Detroit SWUGN Summit
On Tuesday, August 9, 2011, the SWUGN Summit show made a stop in Troy, Michigan (just outside of Detroit) and I hope the pleasure of attending and presenting.
As always, Richard Doyle did an outstanding job lining everything from the facility, to the food, to the presenters up. The event was held at The San Marino Club and was well attended with around 90 users or so registered.
The day was chocked full of some AWESOME presentations as well and the list of presenters was nothing short of a who’s who in the SolidWorks universe. The presenters in Detroit were:
- Richard Doyle – DS SolidWorks
- Darin Grosser – DASI Solutions
- Avelino Rochino – DS SolidWorks
- Mike Garvelink – Gentex Corporation
- Lars Christensen – CADimensions
- Ken LaVictor – Fisher / Unitech
- Michael Beem – FANUC Robotics
- Jeff Cope – Extensible CAD Technologies
- Glen Desmier – Inductoheat, Inc.
- Elton Smith – DS SolidWorks
- Me
The hard part about any Summit or SolidWorks World day is that usually you want to be able to be in multiple places at one time. This day was no different. I decided to attend the following sessions and I was not disappointed.
- 8:45am – 10:00am – Using Advanced Mates in Assemblies (Darin Grosser)
- 10:15am – 11:30am – DUMB Solids: Making Them Your Friend (Lars Christensen)
- 12:30pm – 1:45pm – Working with Macros and the API (Michael Beem)
- 2:00pm – 3:15pm – Preparing Drawings for Inspection (Jeff Cope)
Needless to say, looking at that list of presenters, these presentations were awesome. However, I was disappointed that I missed out on a session called “SolidWorks Admin “Stuff”: The Things SolidWorks Doesn’t Tell You to Do!” which was done by Mike Garvelink. This was a presentation that Mike did at our user group meeting in July and was AWESOME! If Mike does, and he should, submit this for SolidWorks World and gets his abstract approved, you WILL NOT want to miss this presentation.
Mike also was gracious enough to post his outline on his blog (see link above) which he created not to long ago. This is a great idea which I am going to steal from him and do that with the presentation that I did as well which was titled “Using SolidWorks in Sales & Marketing”. Stay tuned early next week for a series of posts that relate to my presentation.
All in all, the Detroit SWUGN Summit was a huge success in my eyes. As long as Richard is in charge of these, they will continue to be great events and you should make a point to attend one if it happens to be in your area.
do you have mad skills?
Do you think you have some mad design skills? