Hello SOLIDWORKS and 3DEXPERIENCE Works Power Users! Welcome to the 32nd SOLIDWORKS Power-User Challenge; the first challenge hosted on the Platform.
The credit for the inspiration for this challenge goes to R.Q. who asked this question on the API section of this forum.
For this challenge you can use any of these tools and combinations of them:
- SOLIDWORKS
- 3DEXPERIENCE Applications
- Macros
Requirements:
1. Create a hemisphere. You should be able to control its diameter.
2. Place equidistant points on the hemisphere (as close to the "equidistant" ideal as possible). Ideally, you should be able to modify the spacing and the distribution of points parametrically. If it is not possible to modify them parametrically, you should aim for a method that would reduce manual work during revisions.
Multiple Power User Certificates can be won for:
- Best solution using SOLIDWORKS (no macros)
- Best solution using SOLIDWORKS (with macros)
- Best solution using 3DEXPERIENCE Apps (no SOLIDWORKS)
- Best solution using 3DEXPERIENCE Apps and SOLIDWORKS
- The Most Original Solution
- People's Choice Solution (the solution that gets most "likes").
To enter the contest, please do the following before 11:59 am EDT on September 30th, 2021:
- Upload a finished model in this thread
- Add a step-by-step description of what you did (we encourage the use of screenshots and/or videos).
Do not hesitate to brainstorm with the other participants. In the end, if we put our minds together, we should get as close as possible to the best possible solution.
Update: Thanks to @Eddy Alleman for pointing out that this is known as the Thomson Problem: https://sites.google.com/site/adilmmughal/thethomsonproblem2
swpuc
Example (SW2019 and SW2021 sample files attached): https://youtu.be/Di6Y_leojAc
UPDATE: Exciting news! This time, our challenge is sponsored by Blue Byte Systems, Inc., a leader in SOLIDWORKS and PDM API customization (visit them at bluebyte.biz and cadoverflow.com). These prizes will be awarded to the best three solutions:
- 1 https://3dconnexion.com/us/product/cadmouse-compact/
- 2 Amazon gift card for US$50 or equivalent
- 3 Amazon gift card for US$25 or equivalent
Blue Byte Systems is a team of API experts. They have over 15 years of combined SOLIDWORKS, PDM Professional implementation and customization experience. They even offer free 20 minute consultations, which could be booked at https://calendly.com/bluebyte.
Final Update: It is time to announce the winners:
While we received only 3 submissions, it was very interesting to see that each of them used a different software as the environment:
@Danute Petrova-Nikolova used SOLIDWORKS Core Functionality
@Eddy Alleman used SOLIDWORKS API
@Andrew BARNES used xGenerative Design on the 3DEXPERIENCE Platform.
All contestants provided detailed descriptions of what they did (Andrew even recorded a video). For me, it is fascinating to see how creative the SOLIDWORKS Power User are!
It is time to announce the Awards for SWPUC32:
Best solution using SOLIDWORKS (no macros) : Danute Petrova-Nikolova
Best solution using SOLIDWORKS (with macros): Eddy Alleman
Best solution using 3DEXPERIENCE Apps (no SOLIDWORKS): Andrew Barnes
The Most Original Solution: Eddy Aleman
People's Choice Solution (the solution that gets most "likes"): Eddy Alleman and Andrew Barnes
Note: I counted unique likes per user on their posts where solutions were presented.
Congratulations to our winners and many thanks to all who participated in the SWPUC brainstorming.
Power User Certificates in PDF format are attached.