DEVELOP3D - Technology for the product lifecycle

“Wait… No??... You’re kidding me??... What the f[snip - D3D Ed]!?”

That’s right kids - Intel has announced its new director of creative innovation: Will.i.am, the fella with the sunglasses from the Black Eyed Peas.

You heard it here second, or third, or possibly for the brain-stalling sixth time today, possibly already from a colleague equally astounded by the appointment of a man who at his own unveiling seemed baffled, nervous, but holding on by repeating the giant figure of his new Intel payslip over and over in his head…

This week DEVELOP3D has been locked away in a cupboard playing with the latest Sandy Bridge Chip, a force to be reckoned with when it comes to speccing out your CAD workstation.

We’d like to think Will.i.am was deeply involved with its creation and application, even if he was only responsible for brewing the coffee for the office and bringing in carrot cake on a Friday. Failing that, what is his actual purpose amongst the innovative creation bods, most of whom seem to spend their time in damned TV commercials anyway??

We’d like to know how the sunglass-bedecked, pop-hip-hop producing maestro’s appointment makes you feel: is it necessary for Intel to do so? Should his massive pay cheque not go to a bunch of new creative types and developers? Do we all need 7 Grammy Awards to be deemed creative?

Thank God it’s nearly the weekend…

OK, so we’ve finally rolled back the blinds after a few days holed up in DEVELOP3D Labs, and are now ready to share our findings on Intel’s new Sandy Bridge chip.

We’ve put three workstations through their paces using our in house benchmarks - using SolidWorks, 3ds Max and Delcam PowerMill - and we can confirm that it’s certainly a chip to be reckoned with. What’s more, with Intel giving the green light for overclocking, you can get incredible levels of performance from what is essentially an entry-level desktop chip.

Sandy Bridge review

InterPro Workstations IPW-Ci5
Workstation Specialists WS1410
Scan 3XS P67 Workstation

With Sandy Bridge being a single socket CPU, for those that need a little bit more power for rendering we’ve also been looking at BOXX’s latest dual CPU monster, the 3DBOXX 8550 Xtreme. This beast of a machine features water cooling to enable both Xeon chips to be clocked right up to 4.2GHz.

3DBOXX 8550 Xtreme

On the topic of BOXX workstations, UK reseller Escape Studios is giving away a brand new 3DBOXX 4860 Xtreme workstation, a single processor overclocked machine. To enter the draw, which runs until the 31st May, simply CLICK HERE

We got a bit excited when Dyson, designers of household utilities, gadgets, and, um, desk fans, got in touch with our new DEVELOP3D Jobs site to help us hunt them down a range of potential employees.

The developer of ‘new and better technology that solves everyday problems’ is currently looking to recruit a number of Product Designers and Mechanical Engineers to develop its next line of products.

The company that is probably best known for its leading range of vacuum cleaners actually does a lot more: they’ve developed new hand-dryer technology, a desk fan without buffeting blades and a digital motor that spins 104,000 times a minute. But this is only the start. As part of future growth plans they are now expanding their Malmesbury operation and there’s a chance for you to be a part of it.
Current roles include:

Turbomachinery Aerodynamic Design Engineer

Mechanical Engineers – Graduate to Senior

Fluid Dynamics Engineer

Product Designers/ Design Engineers – All levels

Acoustic Engineers

None of these roles take your fancy? Then why not check out the other roles that are currently being advertised on our brand new job listing site – DEVELOP3D Jobs

Here we are again. A new decade, a new January and another SolidWorks World. If you’re not aware, it’s the annual jamboree for all things SolidWorks and it’s happening this week in San Antonio, Texas. Home of the Alamo and a rather peculiar faux-river.

This morning, the Dassault Systèmes (DS) team unveiled a brand new service offering from the 3DVIA group within the company. 3DVIA is the home for some of DS’s more esoteric and ‘less-pigeon-hole-able’ products. Those in the design or engineering space will probably be most familiar with the technical illustration and documentation system, Composer, but there’s also a whole host of game development tools such as Virtools. Alongside the ‘products’ per se, the group has also been leading many of DS’s online efforts. An excellent example is the 3DVIA Shape initiative which provides a set of modelling tools for creating 3D content which can then be shared using the community-style web-site.

So what’s the deal with POST3D?

Announced this morning, POST3D combines DS’s experience with gaming technology, cloud-based services and, of course, 3D design and builds a 3D collaboration service. Upload a model (formats include IGES, STEP, DAE, 3DS, SolidWorks and, of course, Catia), any related documents and you invite the team working on a project to discuss, interact with the model and make decisions - but here’s the thing, it’s not like other 3D model hosting services.

Read more…

If you’re practicing your balloon animals you’ve probably already given up on your design career…

The week is over and hopefully the majority of you managed to stay employed for long enough to consider what you’ll be doing in the future months.

By the look of things you’re all rather happy about where you are right now – either that or just plain grateful to have a job in the industry at all.

That’s not to say that you’re not having a poke around: If the right offer were to come along a quarter of you would jump ship, while nearly as many are sneaking around textbooks and courses to upskill their qualifications with a hope to finding a new position.

A worrying figure is that 14 per cent still have no trust in the jobs market as it currently stands – and even worse is that only three per cent of you are getting out of the game by retiring. SAGA and the golf clubs of the world will be feeling the pinch in 2011.

If you’re looking for some inspiration (unfortunately not in balloon modeling) then take a look here at DEVELOP3D Jobs, which has a wide array of vacancies at all levels right across the UK.

Industrial Designer - Oxford - SolidWorks

Job Type: Contract
Software Category: CAD/CAM/CAE
Software Packages: CAD - Solidworks
Location: Oxford

Working within a small, interdisciplinary team you will take the lead in the development of critical aspects of a new generation of products.

A self-starter, you will be highly motivated and have proven experience of problem solving and generally getting things done.

Educated to degree level in engineering or product design you will have several years’ experience of industrial design and product development in a commercial environment.

You should expect to travel within the UK and abroad (worldwide).

Click here for more information and to apply

DEVELOP3D Jobs

It might be a good time for a bit of career development…

The January blues are eating away at your soul; the weather is cold/damp/British; you’re skint until payday… It doesn’t get much worse.

But you could at least cheer yourself up a little with a bit of career development [I said a little bit - we’re not miracle workers].

This week’s poll looks at your career options for the New Year - are you happy where you are now? Looking to move on? Desperate to retire to a life of daytime TV and reducing your golf handicap? Then let us know.

We’d like to know what you’re planning and maybe [if you’re feeling chatty] the reasons why? A new family meaning you’re working from home? A dream of working abroad leading you back to further qualifications? A recent divorce seeing you take up a second job in your local McDonalds…?

Should you need a bit of encouragement then check out our new jobs site here - a quick browse might change your life.

The results for this week’s poll will be here on Friday lunchtime, so check back to see if you’re the only one brave enough to be seeking new pastures.

DEVELOP3D Jobs