Monthly Archives: September 2008

Sep 26 2008

SolidWorks Installation Manager vs. Manual Download

Seeing this is the time of year that everyone starts running around like chickens with their heads cut off trying to get all of their SolidWorks installs updated I figured that it would be a good time to break down the pros and cons of the SolidWorks Installation Manager and a manual download and install. They both have their benefits and both seem to have a good group of people that are convinced that it is the best way. I am here to hopefully give you an unbiased opinion on both ways. I will make this statement before I get going, I am not convinced yet that 1 way is the hands down best way to download and install the software because both can make good cases.

SolidWorks Installation Manager (SWIM)


The SWIM is a great tool, when it works correctly. In the past many users, including myself, have experienced many issues while downloading and installing SolidWorks using the SWIM. Recently, I again decided to give the SWIM a chance and I decided to use it to install SolidWorks 2009 SP0 on my home computer. It was flawless! Soon after you start the SWIM it will ask you a few simple questions with probably the biggest one being what is you serial number. A few questions later it will begin downloading all of your software automatically for you. The nice thing about it is that it will scan your system and your serial number and determine would products you are entitled to and what programs you already have on your system. You don’t have to worry about it. You will have the option to decided what SolidWorks programs you would like to install (i.e. SolidWorks Explorer, eDrawings, DWGeditor, etc.) before it downloads and installs them. Once it has begun to download you are free to go get a cup of coffee, throw your feet up on the desk, put your hands behind your head and watch the magic happen. It will download and install the software automatically with only a few interruptions in between wondering what to do with your SolidWorks Data and so on. Like I said, this is a very nice tool if you are looking for a relaxed installation that you can count on while you are busy doing something else. Take note that the actual download time does not differ a whole lot doing it this route compared to the manual download, but it does pick out exactly what you need.

Manual Download

The manual download method is more of an “old school” method of downloading and installing SolidWorks. By doing a manual download from the web you are required to know more about your software package and your computer in general than you would if you were using the SWIM. For someone that is unsure of what they need or what they should have, the manual download is not the best route for you to go. As you can see above you have a list of files that you need to individually download into an install folder or onto your desktop. It is broken down into Required Prerequisite Downloads, Required Update For Core SolidWorks, Required Updates If These Components Are Installed, Optional Updates among other. What always gets me is that for some of the Required Prerequisite Downloads when I go to install them it says that I already have a later version of the software on my system. Kind of confusing because the only place I would have gotten it before was from a previous SolidWorks install. I guess this just goes to show that you have to have an idea of what you are doing and how to react to some of the messages you will get while you are using this method. Unlike the SWIM method of downloading and installing, you will also need to unzip and then install all of your downloads. This can turn into a very tedious project but in my eyes it is a more complete way of installing the software as long as you know what you are doing.

Conclusion

My conclusion is going to be short on this one. You have to decide for yourself what is going to be the best method for you and your company. I personally am going to continue to use the SWIM as long as I can and as long as I don’t run into any more problems. The SWIM tool seems to be a focus of the SolidWorks development team to try and improve it as much as they can so that it becomes the fool proof method for updating your version of SolidWorks. I like the general concept of the SWIM but there are still bugs in it that need to be fixed, hopefully they are fixed for the 2009 SP0 release (which it looks like they are according to my first install of it). Check it out for yourself and find out what you like the best.

Sep 26 2008

Get The Inside Scoop On PhotoView 360

Today Luxology LLC released an official press release about the details of the Luxology technology Nexus powering the new SolidWorks product PhotoView 360. There has been a lot of talk about PhotoView 360 since it came out in the SolidWorks Community, here is a list of what some of the bloggers are saying about it.

It is good to hear from Luxology finally about the partnership between them and SolidWorks. There have been 2 press releases from Luxology since this partnership came to be. You can view the PDF version of the 1st release (August 12, 2008) here and a PDF of today’s release here.

