Virtual Desktop

Virtual Desktop

Engineering on the Edge

Rapid Ready Blog

Facebook

Twitter

Subscribe

Contact Us

Kenneth Wong's Virtual Desktop	September 8, 2012

THIS WEEK'S FEATURE

Crowd-Financed Personal Projects Spawn Six-Legged Crawlers
At Artisan's Asylum in Somerville, MA, two groups of robotic students worked to build six-legged crawlers. Both projects were funded through Kickstarter campaigns that not only met, but exceeded their funding targets. Both groups relied on SolidWorks software and its simulation functions to validate their ideas. Hexy and Stompy, as the robots are called, represent a new type of manufacturing, marked by creativity, playfulness, and crowd-sourced funding.

DIGITAL EDITION

September 2012

VIDEO FEATURE
Conceptual modeling in SolidThinking 9.0

Concept modeling with NURBS in SolidThinking Evolve 9.0.

NEWS AND UPDATES
MecSoft Partners With RC Enterprises
RhinoCAM will be offered with TruCut plasma cutting tables.

InspectionXpert and Verisurf Announce Partnership
Integration will accelerate the process of completing first article inspections.

ANSYS Launches Student Version of Simulation Technology
Low-cost ANSYS Academic Student available in U.S.

CIMdata Publishes CAD Selection Report
New paper deals with large data structures.

Cloud Computing Market to Reach $21.6 Billion by 2018
Market currently consists overwhelmingly of private clouds.

TWEET OF THE MONTH
Tablets wars: Apple is from Venus, Amazon is from Mars. http://gigaom.com/2011/09/29/tablets-wars-apple-is-from-venus-amazon-is-from-mars/
@hnshah, Hiten Shah, tech entrepreneur

UPCOMING TOPIC
Notes from SolidWorks 2013 Launch

EDITOR'S PICK OF THE WEEK
Full Frequency Noise and Vibration Simulation
DE Editor at Large Tony Lockwood discovered the importance of noise and vibration (or, rather, the importance to reduce them to an acceptable level) in a recent dishwasher shopping adventure. His reflections on ESI's VA One, a vibroacoustic analysis environment, is punctuated by the sound of a dishwasher in the back. Lockwood was impressed by, among other things, the product's modular nature.

NEW POSTS FROM DE

Lights, Camera, Engineering
A grant from the Royal Academy of Engineering resulted in a video channel that focuses on the drama in engineering.

Paralympics Athletes Benefit from Additive Manufacturing
Custom-made high tech wheelchairs are just one example of AM's contribution.

How Daniel Got His Pinchy
Biomedical students designed prosthetic arm for an Indiana boy.

ONLINE RESOURCES
Fast Apps
Get a detailed look at application stories the editors have determined deserve special notice. Synopses in the magazine links to in-depth application articles on the web site.

ABOUT KENNETH WONG
Kenneth Wong has been a regular contributor to the CAD industry press since 2000, first as an editor, later as a columnist and freelance writer for various publications. During his nine-year tenure, he has closely followed the migration from 2D to 3D, the growth of PLM (product lifecycle management), and the impact of globalization on manufacturing. Reach him at Kennethwongsf [at] earthlink.net. Follow him on Twitter at KennethwongSF.