The company reported record revenue of $45.0 million for the first quarter ended March 31, 2012, a 30% increase from the $34.6 million for the same period last year.
System shipments totaled 822 units for the first quarter of 2012, compared to 567 units for the same period last year.
Non-GAAP net income was $6.1 million for the first quarter, or $0.28 per share, representing a 38% increase over the non-GAAP net income of $4.4 million, or $0.21 per share, for the same period last year. The company reported net income of $4.5 million for first quarter, or $0.21 per share, compared to net income of $5.0 million, or $0.23 per share, for the same period last year. Solidscape Inc., acquired by Stratasys in May of 2011, contributed $3.4 million to revenue and 71 system sales, and was accretive to net income during the first quarter of 2012.

“We are most excited about the potential opportunities that will arise from our recently announced plan to combine with Objet Ltd, a privately held global company that manufactures 3D printers for rapid prototyping. Objet maintains a highly complementary portfolio of products that will allow the combined company to offer customers a broad array of innovative 3D printing and direct digital manufacturing solutions from a single destination. In addition, our combined sales and marketing organization will be impressive, providing for market expansion and cross-selling opportunities for the combined product portfolio.

“We have begun to develop a 100-day integration plan that we will initiate upon the closing of the Objet transaction. We continue to target a third quarter closing of the transaction following customary regulatory reviews and shareholder approval. We expect the transaction to be accretive to cash earnings per share within the first 12 months of closing and provide for significant incremental long-term earnings accretion based upon a higher revenue growth rate and operational synergies. In short, we believe the combination of Stratasys and Objet will drive significant shareholder value.

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John Fishman, President of Toycept

John Fishman has been designing and developing new products for about 30 years.  Over that time he has worked at a variety of industrial design firms, model shops, a gift-ware company and a major toy company.

In 1997 John started Toycept, a design driven invention studio. He works with clients to design, develop and define new products they’re looking to manufacture and market. He offers a unique mixture of art, design, engineering and technical know-how complimented with personalized service. While most of his work is in the toy industry, he also provides services to the gift, medical, automotive and housewares markets.

With all of his creativity, we wanted to know how he got started with SolidWorks. Not surprisingly, he began like many other designers, using freehand sketches and programs like Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator, with some time spent in AutoCAD and Vellum.

He used those programs to develop 2D concept layouts and work out part and model geometry for prototype builds. In those days he did all his work on a Mac, so the biggest challenge was being able to visualize and define design solutions in a time effective manner. He decided it would more efficient if he could create the models and mechanisms in a 3D digital format, so he bought a Windows workstation and a seat of SolidWorks in 2001.

SolidWorks allowed him to easily go back and revise geometry, create various part configurations, and simultaneously visualize and evaluate different part designs and mechanical layouts. The user friendly program was powerful, robust, and provided him with the tools he needed. At the time, he didn’t realize the full strength of SolidWorks and how the program was going to change the way he developed products.

When he started using SolidWorks, he had zero experience with 3D computer modeling. He attended as many training classes as he could, and one day it clicked.  He said, “It’s like learning any software package; you really need to spend hours in front of the computer, trying different stuff.  When something doesn’t work, find out why the operation failed. For me, SolidWorks is another tool I’ve learned to utilize to help me develop products. I keep on the training track, attending webinars and on-site training seminars. I go online to SolidWorks forums and see what kind of issues others in the user community are having and learn from their questions.”

When John uses SolidWorks, he finds that creating the individual part files and then bringing them into an assembly, or just building a top down assembly, can really save a lot of time. Being able to test the form, fit and function of all these parts as they work together in the context of the assembly is incredible and powerful.

John recently invested in a Fortus 250mc 3D printer to assist in the product development process. The Fortus 250mc is the ideal combination of a Dimension 3D printer and the Fortus 3D production system, utilizing Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) technology with ABS plastic. We asked him how he was creating prototypes and models prior to 3D printing, and he said that since his inclination is to be “hands-on” (fabricating and tinkering with parts rather than sitting at a drawing board), a 3D printer just made sense.

