How does one go about reviewing a book, without bias, when said book was written by friends? Well, if you’re me, you just do it. I’ve never had a problem separating business and pleasure and, in this case, this is all business.

Alex Ruiz, with help from Gabi Jack, has written a SolidWorks book for beginners. SolidWorks 2010: No Experience Required is, truly, written for the beginner. It starts you off by going through system requirements, then into how to start the program once installed, to the UI. They go through the UI in great detail which, I suspect, is highly beneficial to new users. Alex does a good job of explaining what the toolbars do, what the Feature Manager is for, and what shortcuts are available out of the box. (Though I didn’t see any mention of ctrl+1 (front), ctrl+2 (back), etc.)

With step-by-step instructions, the book walks the reader through each phase of part/assembly/drawing creation and, in the end, the user will have created a desk lamp. With tips and tricks throughout, the user will not only learn the basics, but can glean info that will help speed up their design processes.

SolidWorks 2010: No Experience Required is a highly detailed manual, and would seem to be perfect for the beginner. I think adding a section on repairing/understanding errors would be highly beneficial, though. Being able to handle errors early on makes life so much easier for the newbie, if you ask me.

I also disagree with showing Instant3D. Frankly, I think it can cause the new user more problems than not. It doesn’t take much for someone to inadvertently drag a face and not fully realize what they’ve done. Instant3D, in my opinion, should be shown at an intermediate level or, at least, have some sort of disclaimer in bold about the possibility of hosing things up quite easily if you’re not paying attention.

Overall, I think the book is laid out well. It’s written clearly and concisely, if not a bit too simplified. I can see this book being extremely helpful to students especially. I give it a solid B.

A couple of weeks ago, I was visited by Daniel Brown of Creaform. He flew in to demo one of their scanners for me. While I was familiar with them somewhat, it was good to have another up close and personal viewing.

Daniel took some time to go over Creaform’s 3D Laser scanner product line, then set about showing me what the scanner he brought could do. Initially, I’d wanted him to scan in one of the smaller parts we design, but he was quite up front about the limitation of the scanner; in this case, small parts. The particular part is around 3 x 1 x 1/2, with a compound curve and some tiny ribs. It was mostly the ribs that would cause the issue, but the dimensions of the part were under the minimum recommended limit (~6″) as well.

Daniel started off by scanning in a mask he brought. While not your typical reverse engineering application, it did a great job of showing how well the scanner picked up the smallest details. The colors and texture of the mask came through very nicely. It was pretty impressive compared to what I’ve seen in the past.

Next, he scanned part of a container that Ultimate Survival makes. This was a much larger piece than the mask, but not as complex. As with the mask, the scanner brought in the color and texture nicely. The acquisition software, which comes with the scanner, made it easy to fill in the data that the scanner couldn’t pick up. (For those of you unfamiliar with scanning, areas of high reflectivity tend to not get picked up by the scanner. Typically, when dealing with shiny surfaces, you’ll powder them to lessen the shininess.)

Now here’s the good thing. Back when I last reviewed a scanner, you needed a third-party software to translate the captured data so that you could use it in SolidWorks. With the improvements to ‘Scan to 3D’, that need is, partially, gone. From the acquisition software, you can have an optimized surface. You can use a 3rd party software to further things along, but the optimized surface gets you what you need if you’re just interested in the overall shape of the object you’ve scanned. Should the need arise, you can add to said surface.

From what I understood, most people who are scanning are doing so just for the data, so the need for additional software isn’t there. If, however, you wanted to scan in your ‘34 Chevy Roadster to redesign that bad boy, then you may want to make a further investment.

As it is, Creaform’s scanners will run you from $40k-$75k depending on the model. They all come with the acquistion software and training. I can definitely see how handy one of these scanners would be if you, or your company, did a lot of reverse engineering. They are great tools. Daniel told me that they’ve scanned the nose cone of a 737 and cars with them. They’re also popular with prosthetic manufacturers. It allows them to accurately create custom prosthetic, reducing patients discomfort greatly.

