Devon Sowell's Blog
09/03/2008 07:25 AM
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SolidWorks ToolBox, Super Charged |
Here's an idea from a discussion with my pal, Satakal Khalsa; How about the complete McMaster Carr SolidWorks database available directly from SolidWorks ToolBox? Let's dream big; the McMaster Carr Part Number, Material, and Cost(s) would be included, it would...
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08/27/2008 05:40 PM
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Bad Luck In Redlands,CA (With A Happy Ending) |
I'm currently in Redlands,CA conducting a 4 day Training Seminar. I brought my Dell M6300 laptop to use for demonstrations. At the end of day 1, I returned to my hotel room with the usual list of topics to research...
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08/25/2008 08:30 PM
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Matt Lombard's Model For Revamping SolidWorks Subscription |
Matt Lombard provides his usual excellent suggestions to SolidWorks Corp. I agree with all of Matt's observations. Want to send a message directly to SolidWorks Corp.? Submit a comment to Matt's latest post, express your thoughts ,ideas, and opinions. Based...
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08/25/2008 05:19 AM
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Beta Testing, A SolidWorks Response |
Thanks to Mark Biasotti, SolidWorks Corp., for responding to my post, here's what Mark has to say; "I empathize with the current discussion that is taking place around subscription fee, and like many times before, I hope that the community’s...
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08/21/2008 07:26 AM
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SolidWorks Beta Testing |
Well, the SolidWorks Subscription Maintenance discussion is well underway on Matt Lombard's Blog. My hat's off to Matt and Rob Rodriguez for leading this discussion. I recall speaking to Rob about this at SolidWorks World 2005 (or was it 2002?)....
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08/20/2008 09:24 AM
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SolidWorks Subscription Maintenance New Fee Question |
My pal, Josh Mings, posted an interesting question on Matt Lombard's Blog. Does anyone have the answer to Josh's question?
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08/20/2008 06:57 AM
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SolidWorks Shows An Arrogant Attitude |
The dictionary defines arrogant as "feeling or showing self-importance and contempt or disregard for others". Rich Welch, VP Customer Services SolidWorks shows this is his attitude in his posts on Matt Lombard's Blog. The subject is SolidWorks Subscription Maintenance. A...
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08/07/2008 04:56 AM
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What's 24 Feet Long And Weighs 25,000 LBS? |
My latest Design Project. Unfortunately, I can't share much information about it. It all started about 9 weeks ago. I got a call from Phil Sluder, Owner of TriAxial Designs. One of his employees, Mike Wilson, had been working on...
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07/27/2008 08:22 PM
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2 Designs That Just Wouldn't Work (For Me Anyway) |
This weekend, I wanted to hook up a system to be able to watch the media stored in my home office media server on my HD TV in my family room. You see my main house is not (yet) wired...
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07/21/2008 07:56 PM
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A Photo Album Of A Few Of My Designs |
I downloaded Picasa2 this weekend. I have over 14,000 photos and Picasa helped me organize them. Unfortunately, I can't share most of my designs, but, here is a Picasa Web Album of a few. Cheers, Devon http://www.3-ddesignsolutions.com
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07/18/2008 07:16 AM
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2008 SolidWorks Explorer & Tags |
Here's a screen shot of 2008 SolidWorks Explorer (SP4) and Tags. The Tag text box is in the lower left hand corner. I found two problems; 1. If the arrow keys are used to scroll and select files, the Tag...
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07/17/2008 04:29 AM
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SolidWorks Hide and Seek...Tags |
So far, the response to my question, "Do you use SolidWorks Tags?" has been an overwhelming silence. Next, I opened the 2008 SolidWorks Help File and found this; Tags are keywords you add to SolidWorks documents and features to make...
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07/14/2008 08:04 AM
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2008 SolidWorks "Tags" |
Is anyone using this Feature? If so, how? Do Tags add value to using SolidWorks? Or are they just another feature added by Marketing ? Do I need both Custom Properties and Tags? In PDMWorks Enterprise, there's a feature called...
