Happy holidays from CAP and our best wishes for the New Year. We will close at noon Friday 12/22 and reopen at 10am Tuesday 12/26. We will close at 3pm Friday 12/29 and reopen at 10am Tuesday 1/2/7. We are looking forward to working with you in 2007!
CAP Customer Survey - Thank You!
Thank you to everyone who filled out our recent customer survey. Once again, you have rated us very highly for our customer service and the value we provide. 96% of our customers would not hesitate to recommend us to a friend or business associate, and 97% of you rate our engineers and account managers as extremely well qualified. The survey responses are very helpful in determining our training and product offerings - we will be offering additional advanced courses to satisfy the demand. Thank you for your honesty - we plan to address any issues that were brought to our attention. You should be receiving your "Stick With CAP" car accessory in the mail within the next week.
CAP Presents "3D Sketching Made Easy" at SolidWorks World
Jason Pancoast, CAP engineering manager, will be presenting a 1 hour hands-on session titled "3D Sketching Made Easy":
Using a 3DSketch is critical for defining weldment frames, pipe/tube/wire routes, and curves for advanced shapes. However, sketching in 3D, on a two-dimensional monitor with a two-dimensional mouse pad, is inherently challenging! Constraining sketches that have six degrees of freedom, instead of three, is not obvious. However, SolidWorks has tools and user-interface elements that make this powerful environment approachable.
This hands-on session teaches you how to use the 3DSketch and how to use it well. Participants in this session will be introduced to the SolidWorks 3DSketch. You will be taught fundamentals and best practices for creating 3DSketches, capturing your design intent, and using 3DSketches to create solid models.
Explore SolidWorks 2007:
Sketches created on planar faces of any sheet metal part will be transformed when the part is flattened. These sketches can also be represented as a different color in the flat pattern drawing. Dimensions also go to their flattened state.
This is Jason's fifth time presenting at SolidWorks World. At last year's event, Jason won first prize in the Model Mania 2006 competition.
Training
CAP Universities - Lunch 'N Learn with New Topics!
Register today for a free training seminar in your area.
SolidWorks and NextEngine: ScanTo3D
Large Assembly Best Practices
Working with Imported Data
Surface Modeling Methods
Q1 Training Schedule available - New classes added!
Users can now quickly mate multiple components using the same mate operation to a common reference. By combining these mates into a multi-mate folder you can change the common reference, the mate type or the distance for all mates in the folder. Learn about the latest features in SolidWorks at a CAP training course.
News from SolidWorks
New product activation feature in SolidWorks 2007
A new product activation feature is being rolled out with SolidWorks 2007 SP3. This release is scheduled for late Jan or early Feb 2007.
The new, improved product activation provides a secure, and hassle free process that authenticates licensed users. This licensing process, for both SolidWorks and COSMOS products, is consistent with other leading software companies. The feature provides a deterrent to unauthorized use of SolidWorks products with a minimal effect on our loyal customers. Please read the Activation FAQ's and if you or any of your vendors/partners have questions about how this will affect your SolidWorks licenses, please contact your CAP account manager.
Microsoft Certifies SolidWorks 2007 for Windows Vista
SolidWorks 2007 is the first 3D CAD product available and certified by Microsoft for new Windows Vista operating system. SolidWorks Edition for Windows Vista users will enjoy translucent windows, dynamic reflections,
smooth animations and Windows Vista Instant Search will return the results that SolidWorks users seek, from the hard drive, SolidWorks Toolbox, or
PDMWorks and 3DContentCentral service. SolidWorks for Vista
SolidWorks’ SWIFT wins Industry Week Technology of the Year Award
The editors of the leading manufacturing management magazine have selected SolidWorks Corporation’s SWIFT™ software tools as one of only five Technologies of the Year for 2006. A complete list of the winners and profiles of each winning technology area will be featured in Industry Week’s December 2006 issue and at www.industryweek.com.
Feb 4-7 2007 SolidWorks World 2007 Are you looking for ways to improve your productivity?
With more than 100 technical breakout and hands-on sessions, plus exhibits featuring the latest innovations from over 90 SolidWorks Solution Partners, SolidWorks World 2007 offers an ideal opportunity for you to learn how to get your job done faster and more efficiently using SolidWorks® software.
You know what they say about all work and no play...
After a day of informative sessions, join us for an evening of Mardi Gras revelry - SolidWorks style.
