Jeff's Tool Shed » Software Review

SolidWorks 2012 – My Favorites

Jeff Mirisola — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 14:00:08 +0000

When I ventured back to Boston on vacation a couple of weeks ago, I made my annual pilgrimage to SolidWorks headquarters in Concord, Mass. I’d gone with the hope of meeting up with a few friends and doing a few interviews. However, Kristen Wilson, PR Manager for SolidWorks, managed to wrangle me a two-hour preview …

SWW2011 – 73 Reasons to Go

Jeff Mirisola — Wed, 24 Nov 2010 16:14:08 +0000

360 Enterprise Software (Mecanica Solutions) 3D QuickTools Ltd. 3Dconnexion Altium Inc. AMC Bridge LLC AMD Inc. AMV s.r.l. Barry-Wehmiller International Resources CAD Partner GmbH Camtek GmbH Capvidia CD-adapco Cideon America, Inc. COMSOL, Inc. Creaform Custom Tools Dassault Systèmes Delcam plc Dell Inc. DriveWorks Ltd. DS SolidWorks Corp. Edgecam – a Planit Co. ElectroMagneticWorks EnvisionTEC ESPRIT/DP Technology …

Review – Template Wizard

Jeff Mirisola — Sun, 14 Nov 2010 19:46:55 +0000

Let’s get this legalese out of the way first: I was provided with a copy of Template Wizard to review. At no point in time was it implied that acceptance of said software would result in a favorable review. Let’s be real here, anyone who knows me knows that I’m not a sell out. I …

2011 – Saving the Planet

Jeff Mirisola — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 15:03:18 +0000

Asheen Phansey, the PM for SolidWorks Sustainability, came up to show us Sustainability. “Show” isn’t really the right word. Asheen is so passionate about sustainability, I felt guilty for not recycling the gum I chewed earlier in the day. Here’s the deal for me, though: I get sustainability. I recycle, I try to minimize waste. …

2011 – The Simulation side of things.

Jeff Mirisola — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 15:00:23 +0000

Admittedly, Simulation isn’t my cup of tea. I use it minimally, but leave the hardcore stuff up to those that know. However, I am learning more about it. I may even take the exam some day…maybe. Stephen Ensby, the Simulation Product Manager, was quite happy about the changes they’ve made to Simulation. Their thought was …

2011 Part II – No more shiny stuff

Jeff Mirisola — Mon, 06 Sep 2010 13:00:05 +0000

That’s what customers are saying, according to Shaun Murphy, no more bells and whistles. What does that mean for the development folks at SolidWorks? It means they’re going back into the code to make it better, more robust. To that end, a major focus for the 2011 release was lowering the memory footprint. We’ve all …

SolidWorks 2011 – A modest man’s take on it

Jeff Mirisola — Sun, 05 Sep 2010 17:08:22 +0000

I was one of the lucky ones to be flown to Concord, put up in a hotel and fattened up on some great food last week. So much for the diet I’ve been so strictly sticking to. Although, being able to go home, see family and friends, enjoy a few cups of Dunkins and get …

Hello, SolidWorks 2011

Jeff Mirisola — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 13:10:10 +0000

At 10:00 tonight I’ll be on an airplane heading to the east coast. I’ll spend the weekend with family before heading to Concord to get my first real glimpse at SolidWorks 2011. The only time I’ve seen it was at SWW back in January, so it will be interesting to see what they’ve come up …

Hidden Nuggets?

Jeff Mirisola — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 16:21:27 +0000

Most people are well aware of SolidWorks up front capabilities, i.e. creating 3D models. However, there are nuggets within the basic package of SolidWorks that some are aware of. Things like SimulationXpress, FloXpress or DriveWorksXpress. You can find these tools under, strangely enough, the ‘Tools’ drop down or on the ‘Evaluate’ tab on your Command …

Mechanical Mashup Contest

Jeff Mirisola — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 21:19:38 +0000

First, I should ask if you’ve heard of Mechanical Mashup. No? It’s another one of Ben Eadie’s ideas, he of SolidMentor and SolidJott fame. Mechanical Mashup is for the DIY’ers out there. From their ‘About’ page: This site is for you if…. -If you own something that you can’t wait for it to break so …