Today’s press release goes into a little more detail about the actual PhotoView 360 program while the 1st press release was more focused on the Nexus 4 technology. These are some fun reads if you are into the behind the scenes details on some of these programs that SolidWorks is offering.

Like I said, a lot of the bloggers covered this new program when it 1st was released. I personally did not have a chance to play with it at all until last week at the hands on training session at the SolidWorks 2009 Press Launch Event. My first reaction was that it was great. It seems to be extremely easy to use with a clean and simple interface. I have played with PhotoWorks a touch and PhotoView 360 was a lot easier to pick up right out of the box. Make sure you at least try it and play around with it a little if it is included in your subscription package.

If you want to read more in depth reviews of it check out the following blog articles:

Sep 25 2008

SolidWorks WORLD Attendees…Additional Discounts!

As most of you know by now SolidWorks WORLD 2009 will be held at the Swan & Dolphin Resort at Disney World in Orlando, Florida from February 8-11, 2009. Some of the bloggers broke the news last week that that annual off site event this year will be held at the Animal Kingdom on the Tuesday night of the event.

Well there is more news. If you are interested in extending your visit to Disney World, either before or after the conference, you are able to get discounted tickets into the following attractions: Walt Disney World, Universal Studios, Sea World and Dinner Shows. To get your tickets ahead of time you can go to this site and order your tickets. The tickets will be mailed directly to your home or office (sorry, no PO boxes). It also looks as if there will be a registration table at the parks as well if you are wanting to wait until you get there. The registration hours are:

  • Saturday, February 7, 2009: 11:00am – 6:00pm
  • Sunday, February 8, 2009: 7:00am – 7:00pm
  • Monday, February 9, 2009: 7:00am – 7:00pm
  • Tuesday, February 10, 2009: 7:00am – 6:30pm
  • Wednesday, February 11, 2009: 7:00am – 12:00pm

These tickets will be cheaper than if you were to go to the gates and order them so it would be wise to do this ahead of time.

Sep 25 2008

A Sense Of Desperation???

There is something very interesting going on in the world of CAD right now. Autodesk has filed suit against DS SolidWorks over 7 different things.

  • Unfair competition
  • False designation of origin
  • False advertising
  • Trademark infringement
  • Trade dress infringement
  • Unfair and unlawful business practices
  • Misleading advertising

To get a better idea of what is going on in this lawsuit you can see the official court document (all 24 glorious pages of it) that comes straight from the Autodesk website. Check it out here:

http://www.autodesk.com/us/solidworks/Document.pdf

You can also check out Ralph Grabowski’s take on this lawsuit at his blog. Check it out here:

WorldCAD Access: ADSK vs. SolidWorks Battle Moves To Courtroom

CONCLUSION

To start off, I see this as an extremely desperate attempt from Autodesk! From what Ralph said a lot of this is stemming from DS SolidWorks using the DWG name or extension which is widely known because of AutoCAD. SolidWorks using this suffix in its DWGeditor and DWGgateway products is out of line according to Autodesk. Supposedly this issue has been brought up to no avail in the past so it is interesting why this is coming up again. If you visit Ralph’s blog article (see above) be sure you read the comments after the article, they are very interesting and give you a good idea of how some of the users feel out there. As 1 commentator put it “…Does this whole effort make Autodesk look like a petulant child? Yes. But apparently in this case, Autodesk isn’t too worried about perceptions of the common folk.” What Autodesk may be missing in this whole thing is that the common folk are their customers, the ones that are keeping their business going.

For what it’s worth I think that Autodesk should maybe spend more of their time working on developing their software and making it the best that they possibly can instead of filing petty lawsuits against the company that seems to be running away with the 3D CAD market. Now remember, this is coming from a diehard SolidWorks user but I would imagine that it would not be too hard to find a few Autodesk users out there that feel this whole thing is ridiculous also. That is all I am going to say on this for now but pay attention to this situation, it could get ugly real quick.

Please feel free to leave comments about your feelings on this lawsuit.

Thanks to Lou Gallo for informing me about this situation.