All-in-all, I was impressed by the scanner. The technology has come a long way since I last reviewed one. It’d be nice to see the price come down in the future, otherwise my boss is never going to approve my request.

The actual title is SolidWorks Surfacing and Complex Shape Modeling Bible, but that was just too much to put in the title.  Written by Matt Lombard, this book is part of the “Bible” series published by Wiley. Matt also wrote the SolidWorks 2007 Bible and is about to release the SolidWorks 2009 Bible.

On top of being a published author, Matt is also an accomplished engineer and a friend of mine (not that being a friend of mine is worth anything). That will have no affect on this review though. Anyone who knows me knows I don’t pull punches. However, anyone who knows Matt knows he’s good at what he does and he doesn’t do things half-assed. The Surfacing Bible is no exception. Matt takes the time to not only explain the “how”, but the “why” as well. For someone like me, who has limited surfacing experience, this info in invaluable. As with his other books, this one is for intermediate to advanced users. You do need to have a pretty good understanding of SolidWorks, and its related terminology, to be able to adequately use the book.

The book takes you from laying the groundwork to specialized techniques. There’s a great section that explains what surfaces are that then seques into when to use them versus solids. There’s a whole chapter on surfacing tools and how to use them, too. Throughout the book there are cross-reference links so you can easily find associated content. Matt also includes some excellent information on splines and 3D sketching.

One of the best features of the book, aside from the learning, is how Matt talks about limitations with the software and how to deal with said limitations. Bear in mind, this isn’t done maliciously but to help. It goes a long way to making your job easier to know what to expect, and not to expect, from the software.

The actual “lesson” chapters are clear, organized and easy to understand. Matt takes the time to not only show you how, but tells you why and mentions other ways this or that could have been accomplished. The illustrations are easy to understand, as is each step. There’s a chapter on evaluation geometry that covers all the various tools available to check your model (the check tool, curvature combs, etc).

As I’ve come to expect from Matt, this book is extremely thorough, even diving into post-processing (PhotoWorks, eDrawings). While I would have preferred a CD with the model files on it, a decision was made for a “Companion Website”. I suppose, though, that by doing it that way it allows for changes/fixes to be made to any files that may need it. I could actually write more about this book, but I don’t think it’s necessary. Matt’s knowledge of surfacing is well-known and he, seemingly, has put it all into the SolidWorks Surfacing and Complex Shape Modeling Bible. If you haven’t done so already, I strongly suggest you buy one today.

When 3DConnexions’s SpacePilot PRO came out, I, like so many others, jumped on the bandwagon and regurgitated the info from 3DConnexion’s marketing people. I then received a physical specimen to try out and ended up writing an open letter to SolidWorks and 3DConnexion because the drivers were messed up. My settings weren’t being saved, preset buttons weren’t working. Calls to tech support were useless. Were it not for the fact that there were others having the same issues, I’d have figured it was just me. I was extremely disappointed in 3DConnexion, and I’ve been a fan for years.

Well, that’s all in the past now. 3DConnexion updated their drivers and not only fixed the issues, but they made improvements, too. Previously, the LCD screen would just show a list of commands by number. This wasn’t very helpful, especially while getting used to the new set-up. With 10 different commands available via the five buttons, you had to know that the function assigned to #6 was the secondary function under button 1 (1/6, 2/7, 3/8, 4/9, 5/10). For me, it wasn’t overly intuitive. That, though, could just be a mental limitation on my part…
Back to my point. The new driver changed the visual to this:

As you can easily see, the interface is much more intuitive. Props to the folks at 3DConnexion for hitting the nail on the head there. I believe I mentioned that I was having the same sort of settings issues with my SpacePilot. While I haven’t had a chance to check it, I suspect this latest driver version would fix them, too. Both the SpacePilot and the SpacePilot PRO use the same driver.

