Another new tool for SolidWorks; PropertyExtractor will extract all custom and configuration specific properties from a set of SolidWorks files without having to open them, and has been benchmarked on 10,000 files and 100,000 custom properties in 26 seconds!

The results are displayed in an explorer-like treeview style with the option to save out all results to a separate file for archiving/searching/printing.

Visit the Products section to download the latest version.

For all those questions nobody ever asked

The new program (LaserMRP) is now released to the public in Beta stages (Find it in Products section). Basically it is a tool for SolidWorks that works on sheet metal parts and gets their overall dimensions, works out cutting speeds and costs, including material and labour, saves them as custom properties, creates a DXF drawing, a SolidWorks drawing and a tif image of a 1:1 flat pattern of the sheet metal with a note displaying thickness, costs, name, quantity etc…

Looks like this one has started to surface again; this is a popular fraud pulled by people mainly aimed at marks in the UK.

The way it works is that the scammer finds a person who is selling an item (a bike, a car, anything relatively expensive) and attempts to buy it. They start by paying you via a cheque in the post, and state in most cases that it is a bankers draft cheque or similar and clears within 3-5 days, with money available in your account in 7 days.

The catch is they pay you £1,000s too much. There explanation for this is that they live in another country and they own, or are using, their own shipping company to pick up the item in question, and they require you to send them (the shipping company) the excess money (usually around £1,500-£3,000) as soon as the money clears in your bank, as they are urgent to get it.

The seller is often overwhelmed by the simple fact that they have a wad load of cash in their bank account and don’t stop to think things through properly. So… a typical sale would be the buyer (scammer) contacting you for your address to send the cheque, and then you paying that cheque into your bank. For this example let us say they give you a cheque for £7,000 for a car worth £4,000. They then state that they will be sending their shipping company over to collect the goods but you need to first pay them the extra £3,000 by withdrawing the money from your account and sending it typically via a money transfer using Western Union or the likes.

If you haven’t gathered by now all that is happened is they have sent you a fake cheque, that WILL bounce from your account after *10* days, but the bank will give you access to the money after 5-7 days. So, you pay in a fake cheque of £7,000 to your bank, withdrawn £3,000 after 7 days, send the cash to some scammer overseas, and then 3 days later your bank account bounces the cheque and you are left £3,000 in the red.

The first problem is that even your own bank will tell you that the cheque will clear in a maximum of 5 days and be available to you within 7. This is a total lie! Simple fact; all cheques no matter what (ISA guarantee, bankers draft, printed) are NOT cleared until 10 working days.

The second problem is that now you have been scammed and lost thousands of pounds the bank will also be straight on your back for the money, and on top of all of it you will undergo a fraud investigation as to them it simply looks like you have paid in a fake cheque and attempted to get some quick cash.

The best thing you can do if you suspect fraudulent activities such as this is to not tip of the buyer (scammer) that you are onto them but instead play along and gather as much information as you can on them (addresses, emails, contact details) and report them all to your bank and the police and let them know what you believe is going on.

The only fool proof way to stop you from getting scammed is to wait a good 15 days to be on the safe side and double-check everything.

If you do get scammed and your bank has falsely supplied you with information about a cheque clearing before 10 days you can take them to court, and even if you do not intend to often informing the bank that this is your intention will often result in them paying you back in full the total amount lost from the fake cheque.

We went down to the local reserve this weekend and I decided to test out my new IS lense. Taking some feed and nuts we spent a good few hours in one spot baiting the squirrels until we were surrounded by dozens; they are right little characters when you sit and watch them. Coming as close as you could imagine most of them sat happily eating nuts inches away from you, while others were to busy pinching one anothers food and chasing each other.

I also spotted a little duck hiding in the reeds that was equally as hungry. Here are a few snaps of the day, hope you like:

The next project I am undertaking is a new SolidWorks tool to automatically create drawings for you to a very advanced level. The new forum post is here .

The long awaited SolidWorks 2008 API Programming book is here. BUY NOW!

I have just released a new and useful little tool for SolidWorks. It searches any given configuration specific property within an assembly or part, let’s say description, for a string, such as “RHS”. This would match any configuration that contains a configuration specific property called Description, with a value that matches or includes “RHS” within it’s name.

From the list, you can then simply double-click it to activate it within SolidWorks. Give it a go. Download it here.

As some of you may know already, I am currently writing a book on SolidWorks API 2008 programming and automation. I am hoping to finish it within 4 weeks and I will be self-publishing and selling it right here.

The book will cover topics such as the basics of accessing the SolidWorks COM object in the first place, to performing functions with it, creating user inputs and interactions, property pages, events and notications, error handling, assembly traversal, modifying parts/assemblies/drawings, importing and exporting data in native formats and custom configuration files and much more.

I will be writting and explaining all examples in VBA, C# and VB.Net. Depending on time I may also write C++ examples. The book will be fully supported on the forum for anyone who buys it so they can get help from myself and others. It will cost around £25-30 + P&P. I have no intension of going to Amazon, Ingram, Baker or the likes just yet, but depending on sales it may go to there next. I will keep you posted.

Finally getting time this week, I have updated the services page. Check it out!