Sep 24 2008

Creating And Validating A Dataset

This is a SolidWorks Technical Tip that SolidWorks had on their website in the middle of June for public consumption. I believe that during the overhaul of their website this document was deleted or misplaced. I wanted to take the opportunity to repost it because I think that it has very important information for upgrading to the latest version of SolidWorks (new release or service pack). I take no responsibility for what this document says and likewise I take no credit for it either. Thanks and I hope you enjoy!

___________________________

 

SolidWorks Technical Tip

Creating and validating a dataset

Solution ID: S-023889

Applies to: SolidWorks

Version: All Versions

Category: Administration, Installation, Best Practice, Tech Tip

Created: 06/10/2008

Last revised: 06/10/2008

 

When moving to a new version of service pack of SolidWorks software, you should have a test dataset that can be used to insure a smooth transition to the new version or service pack.

There are infinite ways to create and edit SolidWorks documents, and some of these elements can be unique to your company. When preparing for any software update, you should do some level of validation testing in your environment to insure the upgrade goes smoothly.

One way to prepare for any software migration is to create a sample of representative data (dataset) and processes to insure the new software works the way you intend to use it. The process side takes into consideration the way your designs are created and edited.

Creating a dataset

When it comes to validating your data and methodologies, more is not better. What you are looking for is different types of design processes, file types, and input that would make a dataset unique:

  • Different design processes and methodologies examples of this include:
    • In-context design
    • Configurations and design tables
    • Use of Hole tables
    • Drawings and annotations
    • Sheet metal design
    • Exploded assembly views
    • Use of different feature types
    • Complexity of design
    • All document types used should be included (parts, assemblies, drawings, formats, design library parts)
  • Different organizations within your company
  • Different design groups
  • Use of imported data
  • Different SolidWorks setting, formats, and templates
  • Previous problems or issues
  • Use of different languages
  • New SolidWorks features or functions

As the organization of your data or the way you use SolidWorks changes, so should your validation test methods and datasets change as part of an ongoing process.

The size of your dataset should be kept reasonable in size (~2-3GB) so the files can be tested and transferred, if necessary, easily. It is prohibitive to maintain and test all of your SolidWorks data. Choose wisely and keep it up to date.

Documents added to the dataset should be clean and not contain (after a forced rebuild using Ctrl-Q) FeatureManager design tree warning or errors for part and assembly features, mate groups, and drawing views. If there are issues with a design, clean the problem up before adding the document to the validation dataset.

Validating the dataset and process

Once your datasets and design validation methodologies are created, you will need a way to test this information.

To validate your representative dataset:

  • Convert Files – This will open the documents and convert them to the new version of the SolidWorks. This Task Scheduler (Convert Files) will report any issues with the document. This only will find the simple problems and does not provide a forced rebuild or anything outside of the ability to open the document.
  • Macros – Creating a macro to test documents can be effective but are harder to create and maintain. These macros also offer only limited coverage to the different features, functions, and processes used.

To validate design methodologies:

A pilot group is one way to validate your processes and methodologies is to have a small test group pilot the new version or service pack doing real work. This is the best way to insure the way your organization uses SolidWorks is acceptable in the next version/service pack.

This is easier to do in a service pack as the data is compatible to the older service pack, while a new version is not backward compatible. Also, it is not recommended to perform production work in a beta version as the possibility exists that the files may not be compatible with the final version. While this is rare, it is a possibility.

The pilot group should validate:

  • Design processes and methodologies
  • Any add-in applications
  • Data management tools, workflow, etc.
  • Printing and plotting
  • Any other custom macros or programs that are used by SolidWorks
  • Test cases – Create simple checklists to run through design scenarios, common practices, etc. These checklists are simple to create and can be used by the pilot or beta test group to insure consistency in your validation testing.
  • Macros – Some processes can be repeated by creating macros. This will require some level of understanding of VB (Visual Basic). A good start to these macros is to record a macro and use that as a basis for the test. One thing you will find is the macro recorder does not record all the functions to automatically re-run the test. Some editing of the macro will be required to make it run.