SolidWorks World meets Mardi Gras World, with music, food and festivities among the grand floats and dazzling displays of New Orleans' world famous carnival.
Still need to convince your boss?
Are you having a hard time convincing your boss that you need to attend SolidWorks World? Go here for a list of compelling business cases that you can present.
From beginning to end, SolidWorks World 2007 promises to be both an enjoyable and educational experience that will further your professional development.
*The fine print: Each registrant will receive a Full Conference pass. All three people from the same company must register at the same time to receive the 3-for-2 discount. Registrant #1 must pay the total fee due at the time of registering and must enter the names and email addresses of the other two individuals from the same company who will be registering as part of the 3-for-2 special. Upon the completion of registrant #1's registration, an email with instructions will be sent to registrants #2 and #3 on how to complete the registration process. Should any of the three fail to register; the Full Conference fee will apply.
Events and Seminars
COSMOSWorks HandsOn Seminar
Try the COSMOSWorks Professional Hands-on Test Drive and see how COSMOS can improve your product quality by indicating how your SolidWorks models will behave before they are built.
Now you can study the real-world performance of different design alternatives without ever leaving the SolidWorks window. Seminar signup
SolidWorks Hands-On Test Drive with 3D Skills
Lower costs and shorter product development cycles are two reasons why moving from 2D CAD to 3D product design software is becoming an urgent priority for more and more organizations. Another reason is that the use of 3D product design data is beginning to overtake the use of 2D CAD data, so 3D compatibility is increasingly more important to your customers and suppliers, too. While the 2D-to-3D transition may seem like a formidable challenge for many organizations, product designers who move ahead with the transition are often surprised to learn that it’s actually much easier than they’d imagined, and the payoff is much greater, as well. Seminar signup
User Groups
TBD
6:00 PM
Boston SolidWorks User Group
Village Green, 2nd floor
225 Newbury St (Route 1North),
Want to learn more about rapid prototyping? We have new case studies available:
Cornell University Brings Pieces of History Back to Life
"Without a physical embodiment, one cannot appreciate the friction, dynamics and tolerances of these models. - Harold Lipson, Asst. Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
Culligan Brings Out the Best in Water
"I wouldn't trade our Dimension 3D printer for anything." - Steve Reif, director of Research and Development
Dimension SST 3D Printer Empowers M3 Design
"What drove us to Dimension was the ABS plastic material used to create the 3D models. We can sand, cut, paint and glue our models." - Walt Carver, mechanical engineering manager
Contact us for your packet and ask for the "Rapid Prototyping Case Study Bundle".
2.9% Financing Offer Expires
However, there's still time to order your Dimension 3D printer with attractive financing options. Contact your account manager for details.
Dimension Participates in the House of Innovation in California
The 14th Sunset "Idea House," a collaboration with Popular Science, is chock full of sustainable materials and cutting-edge technology. This year's house focuses on technology, featuring both the most cutting-edge products and systems available today, and the "Tech Loft" prototypes that might be everyday gadgets and appliances five to 20 years from now. See the House of Innovation video, showing the Dimension 3D printer in action or view the slide show.
Hot Tech Tips
KAP’s Corner -“FEA Meshing with Solid Bodies ”
Only a few years ago, the COSMOS integration with Solidworks was enhanced to support solid Part files that contained more than one Body. The most immediate obvious benefit is that you can now analyze a model with several different material regions, without having to create separate Part files, Assemblies, or positioning Mates. But my favorite reason for employing multiple-bodied Parts is that it enables us to employ a ‘trick’ that will enforce better control of the FEA Mesh. If you frequently perform Finite Element Analysis of thin-walled or slender parts, and wish that you could control surface mesh size independently of the thru-thickness mesh size, then this KAP’s Corner is for you. FEA Meshing with Solid Bodies (PDF)
Tech Tip #1
Sketching Secrets: The Parallelogram
The Parallelogram is a lesser-known sketch entity that could save you several clicks, increasing your modeling speed depending on the shapes you typically work with. Similar to the Rectangle, but different, the Parallelogram is a fast way of drawing four connected lines with geometric relations automatically applied to them. Figure 1 shows the result of using the Rectangle function. You draw it across the diagonal, from corner to corner. Four lines are created, with two of the lines set Vertical and two set Horizontal.
