Blog
Welcome To The New Site.
It’s been a time consuming process but I finally have a new website! Since my life is continuously evolving my website’s need to do the same to more accurately represent me. What I’ve done is combine my personal blog site, www.robrodriguez.com and my business site, www.axiscadsolutions.com into one site. This should make it easier to manage the site and give the viewer a more accurate view of me.
If you’ve landed here using www.robrodriguez.com you’ve been taken directly to the blog page since that’s probably what you were expecting to find. Robrodriguez.com also offered the Step by Step Guides and presentation downloads covering PhotoView 360 and Motion animation. You’ll still find those at the new site under “Guides” and “Downloads”.
If you’ve landed here using www.axiscadsolutions.com you’ve been taken directly to the home page so you can find out more about my business services. The new site also includes an expanded portfolio area full of images and animations.
Whatever your reason for stopping by, have a look around, find out about the services Axis CAD Solutions offers, look at our past projects, read the blog and then contact me to say, “hi” or inquire about how we can help you in your next project.
January 26, 2012 Category: Home Features, Uncategorized No Comments 
PhotoView 360 Presentations in August
August is shaping up to be a busy month and I have SWUGN and PhotoView 360 to thank. Seems PhotoView 360 presentations are in high demand at SolidWorks user groups and I ‘ve been asked by a number of group leaders to present the topic. Typically I limit my user group traveling to a 4 hour one way maximum drive so I’m not able to go to every group that makes a request but I do have a couple of meetings this month.
First meeting is for the Boston Area SolidWorks User Group (BASWUG). I’ve presented for this group in the past and they always have a good meeting turnout. That’s to be expected I think when your in SolidWorks back yard. The meeting will be help on Thursday August, 18th from 5:30 to 9:00 at Nuvera in Billerica, MA. I’ll be giving a presentation covering both PhotoView 360 2010 and 2011. Julie Napolitan from SolidWorks will also be there showing plastic part design. You can see a full agenda and meeting details here.
Next stop is the Tech Valley SolidWorks User group (TVSWUG) in Albany, NY. The meeting will be on Thursday August, 25th from 5:30-9:00 at the Albany Public Library. My presentation will cover PhotoView 360 2011 as well as modo. Some members of Tech Valley group specifically asked for a look at modo so I’m going to show both. John Picinich from CADimensions will also be on hand to cover EPDM. You can see a full agenda and meeting details here. I’m breaking the rules on this one a bit, Google shows a driving time of 4 hours and 9 minutes. 
If you’re in the Boston or Albany area stop by and check out your local SolidWorks user group. Chances are you’ll leave with more than what you came with.
One last thing on the agenda for August is the blogger/press meeting at SolidWorks. I’ll cruise back down to Boston for this and spend a couple of days learning all about SolidWorks 2012. While I’m there I’m also going to try and find some new information on “SolidWorks V6″. It’s been a while since the CAD community has been updated on the status of “SolidWorks V6″ so hopefully I’ll be able to report something. It would also be nice to have a test drive of SolidWorks Live Buildings which was shown at SolidWorks World. Fingers crossed.
August 16, 2011 Tags: Modo, PhotoView 360, SWUGN
Category: SolidWorks Events I'll Be Attending No Comments
PhotoView 360 Users See Some Love.
If you’re a PhotoView 360 user you may have noticed an increase in a flow of PhotoView 360 information from SolidWorks. This is very welcome in my mind and I have to believe other PhotoView 360 users like this new information exchange as well. This flow of information can be found at the SolidWorks forums and it’s coming in a couple of flavors.
The first flavor is training orientated. Ron Bates, Manager of Graphical Applications at SolidWorks has been running a monthly PhotoView 360 training series titled PhotoView Friday. In the Series Ron covers a specific PhotoView 360 topic and dedicates about 30 minutes of video time covering the information. Topics range in subject matter and he likes to take requests so feel free to let him know what you’d like to learn more about. Ron has just posted PhotoView Friday Episode 3 where he covers matched environments and background images as well as some depth of field information. If you missed the previous PhotoView Friday episodes don’t worry, they are all posted in the PhotoView 360 area of the SolidWorks forum. He’s leaning towards rendered animations in Episode 4 which is one I will surely 
want to see.