Conclusion

Creating a good, representative dataset is useful for insuring a smooth transition between new versions and service packs. Remember it is quality not quantity when creating the dataset.

The processes and methodology validation is also important to insure all applications and tools work as intended. Also remember to update your datasets and design process validation as new processes, design groups, new SolidWorks functionality, or other application changes occur.

Sep 24 2008

How To Successfully Implement SolidWorks 2009

In an effort to focus on more CAD Administration items here at RockSolid Perspective I thought that this time of year would be the perfect time to begin this process. As most of you know by now, SolidWorks 2009 SP0 is available for download on the Downloads and Updates page inside of the SolidWorks Customer Portal. I have already downloaded this version on my home laptop for testing and to get a feel for all of the new features that are available in this release so that I am familiar with it before I distribute it to the other users at my company.

Step 1: Determine When You Want To Upgrade!

This is often a heavily debatable topic that surfaces on discussion forums and at user group meetings. Most companies like to wait until SP1 or even SP2 before they update their software because of the bugs that can surface in SP0. Usually the bugs outweigh the benefits of the new features so companies hold off until the majority of the issues have been resolved. Last year SolidWorks 2008 seemed to have a high quantity of issues throughout the first couple of service packs which resulted in multiple SPX.1 releases. There were even companies that skipped the 2008 release all together because of these. In regards to the 2009 release I believe that the switch should come as soon as possible as long as it doesn’t interrupt your ability to work with your customers data. SolidWorks 2009 appears to me and others and the most stable release that SolidWorks has had in a long time and the performance gains that are included in the software warrant an immediate upgrade.

Step 2: Have The CAD Administrator Test The Software Before Implementation!

A good practice to get into is to have your company’s CAD Administrator do some testing before just throwing the software out into production. 1 common way to do this is to develop a dataset of some of your models. Back in June SolidWorks offered a tech tip about how to create and validate a dataset which I found very useful and informative. However, when SolidWorks updated their website they seem to have deleted the page that it was on so it is no longer available (at least I cannot seem to find it anywhere. I am happy to announce that I printed this off when I saw it and I will re-publish it in an upcoming blog post so that it is once again available to everyone. This is a great way to test the software with some of the unique operations that your company uses before finding out that there is an issue after everyone has been switched over to the new release. Once created this dataset can be used repeatedly for upcoming releases and can be added to whenever you feel the need to check additional things during your internal testing period. This is also a good tool to use when beta testing, which I suggest everyone participate in, so that the bugs that you may encounter in SP0 can be fixed long before it hits the web.

Step 3: Determine The Timing Of Your Partner Product’s SP0 Release!

At the company I work at we also run CamWorks which is our CNC programming software. After some research I found out that CamWorks 2009 is not going to be starting beta testing until October of this year. I would never endorse upgrading your CAD software while your CAM software or any partner product is still in beta. This step may have the most input into when your company is ready to make the switch from SW 2008 to SW 2009.

Step 4: Determine Where To Install SolidWorks From?

There are 2 options for downloading SolidWorks 2009 SP0. The first route is to use the web and download it from the Customer Portal’s Downloads and Updates page. This is a great spot because it gives you the ability to download it on demand as soon as it goes live to the web by SolidWorks. However, as with any software that you download from the web there is always the chance that the download can get interrupted or become corrupted so that there are issues that become visible during the install. This is even worse if you are using an admin image because by the time that the problem comes around there could be a lot of users that have downloaded it already and will need to reinstall the software possibly. The other option is to wait until you receive the DVD’s that SolidWorks ships to your doorsteps every year. The downside of this is that you have to wait a couple of additional weeks after the web download is available to get your hands on the smoking hot new release of the software. I personally prefer this method as it ensures you a clean install (as long as the DVD’s are not corrupt somehow) and therefore a smooth transition from 1 release to the next.

Step 5: Clean Up Your Systems!