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07/10/2008 04:28 AM
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3-D Views In Blogs, Possible? |
Download Yes! Thanks to Matt Lombard for the great tip. Cheers, Devon T. Sowell http://www.3--ddesignsolutions.com
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07/06/2008 03:27 PM
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$147.00 To Fill Up Our Two Cars |
Yeah, right! Cars like these are starting to look good... Go here to shop for your next ride to work: http://www.microcarmuseum.com/index.html Oh well...now I'll fire up my iPod and listen to Nothing Is Easy, Jethro Tull and London Calling, The...
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07/03/2008 09:24 AM
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Meet Gary Swingle, SolidWorks Discussion Forum Member #50,000 |
Wednesday, July 02, 2008 Hello Gary, congratulations on being the 50,000 user to sign up to the SolidWorks hosted Discussion Forum. Thanks for the honor! Please tell us what you do and where you work. I just recently graduated from...
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06/30/2008 12:16 PM
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SolidWorks Hosted Discussion Forum, Over 50,000 Users |
Sometime today, the SolidWorks hosted Discussion Forum surpassed the 50,000 User membership count. Congratulations SolidWorks! I've been a member of the SolidWorks Discussion Forum since 2005, the current version since December 2006. I've posted 609 times. In my opinion, the...
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06/25/2008 05:40 PM
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Does SolidWorks RealView Effect Performance? |
Recently, at the SolidWorks Technical Summit in Baltimore, MD, Richard Doyle gave an excellent presentation about SolidWorks RealView. In the latest version of SolidWorks, version 2008, changes were made to the ways Colors are applied to Assemblies and Parts. I...
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06/21/2008 09:52 PM
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Photos From the 2008 SolidWorks Technical Summit Baltimore, MD |
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06/21/2008 09:42 PM
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Apple Core... Baltimore... Who's Your Friend? Richard Doyle! |
June 17, 2008 was the date for the 2008 Baltimore SolidWorks Technical Summit. A crowd of 40 SolidWorks Power Users took over the BWI Holiday Inn for a day of fun, networking and learning. It was great to meet up...
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06/21/2008 08:33 AM
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I'm Now A Certified Advanced Enterprise Service Provider |
Yesterday, I passed the Advanced PDMWorks Enterprise Hands-On Test. This test took me three hours to complete. Thanks to all that supported me, I really appreciate it. PDMWorks Enterprise is a great tool for managing data. If you have any...
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06/13/2008 07:00 AM
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SolidWorks Technical Summit, Baltimore, MD June 17, 2008 |
I hope to see you there, I highly recommend these SolidWorks Summits. I'll be giving two presentations; FeatureWorks and PDMWorks Enterprise SolidWorks Enterprise PDM, well, the 2008 version :-). I've got a slightly different spin on FeatureWorks and how to...
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06/05/2008 06:08 PM
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Doc Rivers asked me... |
Not how to beat the Lakers, but, "how can I migrate an Access DataBase into a SQL DataBase? And Devon, can I then build a List in PDMWorks Enterprise based upon this Table?" I told Doc two things; a. Kobe...
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06/04/2008 09:02 PM
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Matt Lombard |
My friend Matt Lombard is known for telling it like it is and he pulls no punches. I like that about him. Cliches aside, Matt's latest post cuts to the chase, he asks "Does SW [SolidWorks] employ anyone who plays...
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05/22/2008 03:12 PM
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A New PDMWorks Enterprise Tip |
After a hard day at the office, I'm ready for some relaxing tunes and a PDMWorks Enterprise Tip. Go here for the tip. Now, I'll fire up my 1970's Marantz Tuner/Amplifier, plug in my JBL speakers, crank up the Garrard...
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05/18/2008 03:56 PM
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On Sunday Mornings, It's Blueberry Pancakes |
On Sunday mornings, It's Blueberry Pancakes. This Sunday was especially glorious. Here we go to the garden and pick blueberries. In the foreground, that's my Daughter's 'Homework Garden'. After every 4th homework assignment completed, she gets to pick and plant...
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05/16/2008 06:08 AM
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An Exciting Look At Windows XP SP3! |
Not! Here's what's included in Windows XP SP3; New and Enhanced Functionality Table describes some of the more significant changes in Windows XP SP3. With few exceptions, Microsoft is not adding new features or functionality from newer versions of Windows...