The seconds flavor is geared towards a sharing of technical information. Again, Ron has been spilling the beans on what PhotoView 360 users can find in the upcoming service packs. He created a video for SP3 which showed the preview window speed increase and for the upcoming SP 4 Ron has also given us a look at what to expect.
Marlon Banta, Senior Product Definition Specialist at SolidWorks has also posted a very in depth look at Factors that affect PhotoView 360 render performance. This certainly has to be one of the longest posts I’ve seen in the forums and Marlon leaves no stone unturned. Nice job Marlon.
A big thanks to both of these gentlemen for keeping PhotoView 360 users better informed.
May 22, 2011 Tags: PhotoView 360, Rendering
Category: PhotoView 360, Uncategorized No Comments
Photorealistic Rendering Using SolidWorks and PhotoView 360 Now Shipping
The Photorealistic Rendering Using SolidWorks and PhotoView 360 Step By Step Guide is now shipping! Everyone who has purchased during the pre buy period will receive their book very soon as they all shipped on 4/22/11. Special pricing on both the PhotoView 360 and Creating Animations guide will remain in effect until Wednesday April 27th.
Photorealistic Rendering Using SolidWorks and PhotoView 360 is a new step By step guide from DS SolidWorks. This guide replaces the PhotoWorks guide and is specifically written for PhotoView 360 2011. At 562 pages it covers all aspects of PhotoView 360 as well as RealView and OpenGL graphics modes in SolidWorks.
Just to clarify and in the interest of full disclosure. This guide was not written or published by me. I was contracted by DS SolidWorks as a technical consultant for the guide. I also receive a portion of the sale from each guide purchased from this website. Now that we have out of the way let’s see what’s inside.
Photorealistic Rendering Using SolidWorks and PhotoView 360 is a self study guide. It’s meant to teach rendering techniques, theories and tools at a pace you choose. Each chapter builds on the previous one introducing new tools and concepts through case study examples that guide the reader along with step by step instruction. Example exercises can also be found at the end of each chapter giving the reader a recap of the chapter and allowing them more samples for practice. The included DVD gives the reader all the model files necessary to follow along with each chapter in both completed and uncompleted states.
Chapters 1-3 give you an overall view of the different types of rendering available in SolidWorks. You look at the history of SolidWorks visualization tools and the differences between Open GL, RealView and PhotoView 360. You’ll also be exposed to the PhotoView 360 user interface found in SolidWorks 2011.
In Chapter 4 you’ll create your first rendering of a 3D Connexion Space Navigator. You’ll explore the basics of rendering creation covering appearances, scenes and lighting set up.
Chapters 5 and 6 very thoroughly cover the different types of appearances. You’ll learn how to create, adjust, save and map appearances. You’ll also learn about the appearance hierarchy.
In Chapter 7 decals are covered. Not only will you learn how to create, map and save decals but, you’ll also be exposed to non traditional uses of decals.
Chapter 8 is all about cameras. Cameras can be used in both SolidWorks and PhotoView 360 and have benefits not only for rendering but model visualization as well.
Chapter 9 talks about the different methods to output your rendered image. You’ll also explore ways to make the render preview faster, some of the output options, how to schedule renders and how to utilize your saved images in other applications.
Chapter 10 digs deeper into scenes and lighting. You’ll look at both direct and indirect lighting, shadow control, direct lighting effects and using background images.
In Chapter 11 the power of Display States and Configurations are shown. Both are excellent ways to easily explore different rendering options such as lighting and appearances.
Chapter 12 covers the advanced lighting options and effects available in PhotoView 360. You’ll also set up a reusable basic rendering studio.
Chapter 13 gives a better understanding of reflective and transparent appearances and some of the techniques used to make working with them easier.
Chapter 14 is a gallery of images all created with PhotoView 360 and is meant to give the reader a good understanding of what’s possible using the software.