This is a very important step in implementing SolidWorks so that your down time is held to a minimum. A quick thing to do right away is to save all of your settings onto your desktop so that you can quickly retrieve them once the new software is installed. You can do this by using the Copy Settings Wizard that SolidWorks packages with each release. To find this tool you need to go to Start>Programs>SolidWorks 2008>SolidWorks 2008 SPX>SolidWorks Tools>Copy Settings Wizard. Now before you get all DVD or download/install happy be sure to uninstall the previous version of SolidWorks that is on your system (as long as you can without interrupting your customers data translation) so that you can start with a nice new and fresh version of SolidWorks. This step can go for all of your partner product updates too. Once you have uninstalled the software be sure to go into your registry and delete all forms of SolidWorks registry keys that you can find in there. This will get rid of all forms of data that your computer likes to keep for you behind the scenes.

Disclaimer: Do not go into your registry and alter it if you are not comfortable doing so and do not realize the consequences that could occur because of it.

Step 6: Prepare Yourself For The Install!

Something that you will want to check before you begin to install the software is whether or not you will need to turn off you anti-virus protection program first. SolidWorks has finally released a list of tested anti-virus applications that it will support during installs. To find this data you will need to visit the Anti-Virus page in the System Requirements and Graphics Cards section of their web page. If your anti-virus protection program is listed with a green check mark next to it you will not need to do anything to your anti-virus in order to install SolidWorks successfully.

Step 7: Install Your Software And Distribute It To Your Company!

Once steps 1-5 are completed and completed successfully you should be ready to install the software. Whether you are doing a group of individual installs or an admin image you are ready to install it successfully. So grab a cup of coffee, sit back and enjoy all of the SolidWorks install process goodness.

Step 8: Attend And Conduct An Internal ‘What’s New In SolidWorks 2009′ Seminar!

The last step in this process is a critical one. This step can be done before step 7 also so that you are ready to rock and roll as soon as your computer is ready for SolidWorks 2009. Most if not all VAR’s (SolidWorks resellers) will offer 1 or multiple What’s New In SolidWorks 2009 seminars throughout the month of October and into November. Make sure your CAD Administrator attends this event and possibly takes another user from the company with him so that you can see what is all included in this release. These seminars are great opportunities to see the new version, interact with your VAR and interact with other SolidWorks users in your area. Be sure to take good notes during this training session so that you are able to go back and train the rest of the users in your company the same things that you saw and learned. This will ensure a smooth transition between SolidWorks 2008 and SolidWorks 2009.

If you are unable to attend this event on the day it is scheduled be sure to watch your local user group website because many of these will have a presentation in an upcoming meeting covering many of the new highlights of SolidWorks 2009.

Sep 24 2008

Blog Writer…Microsoft Word???

So yesterday I am stumbling around inside Microsoft Word 2007 and I noticed a new feature, at least new to me. Incorporated inside of Word 2007 is the ability to write blog posts. This is great because it will result in less programs on my computer that I need to have installed.

So from now on I will be writing my blog posts from Microsoft Word until I notice a problem that is limiting me. If you experience any issues with how my blog posts look or function please drop me an email so that I am aware of it and can correct the issue as soon as possible. Thanks and hopefully happy reading.

Sep 24 2008

Orlando or Bust…Nothing Like A Good Deal!

SolidWorks World HeaderSorry it has been a while since I have posted on SolidWorks WORLD 2009.  After a crazy, busy last week which included a trip to Barcelona, Spain for the SolidWorks 2009 Press Launch Event, I believe I am finally back on course to helping you out with convincing your management to send you to Orlando, Florida this coming February.

How many of you get a warm fuzzy feeling when you go to the store or car lot and come home with a deal that is almost too good to imagine?  I will admit that I do and even though your management may at times seem to be unfazed by exciting things like this, deep down they are like you and me and love to save some serious cash.  SolidWorks caters to this by offering (2) Early Bird specials for users who sign up early on in the registration process.  If you sign up before October 10, 2008 you will receive a $200 dollar discount, that equals 20% off.  If you can not pull the trigger on your proposal before October 10 you have until January 9, 2008 for the Early Bird #2 discount which give you a $100 dollar discount or 10% off the full price.  Here is what the fees look like for SolidWorks WORLD 2009.