Years ago, John worked at a couple prototype development firms and learned from the old school model makers. They hand carved the tooling patterns and taught him how to machine and hand carve plastics. Through the years he always built models and mechanisms this way. Even though he loves working with his hands, old school prototyping is very time consuming and in the end there’s no digital data. When he built a model, that was it, there was just that one model, no repeatability.

The crucial decision of purchasing a 3D Printer and using this technology in combination with the CAD software is what really changed his business.

In 2004 he purchased a Dimension 768 printer. Being able to print out the parts directly from the files created in SolidWorks was a real game changer. When there were design revisions or any tweaks needed, changing the digital files and printing out the new part was quick and easy.  It also freed up time to work on other projects while the parts were printing.

Over the past few years print head technology has greatly improved, which is one reason why John upgraded to the Fortus 250mc. He noted that it’s an incredible machine and the parts that come off this printer are amazing. They’re strong, clean and accurate.

A big advantage of the SolidWorks-Fortus combination is the time savings, especially when the project needs multiple copies of the same part. This would traditionally require rubber molds and casting, whereas with the printer he can make multiples of a single part without having to go through the hassle of traditional methods.

Another large benefit that John mentioned is being able to create organic shapes in SolidWorks with the surfacing tools. Once a design takes form, usually as a skin that houses all the internal components, he can print it out on the Fortus. This way he captures all the original design intent, with regard to the organic aesthetics and ergonomics of the outside housing shape, while at the same time building all the bosses, fastening features and internal structures as needed for the inner mechanical components. This also allows John to create accurate looks-like-works-like prototypes for testing, evaluation and product review.

The combination of SolidWorks and Fortus results in quicker turnaround with cost savings, accurate pre-production quality prototypes and evaluation models.  Compatibility with suppliers and manufacturers is also more efficient with file transfer. It turns out that many of his clients and their manufacturing partners utilize SolidWorks. When he releases his files and prototypes they have a jump start to quickly position this input toward final engineering turnover and tooling. All this is a big help with reducing frustration and lost time in the development cycle.

We asked if using SolidWorks and the Fortus has changed how he designs products. He responded by stating that, “One can design anything they want on the computer screen… so for me having the ability to design a part, or even a total assembly with moving parts, and then immediately print out the parts for testing and evaluation is very efficient. It reduces headaches that can occur further along down the road.”

And now for the big question: Would he recommend SolidWorks or a Fortus to others?
“Most of the work I do is at the beginning of the product cycle, which often requires a lot of prototyping. Just creating “what if” images on a computer screen doesn’t really answer a lot of questions.  So for me the combination of SolidWorks and the Fortus printer is a perfect combination.  My traditional shop machinery still serves its purpose, and believe me, it doesn’t sit idle, but being able to work out the part definitions and subsequent form, fit and functions on the computer screen and then hold those parts in my hands a short time later is very efficient.  So would I recommend this combination to others?  Yes, absolutely, without hesitation.”

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Crump stated, “The combined company will offer a more comprehensive product and technology portfolio that we believe will help us address a broader set of customer applications across multiple industries.

The combined company will continue to operate under the Stratasys name and will have dual headquarters in Eden Prairie, Minnesota and Rehovot, Israel.

The transaction is expected to be completed in the third quarter of this year. Until then, both Stratasys and Objet will continue to operate as separate companies. Given the complementary nature of our technology portfolios and our shared commitment to innovation and service, we anticipate a seamless integration.”

We believe this transaction will position the combined company as a leader within the high-growth 3D printing and direct digital manufacturing industry

For a full story and complete access to the shareholder report click here.

Philips Color Kinetics offers professional LED lighting systems in a multitude of types, form factors, and output levels. They offer high-quality, digitally controllable lighting products in the full range of interior and exterior architectural and entertainment applications.

We met with Adam Pepper, a drafter, designer, and the SolidWorks & Enterprise PDM (EPDM) Administrator for Philips Color Kinetics (PCK) in Burlington, MA.