There are also three appendix’s that cover in great detail appearance settings and recommended hardware.
You can view a full table of contents here.
April 23, 2011 Tags: Animation, PhotoView 360, Rendering, Step by Step Guide
Category: PhotoView 360 No Comments
modo for SolidWorks Kit is Live!
The modo for SolidWorks Kit has been announced at the Luxology website. The modo for SolidWorks Kit has been over a year in the making and is born from a collaboration between Luxology, modo and SolidWorks users. If you’re a SolidWorks/PhotoView 360 user who wants/needs to enhance your visualization capabilities for both rendering and animation modo is a great choice and the modo for SolidWorks Kit is a must have tool.
Who’s the modo for SolidWorks Kit for?
- The SolidWorks/PhotoView 360 user who needs enhanced visualization capabilities.
- The modo user who works with SolidWorks data
What’s included with the modo for SolidWorks Kit?
- modo for SolidWorks Kit specific tools for import, user interface and CAD tools.
- The Product and Automotive Design (PAD) kit which is a collection of 350 preset materials developed by 9B Studios.
- The Studio and Environment Set 1 (SES1) Kit which is 51 preset environments also developed by 9B Studios.
- 10 training videos explaining how the modo for Solidworks Kit functions, created by Paul McCrorey and Rob Rodriguez.
A closer look at some of the specific modo for SolidWorks Kit specific tools.
One of the things I really pushed for in the modo for SolidWorks Kit was a friendlier more comfortable user interface for the SolidWorks/PhotoView 360 user. As a SolidWorks user I know I was completely overwhelmed with my initial usage of modo. So many tool bars. Such foreign terminology. Where do I begin? These were all thoughts that ran through my mind and that was before I tried to import a SolidWorks File. I really feel one of the greatest benefits of the kit for the SolidWorks/PhotoView 360 user is the user experience. The interface is a combination of SolidWorks and PhotoView 360 and should be very familiar to those users. The typical SolidWorks user is going to be working in SolidWorks for modeling and only switching to modo for rendering and/or animation work. They will switch between both softwares multiple times a day and don’t have time to learn a new interface, they want to be able to open and go. The modo for SolidWorks kit allows them to do this. In terms of rendering, your SolidWorks files import in a state ready to render. Your SolidWorks appearances and decals import seamlessly and changing them in the kit UI is an easy drag and drop operation. The entire experience is very much like PhotoView 360 2010 standalone with the exception of more control. Depending on the level of control your comfortable with, you can choose to browse through and adjust the almost unlimited settings available in modo or use the render, material and environment presets to “auto pilot” you through the process.
The modo for SolidWorks Kit also includes SolidWorks like navigation tools. Navigating your models in modo can be a challenge for the SolidWorks user since it’s based on simultaneous keyboard shortcuts, mouse button control and movements. The modo for SolidWorks Kits adds the same navigation controls found in PhotoView 360 2010 standalone and they allow the user to navigate their model in modo the same way you would in SolidWorks.
modo for SolidWorks Kit render specifc user interface
The import options are also key. modo 501 will import a SolidWorks file without the modo for SolidWorks Kit. When this happens you’ll notice all geometry is imported as a static mesh and instanced (similar to a pattern in SolidWorks) geometry is not orientated correctly. You also notice the item list and shader tree are not well organized and finding the things you need can be time consuming. The modo for SolidWorks Kit gives you greater flexibility for importing your SolidWorks geometry and cleans up both the shader tree and item lists making their management much easier, saving the user time.
modo for SolidWorks Kit import options
A closer look at the other kits included with the modo for SolidWorks Kit.
Over the past couple of years Luxology has expanded or automated modo capabilities through the use of kits. Kits are inexpensive tools the modo user can leverage to speed up their process, very similar to a SolidWorks plug-in. The modo for SolidWorks Kit is bundled with two other Luxology kits, Product and Automotive Design (PAD) and Studio and Environment Set 1 (SES1). Both of these kits were developed by 9b Studios and are a great compliment to the modo for SolidWorks Kit. It’s important to note the modo for SolidWorks Kit is compatible with all the currently available modo kits. You are not limited to the PAD and SES1 kits. As an example, the image below was created using the modo for Solidworks Kit and the Splash Kit.
modo for SolidWorks Kit and Splash Kit
The Product and Automotive Design (PAD) Kit is a preset material system that gives the user up to 350 possible combinations of materials. The PAD kit expands on the preset materials available in modo and makes creating high quality materials like grills, knurled metal, leather grain and wood, just to name a few much easier.
