Looking for holiday gift ideas for CAD users and engineers? The holiday season is right around the corner and it’s never too soon to start thinking about what presents you are going to get your friends, family, or coworkers. To help you out, I’ve made a list of items I think would be very useful or exciting for your fellow CATIA users. Some of these items I use on a daily basis and others are things that are on my own personal wish list. Enjoy and feel free to suggest items by leaving a comment below!
CATIA Related and Other Books
CATIA V5: Tips and Tricks: Shameless self plug – contains over 70 tips to improve your CATIA design efficiency and productivity. Other purchasing options here.
Excel 2013 Power Programming with VBA by John Walkenbach. This book covers all the methods and tools you need to know in order to program with Excel, a great way to start off if you’re just getting into programming before you tackle CATIA macros.
The History of Visual Magic in Computers: How Beautiful Images are Made in CAD, 3D, VR and AR. Traces the earliest understanding of 3D and then foundational mathematics to explain and construct 3D; from mechanical computers up to today’s tablets.
What If?: Serious Scientific Answers to Absurd Hypothetical Questions. This book contains hilarious and informative answers to important questions you probably never thought to ask, like: What if everyone on earth aimed a laser pointer at the moon at the same time? What if you could drain all the water from the oceans? What if all the lightning in the world struck the same place? Very fun and interesting read!
Tech, Gadgets, and Toys
3Dconnexion 3DX-700028 SpaceNavigator 3D Mouse. My trusty 3D mouse. Anyone doing 3D CAD modeling should consider investing in one of these!
Google ChromeCast HDMI Streaming Media Player. Stream my YouTube videos right to your TV using your smartphone, tablet, or laptop!
Laser Point: This laser pointer always comes in handy when it’s time for a meeting or presentation. Plus, it doubles as a toy to keep your cats entertained.
Dash and Dot Wonder Workshop Programmable Robots: If you’re into programming things like CATIA macros and you want to teach your kids the joys of programming then I’ve found the perfect gift for you. These cute robots are designed to help introduce children to the wonderful world of programming. Oh, and they’re fun for adults too! Can’t wait to use this with my son in a few years.
LEGO Mindstorms EV3 31313: Create and command robots that do what you want. Includes 3 interactive servo motors, remote control, improved and redesigned color sensor, redesigned touch sensor, infrared sensor and 550+ LEGO Technic elements. Intuitive software (PC and Mac) with icon-based drag-and-drop programming interface Control and command your robot with the enclosed remote control or download the free app for your smart device.
Raspberry Pi Computer: The Raspberry Pi is a credit-card sized computer that plugs into your TV and a keyboard. It’s a capable little PC which can be used for many of the things that your desktop PC does, like spreadsheets, word-processing, and games, as well as plays high-definition video. However, you need ALL of the peripheral equipment such as mouse, keyboard, monitor (HDMI output), ethernet cable, power supply.
What’s on your 2014 holiday wish list?