Adam has been using SolidWorks for 6 years now, and prior to that he used AutoCAD and ProEngineer. His dream was to use SolidWorks professionally, which he achieved at PCK. When we asked him what the transition was like going from 2D to 3D, he stated: “it was mind-bending.” He said, “I always knew you could do more with CAD, but 3D really brings it to life on the screen.”

Adam noted that the detailing capabilities in SolidWorks are far superior to anything he’s used in the past. The program is intuitive and much easier to work with.

PCK recently transitioned from Workgroup PDM to Enterprise PDM in order to interface with their team in China. They needed to share documentation with their counterparts on a 24 hour basis, which was possible with EPDM. Most of their vendors also use SolidWorks, which makes collaboration much easier, but on the rare occasion that a partner isn’t, they quickly realize the benefits of this industry standard and buy a license.

Their PDM users were comfortable with the transition to EPDM and didn’t notice much of a difference except that the user-interface had changed and a few buttons moved. During the installation process, Adam relied heavily on the CAPINC EPDM support team to get them going, but within a few short weeks, they were up and running at full speed. One feature worth mentioning is the search feature based on metadata, which has been extremely helpful for their engineers when looking for files.

PCK also uses SolidWorks Simulation and Flow Simulation during their design process. They transitioned a few years back to implement a fully integrated solution that’s compatible with SolidWorks and EPDM. They wanted another SolidWorks product and it worked out great for them.

In addition to using multiple SolidWorks solutions, they also have a Dimension Elite 3D printer which, according to Adam, has worked out very well. Besides their Dimension 3D printer, they also have a different 3D printer which apparently smells horrible and is much louder. (Dimensions are quiet and smell free. Yes we’re bragging.)

Having the printers in house has been great for PCK, allowing them to prototype faster and at far less cost than ever before. In the past, they had to send out everything to be machined, which was expensive and could take weeks. Adam mentioned that the printers also free up the engineers to think more creatively; innovation is highly encouraged at PCK. They build a lot of designs in house, so the printers get them to the next step faster.

We asked Adam if he would recommend SolidWorks or a Dimension 3D printer to others in his industry. His response: “Definitely. I think SolidWorks is the software of choice. The end result is we get to use a lot of different programs that work together… The SolidWorks community is great.”

Dassault Systèmes unveiled SolidWorks Plastics software that enable users to predict and avoid manufacturing defects during the earliest stages of plastics part and injection mold design.

The new products run fully embedded inside of SolidWorks, providing part designers and mold makers with familiar and intuitive workflows so they can quickly optimize their part and mold designs for manufacturability. The ability to make design changes early helps ensure that the mold works right the first time, reducing or eliminating the need for rework and improving part quality. In addition, SolidWorks Plastics provides users with valuable knowledge so they can determine whether changes to the part geometry, mold design, material selection or processing conditions will have a positive impact on the ability to easily manufacture their products.

The SolidWorks Plastics products are based on technology from SIMPOE SAS, one of the leading providers of plastics injection molding simulation software. The new solutions products build on the previous relationship and will be offered under the SolidWorks brand.

SolidWorks Plastics will be offered in two packages – SolidWorks Plastics Professional for part designers, and SolidWorks Plastics Premium for mold designers and mold makers.

The first release of SolidWorks Plastics 2012 will be available this month. For more information on SolidWorks Plastics, please visit: www.solidworks.com/plastics

We’d like to thank all of those who attended and participated in this drawing and hope you will continue to attend more events with CAPINC in the future and perhaps become another lucky winner.

If your interested in seeing a Rapid Prototyping machine in action either contact us or visit our event calendar and register for other upcoming seminars and events.

Thanks  again and don’t forget to check back often for updates regarding  CAPINC and our local partners.

We sat down with Justin Swan, a design engineer at Webstone Co. in Worcester, MA to ask him about how he uses SolidWorks. Needless to say, we were quite impressed with what they’re doing.