Click for more information about the PAD Kit
The Studio and Environment Set 1 (SES1) Kit is 51 environment presets with a twist. Not only are there 51 different HDR images for a variety of lighting but there are also controls included to easily add a shadow floor, adjust the light intensity of the HDR image, change the background color and rotate and re orientate the environment. As an added bonus the SES1 kit is compatible with PhotoView 360 2010 and 2011 making it a very versatile kit for the SolidWorks/PhotoView 360 user as well as modo user. The helicopter images at the top of this post were created using the modo for SolidWorks Kit and the SES Kit.
Click for more information about the SES1 Kit
A closer look at the training videos included with the modo for SolidWorks Kit.
There are ten training videos included with the modo for SolidWorks Kit and they contain over 2 1/2 hours of information. The training videos cover everything you’ll need to know to get up and running with the modo for SolidWorks Kit. Each bundled kit also includes it’s own training videos to fully explain their usage as well. The ten video training titles are:
- Video 1: modo for SolidWorks Kit Overview
- Video 2: SolidWorks kit User Interface
- Video 3: Prepping the SolidWorks Model
- Video 4: Importing SolidWorks Data
- Video 5: Render Specific Workspace
- Video 6: Scene Setup Specific Workspace
- Video 7: Output
- Video 8: Basic Animation
- Video 9: Trouble Shooting SolidWorks File Issues
- Video 10: Brief Introduction to modo
For more information about the modo for Solidworks Kit you can attend one of the 60 minute webinar’s showcasing the modo for SolidWorks Kit features. You can also find more information as well as a modo for SolidWorks Kit overview video at the Luxology store.
If you’re a SolidWorks/PhotoView 360 user who creates renderings and animations using the SolidWorks provided visualization tools and would like to make a jump to the next level of product visualization modo and the modo for SolidWorks Kit are great choices. The two combined give you the look and feel of the popular PhotoView 360 2010 standalone user interface with the added power and control of modo. If you think the modo for SolidWorks Kit will fit into your workflow and you would like to purchase a copy I can offer you a discount code shown on the graphic below.
Full Disclosure: I was contracted by Luxology to help develop the modo for SolidWorks Kit and create some of the video training material. For a limited time I will receive a portion of each modo for SolidWorks Kit sale.
April 18, 2011 Tags: Modo, modo for SolidWorks kit, PhotoView 360, Rendering, Solidworks
Category: misc., Modo No Comments
SP3 Enhancements to PhotoView 360
Service Pack 3.0 for SolidWorks 2011 has been released and there are some great enhancements included for PhotoView 360.
First up we see some great speed enhancements in the render preview. Lot’s of users noted the integration of PhotoView 360 into SolidWorks 2011 slowed the render preview performance. There was a couple of tricks to speed up the render preview. You could keep the render preview smaller in size or if you preferred using the integrated preview you could use split viewports. These tricks helped with speed but render preview was still slower than the standalone version of PhotoView 360. SP3 has introduced some new code which has greatly increased the render preview speed. You can see a head to head comparison in this video created by Ron Bates and posted at the SolidWorks forums.
Second, the PhotoView 360 appearance surface finish controls have seen some added capability. In 2011 displacement was added to surface finish in PhotoView 360 which gave it more capability than PhotoWorks. In Service pack 3.0 stencil has also been added. What is stencil? It allows you to use some predefined and create your cutting tool to add perforations. PhotoView 360 did have some perforation appearances in the rubber and plastic folder but the user was limited as to what they could control. In SP 3 PhotoView 360 adds diamond and circular perforations (hole mesh) and the user has control over the hole size. Even better the user can create any custom cutting tool using a Black and white image to create their own perforation appearance. Shapes like hexagons, ovals, slots will work and so will things like text, logos…any black and white image you can create can be used as a stencil (hole mesh). Recently I did some guest blogging over at the Javelin technologies blog and I created a 22 minute video discussing surface finish controls and the new enhancements found in SP3.
