The SolidWorks certification program was expanded to a new advanced level of certification. The Certified SolidWorks Expert certification goes above and beyond the CSWP to cover many of the advanced features in SolidWorks 3D CAD.
Solidtec reports from SolidWorks World that James Cameron, Director of Avatar spoke to the 5000 SolidWorks 3D users in attendance. Cameron spoke about his early career as a tool-and-die maker whilst he was studying at college, and also spoke about how he and his teams are constantly pushing the limits of design technology to build everything from cutting-edge stereoscopic cameras to a submersible vehicle that he will personally pilot to the lowest known point on Earth, the bottom of the Marianas Trench.
When talking about the world of Pandora Cameron mentioned that he “geeks out” on the “why” of science fiction. The manufacturing required to establish a society advanced enough to mine a rock and support the community than rise a host of questions. So how were these items; a dump truck as large as an arena, an armada of attack ships, and mining equipment all transported light years away. Simply, they were not transported. Rather the items on Pandora were created in a 3D printer. Cameron mentioned he likes to know the background, the how of science fiction. Pre-fabricating and shipping so many complex components does seem like a logistical hurdle, even for a population that can travel light years. An easy solution than is to ship a single large machine that contains the ability to utilize the resources of a host planet to create all of these items. More importantly, Cameron noted that this machine would contain the knowledge of the items it was there to create. From his comments the colonization started with a small group and a single massive 3D printer.
I found his admission of being a “petrolhead” refreshing and took to heart the comment “there is something to be said for having cut some metal”. For a man that is the toast of Hollywood Cameron was truly in tune with the engineering and details that went into all of his projects. An avid users of 3D CAD and FEA he described the pressure vessel testing of his submersible, which is set to deliver him and two other pilots to the deepest parts of the ocean in the coming months, as well as the fluid analysis used to develop the hair movement and wing flutter of characters in Avatar. Although not an engineer it was clear from his talk that Cameron considered himself a part of the engineering community. I can see why, as with many SolidWorks 3D CAD users in the audience Cameron is fascinated by technology and he has used his success to pursue avenues he is passionate about.
Cameron discussed how he's working with NASA to design a camera system that will be used on a future nuclear-powered Mars lander. It was interesting to hear the person responsible for the two highest-grossing movies of all time discuss how FEA(SolidWorks Simulation) is to him, especially on his deep-sea projects.
After the session he even took a few minutes extra (and delayed his press conference) to make his way over to the partner pavilion at SolidWorks World to explore the amazing Z Vision technology. Z Vision, along with others partners, are displaying exciting technology here that gives attendees at SolidWorks World access to the latest 3D CAD related technology.