  Early Bird #1 (October 10, 2008) Early Bird #2 (January 9, 2009) Regular Price
Full Conference Pass $795 (20%) $895 (10%) $995
CSWP Full Conference Pass $695 (22%) $795 (12%) $895
3 Full Conferences Passes $1,590 (80%) $1,790 (10%) $1,990
Full Conference Pass + CSWP Exam $795 (20%) $895 (10%) $995
Full Conference Pass + CSWA Exam $795 (20%) $895 (10%) $995
Exhibit Hall Only $199 $199 $199
Educator Conference Pass $495 $495 $495
 
These prices are unbelievable is you take into account what you are getting for them.  150 technical session + great networking opportunities + a look at SolidWorks 2010 = an unbelievable solution to expanding your SolidWorks knowledge, what more could you ask for.  If you would like more information on what all of these conference passes include check out the SolidWorks WORLD 2009 Fees and Policies web page.
 
The sooner that you get signed up will result in even less of a savings vs. productivity gains number that you will need to attain in order to make the numbers work out for your company.  Next week I will cover how to calculate these formulas in order for your management to justify the cost of sending you to Orlando in February.
Sep 21 2008

Day 3…Barcelona, Spain

SolidWorks Logo Day 3 at the SolidWorks 2009 Press Launch Event started out like the other days with breakfast in the hotel dining room.  At 8:00 am CET (2:00 am EST) we were on a bus heading to IQS Engineering School in Barcelona for an optional hands on training session with SolidWorks 2009.  IQS is 1 of 2 engineering schools in the city and they have been using SolidWorks to get their students ready for the work force.  A brief presentation was given by an instructor at the school as he showed all who attended some of the projects that his students had worked on.  Some of the projects were very impressive and I appreciated his willingness to share them with us.

Dassault Logo Next we were off to a classroom for the training session.  This was an interesting session because of the difference in people that were in the room.  You had a range of people from those that have NEVER used the software to those that use the software EVERYDAY.  It was hard for the instructors to keep a smooth flow going to the training because of this difference but Mark Schneider, Fielder Hiss, Rich Welch and Neil Cooke (I hope I didn’t forget anyone) did an awesome job of  interacting with all of the skill levels.

What this did allow some of us to do was play with different parts of the software that are not otherwise available to us.  I think the 2 biggest tools that were being played with were 3dvia Composer and PhotoView 360.  Both of these are brand new programs to the SolidWorks family and I think have the ability to take the company and its users to the next level.  Both of these programs are built around being user friendly in my eyes.  Very simple interfaces that still allow you to do some unbelievable things with your models.  I am not going to get into too deep what these programs all can do but I do what to let you know what they are if you don’t know already.

3dvia Composer is a program that allows you to take your SolidWorks 3D models and create technical publications with them.  What this does is allow different people in your company to create these technical documents and not even need to know how to run SolidWorks.  This frees up the time of the designers to do actual design work instead of making tech doc pictures.

PhotoView 360 is a simplified version of what PhotoWorks is.  It allows that normal user that ability to make great looking pictures of their models for presentations and so on.  I am not sure the UI of PhotoView 360 could get any simpler than what they have it.  It is a great tool and something that you need to look at if you haven’t already.

This concluded the SolidWorks 2009 Press Launch Event.  It was great!  Nancy Buchino and others did an unbelievably great job of putting this thing together and getting it to go off without a hitch.  I want to thank SolidWorks for giving me the opportunity to attend this event, it was great and I am looking forward to seeing what they have in store for us at SolidWorks WORLD 2009 in sunny Orlando, Florida.

