As a fun nod to the Vaudeville era, where the long hooks used to open stage curtains were also used to remove poorly performing or overly lengthy acts, SOLIDWORKS executive assistants use a shepherd's hook (crook) to remind presenters at quarterly meetings that they've run over their allotted time.
At the beginning of each meeting, by simply holding a large shepherd's hook in her hand, Karen gently reminds presenters that she means business when it comes to keeping the meeting on schedule.
Until now, though, this tradition could only be upheld within the walls of the SOLIDWORKS headquarters. When meetings happened across the globe, the hook, due to it's size, needed to be left behind.
But then, Sally imagined a travel sized hook, and found inspiration in a TikTok video that showed a massive, collapsible, 3D printed sword!
Chinloo and I met with Karen and Sally to gather their requirements and work out the design of this fun concept. They were particularly keen on making sure it would fit in a small carry-on luggage and that the final look should match the red to blue gradient from the 3DEXPERIENCE World 2024 imagery.
We used SOLIDWORKS to design telescoping straight and curved sections...
...and then taught Karen and Sally how to use xDesign to model the coupler that joins the two halves together.
Chinloo practiced her airbrushing skills to achieve the cool gradient effect...
...and then we delivered it to Karen and Sally.
They put it to great use this week and kept everyone on task.
Check out this video to see how the whole project came together:
...and download the design files in native SOLIDWORKS and neutral STEP formats if you want to print a travel hook for yourself!