I like the look and feel of the SpacePilot PRO. I always had issues with the 6 buttons that run across the top of the SpacePilot. I just didn’t like the layout. This didn’t stop me from using them, but I found myself stumbling once in a while. With the positioning of the buttons on the SpacePilot PRO, this doesn’t happen. Once I was able to remember what function I’d programmed to what button, I was able to find the button with my pinky quite quickly. The same holds true for the view buttons. By having my ‘S’ key macro mapped to the SpacePilot PRO, and having the shortcut bar set up the way I want it, my hand hardly ever has to leave the SpacePilot PRO.

Aside from stumbling out of the gate with the bad drivers I’d say 3DConnexion has another success story on their hands, especially with how quickly they fixed the driver. Granted, at US$499, it’ll be out of reach for some, but if you can swing the cost I’d recommend it. Look around, you can sometimes get a demo device to give it a test drive.

3Dconnexion has a new controller, one that makes my SpacePilot™ seem like last year’s technology (actually, it’s about 4 years old). The SpacePilot™ PRO is, basically, a SpacePilot on steroids. 3Dconnexion took input from their customer base and have squeezed all sorts of new goodies into the SpacePilot™ PRO.

The main features they’re touting:

• Larger Full-Color LCD Workflow Assistant
• Quick-Navigation View Keys
• Navigation-Settings Keys
• Intelligent Application Function Keys
• Six-Degrees-of-Freedom Sensor
• Optimized Comfort Design
• Keyboard Modifier Keys
• Sensitivity Control Keys
• Standard 3D Mouse Keys
• Workflow Assistant Control Keys

A color LCD screen that not only shows you available commands, it’ll show you your inbox or upcoming meetings or tasks. You can write your own code to create your own applet as well. How about a Twitter-like app for when you have multiple designers on a project or displaying PDM status?

Dual function buttons. I liked this more than the color screen. You have your typical view buttons: Right, Front, Top and Isometric. But, by holding any button down, you get a secondary view. Top/Bottom, Right/Left, Front/Back, Iso1/Iso2. There’s also a fifth button to rotate any given view by 90° Clockwise or Counter-clockwise. All told, you can get 32 different views with 5 button. Add to that the ability to not only toggle on/off rotation, but zoom/pan as well. Man, things just keep getting better!

The function keys are now dual function as well. Granted, this only adds four more functions, but with the whole ‘S’ key thing, that should cover most all that you’d want, right?

The SpacePilot™ PRO is said to be more ergonomic than the SpacePilot™. From what I was told, 3Dconnexion’s engineers spent two months tweaking the shape until it was perfect, or at least their version of perfect. I’ll let you know if they passed of failed once I get my sticky fingers on one. I’ll also be sure to write a comprehensive review for the overall product. Being the techno-geek that I am, I can’t wait to try this one out once Mr. UPS/FedEx/Postman delivers it!:

The full press release for those who’d like to read it:

3Dconnexion Launches Its Most Powerful 3D Mouse Ever: the SpacePilot PRO

Integrated Color LCD Workflow Assistant, QuickView Navigation Technology, and Intelligent Function Keys Save Time and Reduce Interruptions

FREMONT, Calif. – April 16, 2009 – To meet the rigorous demands of design engineers working in powerful 3D applications, 3Dconnexion today announced the new SpacePilot™ PRO. The company’s flagship 3D mouse is designed to deliver advanced control of 3D models, easier access to the power of professional 3D applications, fewer interruptions in the design workflow, and superior comfort. Specifically, the SpacePilot PRO features a new color LCD Workflow Assistant, second-generation QuickView Navigation technology, Intelligent Function keys, and an improved design for enhanced comfort and control.

“3Dconnexion’s 3D mice have rewritten the rules on the way design engineers and professionals interact with 3D environments,” said Dieter Neujahr, president of 3Dconnexion. “Our new SpacePilot PRO builds on our market-leading industry experience, delivering the most powerful 3D mouse we’ve ever made. It enables increased performance that ultimately results in better designs, created in less time.”

