More than 100 manufactured products including cars, airplanes, snowboards, widgets and toys are featured on the floor at SolidWorks 2008, held this week in San Diego, CA.
SolidWorks representatives say the company is always proud of its users and views the event as an opportunity to showcase the wide variety of products created and manufactured using the software.
One of those products, the Big Belly solar-powered trash can, was demonstrated during Monday morning’s keynote address. The Big Belly uses solar panels to automatically compact trash and litter and can hold six to eight times more trash than a standard can. SolidWorks CEO Jeff Ray says it can save up to 1 billion gallons of diesel a year simply by cutting down on trash pickups.
A surprise keynote presenter was Danny Forster, host of the Discovery Channel’s “Extreme Engineering.” Forster, a trained architect, focuses his TV shows on understanding how big buildings are built, but also on how engineering and architecture have to link together to create buildings successfully.
The final presenter at the keynote was Theo Jansen. Described as an artist and kinetic sculptor, Jansen uses genetic algorithms to create mechanical “beasts” that propel themselves along his local beach powered by wind. The machines are built from inexpensive cable piping. Jansen tests the designs by limiting them to the wet sand area on the beach between the water and the soft, dry sand.
By experimenting with the photovoltaic reaction in solar cells, researchers at MIT have made a breakthrough in energy efficiency that significantly pushes the boundaries of current commercial cells on the market.
In a world that's going green, industrial operations have a problem: Their processes involve materials that are potentially toxic, flammable, corrosive, or reactive. If improperly managed, this can precipitate dangerous health and environmental consequences.
With LEDs dropping in price virtually every year, automakers have begun employing them, not only on luxury vehicles, but on entry-level models, as well.
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A quick look into the merger of two powerhouse 3D printing OEMs and the new leader in rapid prototyping solutions, Stratasys. The industrial revolution is now led by 3D printing and engineers are given the opportunity to fully maximize their design capabilities, reduce their time-to-market and functionally test prototypes cheaper, faster and easier. Bruce Bradshaw, Director of Marketing in North America, will explore the large product offering and variety of materials that will help CAD designers articulate their product design with actual, physical prototypes. This broadcast will dive deep into technical information including application specific stories from real world customers and their experiences with 3D printing. 3D Printing is
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