Figure 1: Rectangle
If your rectangle does not lie in the H/V direction, the Parallelogram is an easier choice. You can find this command under Tools - Sketch Entities - Parallelogram, and you can add the icon onto your toolbar if you wish. Figure 2 shows the default result of using the Parallelogram function. You draw it along one side first, to indicate the angle and length. A final click at the third corner will create the lines. Relations are added so two of the sides are Perpendicular to the first side, while the fourth side is set Parallel to the first.
Figure 2: Parallelogram
Figure 3 shows the result of using the Parallelogram function to create a more generic parallelogram. You begin as above, drawing the first side at the length and angle you desire, but then you hold down the CTRL key while making the final click. Using the CTRL key releases the perpendicular constraint and results in two sets of Parallel lines.
Figure 3: Parallelogram with CTRL key
Tech Tip #2
Selection Secrets: The “Invert Selection” Option
Have you ever needed to do a SELECT ALL of all of the faces of a model? I run into this a number of different ways. Sometimes a user has applied Colors locally to some or all model faces, and you want to clear the color property. Sometimes you want to identify all the matching faces of two nested solid bodies, for defining a Bonded condition for a Finite Element Analysis. For whatever reason, it is no fun to have to select every face – and there are frequently small, ‘sliver’ faces that go unnoticed.
Solidworks 2007 has added a new selection tool called INVERT SELECTION. This option will De-Select all of the currently selected entities, and Select all of the currently Un-Selected entities. Handy enough, by itself. But if you Right-Mouse-Click over a single face of a model, then choose the pop-up option INVERT SELECTION, (you may have to look for it in the list of extended options at the bottom of the pop-up dialog) – it will now select Every face of the model – except, of course, the one you started with. Then a simple CTRL-click will add that face, too, to the selected list, and now you have them all.
Now available! SolidWorks 2007 Hotkeys
We've updated the popular 8.5 x 11 laminated card featuring the SolidWorks 2007 Hotkeys and the "Recommended SolidWorks Export Formats". To receive your free copy of this useful handout, please send us an email with "Hotkeys 2007" in the subject line. Be sure to include your mailing address. Request yours now!
Customer News Customer Profile - Skip Barber (Each month, we will profile a CAP company. Please email us if you would like to be featured in an upcoming newsletter.)
The Skip Barber CAD transition from 2D to 2D was featured in a recent issue of CADalyst. Using SolidWorks and COSMOSWorks along with CAP support, Skip Barber Racing School races into full throttle vehicle design. Making the leap from 2D to 3D, they focused on design, not menu items and command lines. Read the article
"We are a racing school, so we have a fair number of crashes. We conduct real-world studies and compare it with COSMOSWorks data. We've been very impressed..."
- James Achard, Lead Engineer
Job postings
Iquum, Inc. in Marlboro, MA, seeks the following engineers for product/process design and development of our line of diagnostic
instruments: Sr. Mechanical Engineer, Mechanical Engineer, Sr. Electrical Engineer, Sr. Software Engineer(Embedded Systems), Systems Engineer. This is your chance to work on leading edge discoveries with an inspiring team of industry experts in an exciting medical device company. For more information, visit the web site at www.iquum.com or email Beth.
Henschel is seeking a Mechanical Engineer with SolidWorks experience. Specializing in electronics packaging with experience with COSMOS and FloWorks. Please contact Brian Cook for more information.
Michael Cattafe Associates is looking for a SolidWorks user for a contract to permanent assignment. Possible permanent for the right candidate. Prefer someone on site most of the time in Maynard, Ma. They do industrial design - assemblies and some advanced part design should be part of your background as a bare minimum. Visit www.cattafe.com and please contact Michael Cattafe for more information.
Matec Instrument Companies, Northborough, Ma is seeking Mechanical engineers with SolidWorks experience for system design and integration of small to large robotic gantry systems utilized in the aerospace/military and quality control markets. Contact Mike Lawrence for more information
www.Matec.com
Feedback
Please send any additional suggestions, issues or comments to marketing@capinc.com.
At Computer-Aided Products, we empower our customers to make more money with their CAD design environment. We are a value-added reseller (VAR) for SolidWorks and the Stratasys Dimension 3D printer. We specialize in transitioning designers from a 2D environment to a 3D solid CAD world, providing the training and service you need to get up to speed quickly. Our partnership with the best CAD solutions in the industry, along with our years of expertise and practical experience, provide a solid foundation for your CAD future.
Computer-Aided Products, Inc.
Serving all of New England with offices in Manchester NH, Peabody MA and Westborough MA.
(800) 424-2255 www.capinc.com
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