of the classic PDMWorks product to PDMWorks Workgroup. This was made necessary with the acquisition of the Conisio PDM product which has now been re-named PDMWorks Enterprise. One…

  • Product Design Showcase

    Here is a really great way to show your product to the World…SolidWorks World that is.  Product Design Showcase gives SolidWorks users a chance to share their product designs in a professionally displayed area in the Partner Pavilion at SolidWorks World 2007.  To nominate your product design for display, click here. One of the great…

  • 4 New CSWPs in Huntsville!

    There are 4 brand new CSWPs (Certified SolidWorks Professionals)in Alabama this morning.  Four members of the North Alabama SolidWorks User Group (NASWUG) passed their CSWP exam yesterday! Congratulations go out to: Richard Hall Brian McElyea Randy Thomas Michael Langley With these guys getting their certification, we now have 6 CSWPs in our User Group! Great…

  • Richard Doyle visits Huntsville

    I love user group meetings. The part I love the most about the meetings is seeing the looks of discovery that people have when they learn something new about SolidWorks. Throughout my time as a user group leader and attendee at several user group events I have been fortunate enough to see this many times…

  • SolidWorks 2007: SolidWorks Explorer

    SolidWorks 2007:  SolidWorks Explorer

    If you haven’t seen or heard about it yet, SolidWorks Explorer has been given a complete overhaul with the release of SolidWorks 2007. The entire user interface has been redesigned and has been integrated with the PDMWorks Workgroup Standalone Client. Also included is the new SolidWorks Search capability and the Pack and Go option. The…

  • SolidWorks Tip: 3D Sketcher Triad

    SolidWorks Tip:  3D Sketcher Triad

    Have you ever been frustrated when trying to manipulate splines in 3DSketches? I think most of us who have used them have felt that way from time to time. Most of that frustration can stem from the view orientation of the model in relation to the direction that you are trying to manipulate the point…

  • SolidWorks 2007 Podcast

    I recently got to do an interview with some of the marketing folks at SolidWorks for a series of podcasts being released this week. (SolidWorks 2007 launch week) Check out the SolidWorks Podcast page if you get the chance.  A big thanks to SolidWorks for giving me a chance to talk about my job, the…

  • SolidWorks Tip: Save As Part

    SolidWorks Tip:  Save As Part

    Just because a feature has been in SolidWorks for quite some time doesn’t necessarily mean that it is well known throughout the user community. One great example of this is the Save As Part feature. I’ve found quite a few users over the last few years that were unaware of this handy feature and the…

  • SolidWorks 2007: ScanTo3D Part 2

    SolidWorks 2007:  ScanTo3D Part 2

    In Part 1 of my review of ScanTo3D, we covered importing point cloud data and converting that data into mesh data using the Mesh Preparation Wizard. In this second installment we will take a look at some surface creation functionality that is also part of the ScanTo3D product. Once you have existing mesh data, you…

  • SolidWorks 2007: ScanTo3D Part 1

    SolidWorks 2007:  ScanTo3D Part 1

    From time to time, SolidWorks seems to have a knack for pulling off a real surprise with the introduction of a particular feature or product add-in. The addition of ScanTo3D was to me another great new feature that seemed to come from no where. ScanTo3D is a new add-in available in SolidWorks Office Premium 2007…

  • SolidWorks Tip: Delete Face

    SolidWorks Tip:  Delete Face

    One of my favorite tools in SolidWorks is the Delete Face command. It probably has too many uses for me to list them all here but what I use them for mainly is surface reconstruction in SolidWorks native files and feature removal in imported files (files with NO feature tree). In this tip, I wanted…

  • SolidWorks Tip: Chamfer Feature

    SolidWorks Tip:  Chamfer Feature

    If you have ever tried to add a Chamfer Feature to multiple edges of a part in SolidWorks, this tip might just be for you. Unlike Fillets which seem to be more commonly used, Chamfers can turn out quite different depending on the direction set in the Chamfer parameters. Edges, Vertices, and Faces can be…

  • SolidWorks Tip: Area/Hatch

    SolidWorks Tip:  Area/Hatch

    There are a few things that I discovered recently about the Area/Hatch command in Drawings that I thought I would share. There are a couple of different ways to apply hatches. How you select the area can effect the options you will have in applying the hatch. There are two options in applying hatches, the…