The SpacePilot PRO 3D mouse provides the highest level of performance features ever available from 3Dconnexion, including:

- LCD Workflow Assistant: The color LCD lists function-key assignments and provides at-a-glance access to Microsoft^® Outlook^® e-mail, calendar and task lists, allowing professionals to access important information for a fully integrated design experience with fewer distractions. Through 3Dconnexion’s open software architecture, the workflow assistant can be further customized to meet the needs of individuals, companies and software vendors.

- Advanced MCAD Navigation: Five new dual-function QuickView Navigation keys
improve error detection, design review, and design presentation by providing one-touch access to the following views: top and bottom, right and left, front and back, two isometric views, and 90-degree view rotation of any view either clockwise or counter-clockwise – for a total of 32 views. A short press activates a key’s primary view command, while pressing and holding a key activates a secondary view command. In addition, new Navigation Setting keys offer simplified and customizable control, allowing professionals to turn pan-and-zoom, rotation and one-axis control on or off, making it easier to define navigation settings for certain work modes.

- Intelligent Function Keys: Five new fully customizable, dual-function keys offer immediate, one-touch access to 10 frequently used commands within any supported 3D application. The SpacePilot PRO automatically detects the active application and assigns appropriate function keys – whether default or customized. The color LCD denotes the function key assignments and application mode so engineers can easily identify commands and design states.

- Superior Comfort: The SpacePilot PRO has a new sculpted, soft-coated wrist rest that positions the hand in relation to the controller cap to support a balanced workflow. The micro-precision six-degrees-of-freedom sensor allows for fingertip control with minimal effort from the arm, wrist and hand, while frequently used commands are conveniently positioned at your fingertips. The intuitive and symmetrical layout of the function keys makes the device usable with either hand.

About 3Dconnexion 3D Mice

Unlike traditional mice confined to motion on one flat plane, 3Dconnexion 3D mice enable design engineers to move in all three dimensions simultaneously, using six-degrees–of-freedom sensor technology. By gently lifting, pressing and turning the controller cap, design engineers can easily pan, zoom and rotate without stopping to select commands. Using a 3D mouse together with a traditional mouse engages both hands into a balanced and cooperative work style.

3Dconnexion provides advanced and affordable 3D mice that are supported by more than 130 of today’s leading and powerful 3D applications, including Autodesk Inventor^TM, SolidWorks^TM, CATIA^TM, Pro/ENGINEER^TM, NX^TM and Solid Edge^TM. For a complete list of applications supported by 3Dconnexion, visit www.3dconnexion.com/solutions.

Compatibility, Pricing and Availability

The SpacePilot PRO is backed by a three-year warranty, and is currently available at a suggested retail price of $499. The SpacePilot PRO is supported by Windows XP, Windows Vista^®, Sun Solaris 8 (SPARC), Sun Solaris 10 (x86), and Linux^® (Redhat Enterprise Linux WS 4, SuSE 9.3 or later). Linux and Solaris support workflow assistant function key assignments only.

The entire 3Dconnexion product line, including the Professional Series with the SpacePilot™ (MSRP $399) and SpaceExplorer™ (MSRP $299), and the Standard Series with the SpaceNavigator (MSRP $99) and SpaceNavigator for Notebooks (MSRP $129), are available from professional CAD resellers and major online resellers including CDW, Insight, PC Connection, and PC Mall. For a complete list of resellers or to buy directly, visit www.3Dconnexion.com.

About 3Dconnexion, a Logitech Company
3Dconnexion, a wholly owned subsidiary of Logitech (SIX: LOGN) (Nasdaq: LOGI), is the leading provider of 3D mice for 3D design and visualization. 3Dconnexion devices support today’s most popular and powerful 3D applications by offering users a more intuitive and natural way to interact with computer-generated 3D content. 3Dconnexion’s award-winning 3D mice serve a wide variety of industries and are used by 3D designers, animators and artists worldwide. 3Dconnexion is headquartered in Fremont, Calif. with European headquarters in Seefeld, Germany and offices worldwide. For more information, visit www.3Dconnexion.com.