Sep 21 2008

Day 2…Barcelona, Spain

SolidWorks Logo I realize I am a little behind on the updates scene but I wanted to take some time with what all happened yesterday at the press day of the SolidWorks 2009 Press Launch Event.  The day was filled with more information than you could even begin to imagine.  I covered most of it live with a morning and a shortened afternoon live blogging session but I wanted to go a little more in depth than what I provided yesterday.

I want to take some time to go over what I heard yesterday and give you a good feel of what was said.  The morning event was kicked off by Jeff Dassault Logo Ray giving a more than standard session about what is going on at SolidWorks.  It felt a lot like what was said last year at SolidWorks WORLD.  For an outline of what he said you can look at the replay from my live morning blogging session.  He did seem a bit more relaxed than he did last year at SolidWorks WORLD and seemed to be having a little more fun this time around.  Towards the end of his presentation he touched on why SolidWorks and Dassault Systems are becoming one.  Well they have been one since DS (Dassault Systems) bought SolidWorks in July of 1997 but there seems to be a desire to work more closely with each other now more than ever.  I think that a “closer” relationship between these 2 will be nothing but good for the future of SolidWorks Corp. and for us as the users.  It should be fun to see where this takes one of the largest 3D CAD software companies.  As a side note it should be interesting also to see if this will mean anything with the relationship between Catia and SolidWorks seeing how DS owns them both.

After Jeff Ray finished up his presentation the stage was handed over to Bernard Charles of Dassault Systems.  It was great to actually hear from someone at the parent company and see what they feel is the future of the relationship between themselves and SolidWorks.  This is the first time that I have actually seen an employee from Dassault speak about this relationship which must mean that everyone between the 2 companies are on the same page.  An interesting story that was told by Bernard was that a few months before the relationship between Dassault and SolidWorks was started, Bernard was actually contacted by someone from Solid Edge about a buyout for that 3D software.  This deal made it as far as agreeing to a purchase price of $125 million dollars.  After some careful consideration about Solid Edge and the future of the 3D CAD industry the relationship between Bernard Charles and Jon Hirschtick was born with the talk of a buyout of SolidWorks by Dassault Systems.  In the end DS decided to buy SolidWorks for more money and less customers than what the deal with Solid Edge would have brought to the table but I would say that the right decision was made.  Amazing how close this deal was to never being made and how that could have really reshaped the 3D CAD industry.

The next item on the agenda was a customer presentation by Martifer Group which is a construction group that is all over the world.  This company uses SolidWorks in their daily activities for designs of metal structures among other architectural uses.  Make sure that you check them out at www.martifer.com.

After the Martifer Group was done with their customer presentation the stage was turned over to Rich Welch and Bertrand Sicot both of SolidWorks Corp.  Rich is in charge of Customer Relations at SolidWorks and reported a 91% customer satisfaction rating that was based off of surveys that had been completed and returned to the company.  Once again, this presentation sounded a lot like last year at SolidWorks WORLD.  The 91% is a good number, if not great but that still means that there are 9% out there that are not satisfied.  The 91% is a number that I can see growing over the next few years as long as SolidWorks sticks to working on the things that they have been preaching for the last year.  Focusing more on performance and stability and a little less on all of the extra “eye candy” will do nothing bust boost that 91% closer to the 100% mark.  The users are begging for the performance and stability gains and I think for the first time in a long time SolidWorks 2009 will deliver those enhancements.  Bertrand was also on stage during this time slot and discussed the financial status of the company.  The numbers are ones that I think are more important to the traditional media and less important to the blogging media.  There were some numbers that were thrown around during this session that may be of interest to you.  SolidWorks has experienced a 22% revenue growth rate and last year had about $350 million is sales.  The revenue by region breakdown was interesting to me: 18% Asia Pacific, 40% America, 42% Europe.  It gives you a feel of the software’s popularity over seas.  Last year there was around 50,000 seats of SolidWorks sold which gave them a total of 840,000 installed seats in June of 2008.