Overall SP3 shapes up to be a good one for PhotoView 360 users. Makes me wonder what we’ll see in the next release.
March 25, 2011 Tags: Bump, Displacement, PhotoView 360, Rendering, Stencil
Category: PhotoView 360 No Comments
Photorealistic Rendering Using SolidWorks and PhotoView 360
2011 Photorealistic Rendering using SolidWorks and PhotoView 360 Step By Step Guide
Photorealistic Rendering Using SolidWorks and PhotoView 360 is a new step By step guide from DS SolidWorks. This guide replaces the PhotoWorks guide and is specifically written for PhotoView 360 2011. At 562 pages it covers all aspects of PhotoView 360 as well as RealView and OpenGL graphics modes in SolidWorks.
The book isn’t available for shipping quite yet but I’m offering a pre buy sale for those of you who’d like to pick up a copy at a discount. I’m also extending the sale to cover the Creating Animations with SolidWorks Step by Step Guide which has been available for about a year. Each book will be be discounted $10 from the non sale price and those of you in the United States will also receive free shipping. This is a limited time offer. Once the PhotoView 360 book becomes available for shipping prices will return to their normal rate.
I’ll have a more in-depth review of the guide soon but until then you can find more information on both guides by visiting this page and choosing the appropriate book to view the details.
March 23, 2011 Tags: PhotoView 360, Rendering
Category: PhotoView 360, Uncategorized 3 Comments
PhotoView Friday
Ron Bates from DS SolidWorks has started a new video series at the SolidWorks forum titled “PhotoView Friday”. According to his post he’ll be posting a new video every month and his goal is “to simply be another resource for our community, to help everyone learn more about rendering, and hopefully be more productive. Teach, inspire, share, whatever…”. Sounds great!
His first video, Episode #1 covers different lighting methods in PhotoView 360. Check it out, offer some feedback and make some topic suggestions for Episode #2.
March 11, 2011 Tags: PhotoView 360, Rendering
Category: PhotoView 360 No Comments
PhotoView 360: Instant images
“PhotoView 360: Instant Images” is a 60 minute hands on session from SolidWorks World 2011. During a hands on session approximately 30 people follow along with the instructor (me) and/or the provided handout. This session had so many pre-conference sign ups it was run twice and both sessions were full. The presentation covers the basics of PhotoView 360 2011 rendering and includes the handout in PDF format and the model files so you can follow the steps. If you’ve never used PhotoView 360, this presentation will get you started.
I’d also like to note I’ve posted rendering and animation presentations given at SolidWorks World 2011 from Jim Boland and Ron Bates in the presentation download area.
February 13, 2011 Tags: PhotoView 260, Rendering
Category: PhotoView 360, SolidWorks World 2011 No Comments
SolidWorks to modo: What’s in the Kit
“Solidworks to modo: What’s in the kit” was a well attended session at SolidWorks World 2011. Paul McCrorey and I teamed up to give this session together. Neither of us had ever done a session with a partner but it went well and very smooth I think. The presentation gives an overview of what users will find inside the soon to be released “modo for SolidWorks kit”. If you’re a modo user working with SolidWorks files or a SolidWorks user who’d like to explore modo you’ll definitely want to have a look. This session was also videotaped by SolidWorks. Once the conference proceedings are released you can see the full video version which will also include audience questions.
I’ll be posting a full review of the “modo for SolidWorks kit” once it’s released so be on the lookout for that very soon.
As a full disclosure statement I should note Paul and I contracted with Luxology for portions of the “modo to SolidWorks kit”
January 30, 2011 Tags: Modo, modo for SolidWorks kit, Solidworks
Category: Modo, SolidWorks World 2011, Uncategorized 2 Comments