# # #

© 2009 3Dconnexion. All rights reserved. 3Dconnexion, the 3Dconnexion logo, and other 3Dconnexion marks are owned by 3Dconnexion and may be registered. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

About two weeks ago I came home to find a large box addressed to me. Inside was a test computer from ATI loaded with their FirePro V5700 graphics card. ATI asked that some of us bloggers test out this card some time ago and I got to be one of the first. I haven’t touched an ATI card in four or five years. I had all sorts of annoying problems and haven’t heard enough good things in the intervening years to want to. However, I was looking forward to trying this one out. In the past few months, there’s been some rumblings about ATI and the progress they’ve made with their cards.

The machine they sent was an HP wx4600 with the following specs:

• XP Pro – 32 bit
• Core2 Duo E8600@3.33 GHz
• 4Gb Ram
• ATI FirePro V5700 (Driver version 8.543.0.0)
• It came loaded with SolidWorks Premium 2009 as well.

I created all sorts of funky models, assemblies and their related drawings and was not unhappy with the results. I loaded up a large assembly I have (~4500 parts) and, again, not unhappy with the results. I didn’t see any of the “ghosting” I’ve seen, and heard about, nor was there any choppiness or any other funky graphics issues. In the model/assembly arena, the card did very well.

The one area that I did see a problem was in PhotoWorks. Some of the renderings I did just weren’t quite right. The part would have striations running through it and I kept losing the reflection off the floor. Obviously, if you use PhotoWorks, this would cause you great pains. Just to be sure, I tried the exact same thing on my M4300, and didn’t see the same thing. As a matter of fact, the renders looked much nicer.

Another thing that I couldn’t quite figure out was the settings for the card. With nVidia cards, there’s a nice interface where you get choose your 3D package and let it drive the settings. For someone like me, that’s a huge bonus. With the ATI interface, I saw no such options. There were a bunch of different categories to choose from, and you’d get previews of changes, but I, personally, just wasn’t sure about what I was changing sometimes. Obviously, this could be attributed to my lack of knowledge in the graphics settings area.

Overall, the card wasn’t bad. Would I run out and buy one? No, it just didn’t impress me enough to switch from nVidia. Plus, the issues with PhotoWorks make me a bit leery. However, individual test results may vary. Over the coming weeks, the other bloggers will be writing about their experiences with the same machine, so stay tuned.

For those of you who have been reading my blog for a while, you’ll know how much I’ve enjoyed the Dell M90’s I’ve used in the past. Both of them were provided by my employer at the time and I really didn’t have many issues with them. My new employer, being a complete tightwad, opted for the M4300. (Ok, so I’m self-employed. I’m still being a tightwad.) The system specs are:

• Dell Precision M4300, Intel Core 2 Duo T8300, 2.40GHz 800MHz, 3M L2 Cache, Dual Core
• 15.4 inch Wide Screen WXGA LCDDell
• 4.0GB, DDR2-667 SDRAM, 2 DIMM
• NVIDIA QUADRO FX 360M 512MB Turbo Cache Memory (256 dedicated)
• WINDOWS XP PRO SP2 with Windows Vista Business License

It came with a free 19" monitor, which I upgraded to a 22". I’ll be loading up SolidWorks this week, and will then be putting my new toy through its paces. Naturally, I’ll let you know the good, the bad and the ugly.

Also, I’ve been in touch with SolidWorks Corp regarding product reviews and we’re getting the ball rolling again. If there’s a partner product out there that you’re curious about, let me know and I’ll see if I can’t get my greedy hands on it to try it out.