When asked what software was used prior to SolidWorks, Justin jokingly said that it involved a lot of napkins and pencils. In reality they chose to work with SolidWorks because they had a serious need for 3D modeling. There was only so much they could do in 2D dimensions. He noted that a lot of their manufacturers can’t properly read 2D models and drawings.

Justin has been using SolidWorks for the past 8-9 years, and prior to that he was using AutoCAD, which he noted was very limited when it came to anything three-dimensional.

We were surprised to learn that Justin is actually self-taught with both AutoCAD and SolidWorks! (He’s one of those CAD prodigy guys.) The transition to SolidWorks was quite easy, and he picked it up quickly. He noted that he doesn’t know anyone who has ever struggled trying to use SolidWorks, its very user friendly. If he ever has issues, he doesn’t hesitate to call our tech support hotline, and he’s given us some doozies, but we always work through them.

A while back, Justin spoke with one of our engineers here at CAPINC who explained to him that when you design a model in SolidWorks, you should think of yourself as a machinist, so when you design your parts, you create each detail in the order that a machinist would process it. You start with a basic part, and then machine in the hole, so you can create the threads. This process allows you to design very complex models, which is how he designs all of his, and each process is labeled accordingly.

We asked Justin to describe the process he goes through when designing. Watch the video below to see how he does it.

One great advantage of SolidWorks is the ability to collaborate with manufacturers. Justin can now send prints to their manufacturers and they can pull prints from the Webstone PDM vault, which makes communications much easier. “A picture says a thousand words. Here’s a picture and here’s the drawing for it, you really can’t screw it up.”

When Webstone started using SolidWorks, they had their vendors start using SolidWorks as well. Before this they were using ProEngineer (ProE), which Justin had used a lot in his past, but he noted that while ProE is a great program, it’s horribly complicated to learn and it’s not user friendly. He mentioned that it is also very limited, where you can design a part, but that’s about it. If you wanted to give it some depth and make it look nice, then you need SolidWorks.

Hydro-Core Valve

Webstone also has a seat of 3DVIA Composer, which is the technical communications tool for SolidWorks. They currently create their spec sheets in a Word or Excel format, which Justin described as very bland and boring. If they want to put an image of their product on their documentation now, they have to save it as a .PDF and then bring it into a graphics program to complete it. He was really impressed during the demo where we showed them how to create spec sheets right from SolidWorks data. Composer allows them to save their document as a 3D PDF where they can flip the model around, pull dimensions and more. They’re very excited to begin working with it.

How is Justin so talented you ask? Part of it is because he has taken almost all of our SolidWorks training courses! He wanted to learn more than he already did and expand on his existing skills, so he’s taken everything from the Essentials course to Advanced Drawings, Assemblies, and Parts. Each time he learned something new that he didn’t know SolidWorks could do.

When asked if Justin would recommend SolidWorks to others in his industry, engineers, designers or product manufacturers, he joked that in his industry, absolutely not because it’s a secret tool, but to anyone else, absolutely. (Competitive advantage anyone?) He says it’s easy to learn, user friendly, you can rotate the model around and see exactly what it is that you’re doing. So yes, he would recommend SolidWorks, just not if you’re Webstone’s competition.

The company reported record revenue of $43.6 million for the fourth quarter ended December 31, 2011, a 28% increase from the $34.0 million for the same period last year.

System shipments totaled 700 units for the fourth quarter of 2011, compared to 632 units for the same period last year.

The company reported net income of $5.8 million for fourth quarter, or $0.27 per share, representing a 34% increase over the net income of $4.3 million, or $0.20 per share, for the same period last year.

Non-GAAP net income was $6.6 million for the fourth quarter, or $0.31 per share, representing a 49% increase over the non-GAAP net income of $4.4 million, or $0.21 per share, for the same period last year.

Solidscape Inc., acquired by Stratasys in May of 2011, contributed $3.2 million to revenue and 68 system sales, and was accretive to net income during the fourth quarter of 2011.

The company reported revenue of $155.9 million for the twelve-month period ended December 31, 2011, compared to $117.8 million for the same period in 2010.

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