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05/11/2008 04:35 PM
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Windows SP3 |
I heard Windows Service Pack 3 was released last week. How does it work with SolidWorks? Some are reporting it allows SolidWorks to run faster. Is this true? Cheers, Devon T. Sowell http://www.3-ddesignsolutions.com
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05/01/2008 02:43 PM
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Everybody's Talkin' 'bout It |
The Direct Editing demo video from Siemens. Watch it here; http://www.cadjunky.com/watch/44857204 Their claim that it's 100X faster is out there alright. I'm withholding my opinion on that for now. I've read that the new Siemens (that's just a terrible name...
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04/26/2008 10:36 PM
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2008 SolidWorks Explorer, Tips & Tricks |
On my PDM Solutions blog, you'll find Tips and Tricks for 2008 SolidWorks Explorer. Cheers, Devon T. Sowell http://www.3-ddesignsolutions.com
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04/25/2008 06:57 AM
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Computer Part Prices Continue To Drop |
If you're lucky enough to live in the Los Angeles, Orange County, or San Diego County areas of California, you can take advantage of the low prices at Fry's Electronics. For example, this week; 20" Widescreen LCD Monitor, DVI $179.00...
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04/24/2008 06:53 AM
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My New PDM Solutions Blog |
Today, I created a new blog, PDM Solutions. In answer to many questions and requests, I felt a specific location for this topic was appropriate. Please visit this blog to discuss and comment about Product Data Management. Cheers, Devon T....
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04/21/2008 02:46 PM
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Blow Away Those Pesky In-Context External References |
What do I like about In-Context External References? Absolutely nothing! They're like spilled pancake syrup, they leave a sticky residue. So, here is the Systems Options setting I use for external references. What happens if you Check-In files with in-context...
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04/18/2008 09:08 AM
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NonSensicalSpelling |
SolidWorks SpaceClaim CoCreate AutoCAD GoEngineer FeatureWorks WorkGroup SolidProfessor PhotoWorks DDi CosmosWorks DWGEditor iPod iTunes HowDidThisSillyTrendStart? CanYouThinkOfAnyMore? Cheers DevonSowellWorks
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04/16/2008 02:12 PM
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The Temecula Valley User Group Meeting |
Last night, I attended the TVSWUG meeting. A small but enthusiastic crowd showed-up to hear my PDMW Enterprise presentation. I abhor Power Point slides, so we jumped right in and I fired-up my favorite data management application. None of the...
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04/12/2008 05:05 PM
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The Story Of My First Design |
Following is the story of my very first design; The Jet Wrench. The year is 1975. It's a warm summer night. 7,000 people are watching from the grandstands. In the pits at Ascot Raceway, Los Angeles, CA, my Father and...
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04/11/2008 12:28 PM
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We Welcome Our New Client, MicroVention, Inc. |
Today, Sarah and I welcome our 28th client, MicroVention Inc. This medical device company is located in Aliso Viejo, CA. We look forward to working, once again, with Gary Currie and his staff. We appreciate all our Clients and the...
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04/03/2008 09:20 PM
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SolidWorks Performance; It's All About The Processor |
My three year old Dell M70 laptop wouldn't stop crashing, even after replacing the hard drive. So, I searched around the Dell Outlet web site for a replacement. Thanks to Anna Wood and her diligent research, I learned that when...
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04/02/2008 02:45 AM
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Epic AutoCAD/SolidWorks Joint Enterprise |
Check out Mike Puckett's Blog for his exclusive post about the joint SolidWorks/AutoCAD User Group Meeting. I'll be presenting a session about ERP/PLM/PDM. I'll explain how leveraging the enterprise to increase scalability will result in a robust and seamless best-of-breed...
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03/26/2008 12:12 PM
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Hey Ford Motor Company, Buy LOW, Sell HIGH |
The Ford Motor Company, USA, continues its unique business strategy of buying automobile companies, operating them at a loss, then giving them away in fire sales. For example, Tata Motors, India, recently completed the purchase of the Jaguar and Land...
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