I’ve received a couple of emails from people asking me if I like NextEngine’s scanner. It became apparent to me that, one, they didn’t read the whole post and, two, that I didn’t do a very good job of saying what I meant. So, before there is anymore confusion…Yes, I like the scanner. Very much so. The "problems" I’d been having were, for the most part, user created. As I mentioned in my previous post, I have a bad habit of *not* reading the instructions and just jumping in with both feet. It’s amazing what you can learn once you do start reading the instructions…
Anyway, I’m beginning to realize some of the mistakes I made in my initial scans and things are moving along much better now. Stay tuned…

I’ve been messing around with the scanner that NextEngine sent me and, I have to admit, I’m getting frustrated. The demos I saw at SWW ‘06 & ‘07 made it all look so simple and yet I, a veritable genius, just can’t seem to get the hang of it. Ok, ok, so the genius thing might not be accurate, but I’m not dumb either. It seems to me that it should be a little more simple.
I’m trying to scan circuit boards. Reverse engineering them is a real PITA and using the scanner for this task was a no brainer. I’d be able to kill two birds with one stone. When Nick Borchers, an AE from NextEngine, was here he showed me a scan they’d done of a circuit board and it looked pretty damn good. I’ve probably tried at least a dozen different scans and they all come out looking lousy. Take this one, for example:

You can see that, although it says it’s aligned, it’s far from it. The funny thing is, when the alignment begins, the scan looks great. Once it’s done doing whatever magic it’s doing, it doesn’t look so good. What does this tell me? It tells me that I need to read the help files. It also tells me that I should contact Nick and get some more info. Why? Because I’ve seen what the NextEngine scanner can do and I’m willing to bet it’s operator error here. Nick explained to me that shiny surfaces need to be prepped before scanning. To do this, you can use the supplied powder brush. However, the recommended, albeit undocumented, method is to use Athlete’s foot spray (the powder kind). I’ve done that, but I’ve missed something else, of that I’m sure. The scanner is, from what I’ve seen and read, a good product. I need to do things right so that I can give it a fair shake. Circuit boards, with all their various geometries, aren’t the easiest things to scan.
As I was writing this, I rescanned the circuit board that I show. It now looks much better. Bear in mind that it has foot spray on it, which is why it looks cloudy:

As many of my loyal readers know, I’m not big on reading instructions.  I like to just get in there and do it. Well, I’m going to turn over a new leaf. That’s right, I’m going to read the instructions. I’ve been messing around with SolidCAM as well but, again, I need to read. Where vendors are starting to send me higher end, more advanced products, I feel it’s only right that I do things properly. So, stayed tuned folks. This blog is going to grow up…well, a little anyway.

Ok, so now there’s a run on the 3D scanner from NextEngine. I mean, seriously, my blog is supposed to be about hardware and software for SolidWorks! You other three goombahs actually are engineers and are supposed to write intelligent pieces about the wonders of SolidWorks itself! But, nooooo, you three have to jump on my coat tails! First it was Devon who’s post wasn’t too favorable. Then, after I posted about getting my scanner (finally), Ricky emails me to say that he, too, has just got one and plans on writing a post (more on that in a second). Then, today, what does Matt go and do after reading my post?? You got it, he posted a review. Jeez, guys, I’m the hack of the group who needs this easy stuff to write about. Stop stepping on my toes!!

Ok, kidding aside, check out Matt and Devon’s posts then keep an eye out for mine and Ricky’s. Ricky and I are actually going to tag-team on our reviews. Granted, we don’t have a clue how we’re going to do it yet given the fact that I’m in Seattle and he’s in some southern state. Then there’s the language barrier. I speak English and he speaks some southern dialect that, occasionally, sounds like English. Eh, no matter, we’ll figure it out.

A couple of things that I have over the three of them are 1) I didn’t have to pay for my scanner. I just get to use it for 30 days or so. Plenty of time to take care of what needs to be taken care of. And 2) one of NextEngine’s AE’s happened to be in my area today and spent a few hours going over things with me (thanks Nick!). Now I know all of the little tips and tricks to get the job done, especially where it doesn’t come with a manual and the software guys at NextEngine are putting out updates every two weeks! Now, if I can just think of a way to get women to let me scan up their "feet" like Matt…

Stay tuned and have a great 4th!!