After Rich and Bertrand were finished it was on to another customer presentation this time by GTA Motors which is a race team.  This was a really interesting presentation that showed a lot of the uses that SolidWorks has to offer.  This race team was one that previously sent everything to outside vendors to be designed and finally determined that it was time for them to start doing the majority of it in house.  After some research was done by talking to some of their vendors about acceptable and preferred file types, SolidWorks was the logical answer.  Now GTA is able to design and test their racecars without having to have the actual car built to do any testing.  GTA uses SolidWorks surfacing functionality to design all of their body panels.  I think that this is the beginning of a big step by SolidWorks because it is showing the improvements that are being made to the surfacing functionality of their software.  This has been a focus of the company it seems over the past couple of years and it shows that the improvements are being seen.  Another interesting tool that they are using at GTA is the SolidWorks Flow Simulation which allows them to do wind testing right from the initial design.  This is amazing functionality that is being used in a very interesting industry.  Make sure you check them out at www.gtamotor.com.

Next up on the agenda was Marie Planchard, who I had the opportunity to sit at a table with at the press dinner on Wednesday.  Marie is in charge of the educational efforts at SolidWorks Corporation and is doing a phenomenal job.  She reported that their are over 500,000 educational seats of SolidWorks in existence YTD.  That is an unbelievable number to me.  That means that there are students in all walks of life that are getting SolidWorks training before they ever step in to the work world.  I know personally that the high school in my hometown (Zeeland Public Schools) runs the software, it is great to see our high school students getting the opportunity to run this software especially in a manufacturing community where SolidWorks seems to be the “king”.  There are a lot of great things going on in regards to the educational side of things at SolidWorks, not just in the United States but all over the world.  Friday morning we had the opportunity to visit IQS (which I will go into detail about in a later post) to attend a hands on training session.  IQS is a engineering college in Barcelona that is using SolidWorks to train their future workforce.  This is GREAT!

After the 1 hour lunch break the press all headed back to the meeting room for a couple more afternoon sessions.  The first session of the afternoon was amazing!  The company was REEM-B and they have built a robot that is unbelievable and may be the future of robots in the general population.  The robot was able to recognize faces, map out 2D rooms (3D rooms be worked on for the future), talk and do much more.  The company is using SolidWorks to do their designing and testing with this creature.  After seeing this robot communicate it just lets me know that nothing is impossible and the future will be interesting especially with companies using SolidWorks for their CAD system.  Check out their official website at www.pal-robotics.com and to see a video of the robot in action click here.

To close out the afternoon Fielder Hiss, Mark Schneider and Neil Cooke did a demo of SolidWorks 2009.  There was not a whole lot of new things that were shown that many of you haven’t already read about in the What’s New in SolidWorks 2009 blog posts that many of the bloggers did in August.  One tool that I thought was very interesting that I haven’t seen much coverage on is the improvements that were made to the DWGeditor.  This year you will be able to make DWG files that are fully associated to your 3D models.  I don’t believe that dimensions will update automatically but your model view will which will be a huge asset to companies that are continuously sending DWG and DXF models to outside suppliers for manufacturing.  This is not a tool that I have personally had the chance to test yet but be sure to play with it and I will also take a look at it and have a tutorial here for you in the future.

This concluded the official press day at the SolidWorks 2009 Press Launch Event.  In conclusion there are A LOT of great things that are going on at SolidWorks right now.  The future is very bright and I think that the sky is the limit right now.  Don’t get me wrong, there are things that they need to work on but for the most part I think that they are on the right track.  It seems as if the whole company is on the same page which is rather amazing to me for a company like this.  Like I said, some of the stuff that was said throughout the day was repetitive from what we heard at SolidWorks WORLD 2008 and probably what we will hear at SolidWorks WORLD 2009.  The things that they are preaching are the right things in my eyes.  I am personally happy to be working with this software and this company and I am really looking forward to what the future holds for SolidWorks Corporation and all of its users.

For more coverage on the SolidWorks 2009 Press Launch Event check out these blogs.