SolidWorks’ R&D Sandbox Draws A Crowd

Apparently, there are plenty of SolidWorks groupies out there.

The company’s SolidWorks Labs, a technology sandbox where the curious can check out the firm’s latest 3D innovations, has welcomed nearly 100,000 visitors since its debut last February, company officials say. As a result of the high traffic, SolidWorks Labs has been busy adding to the experimental software applications it posts on line.

Here’s a sampling of the new offerings:

CB Model Pro, a 3D modeling program that mimics clay, allowing CAD and non-CAD users to develop 3D models by virtually squeezing, pulling and flattening organic shapes;

Showcase Widget, which lets users create slideshows of the SolidWorks designs by pointing to a folder;

WatchIt Widget, which lets users keep track of which files change on a system;

SolidWorks Island in Second Life, a place in the online 3D virtual world;

3D ContentCentral Search tools, which embed a part search into a users’ Web browser.

There is also a new SolidWorks Labs Gallery, which showcases the novel creations generated by visitors to the site using available modeling and rendering tools. Another bennie: iPhone support for Drawings Now, the online service for engineering drawings, so users can locate, zoom and pan drawings with their fingertips.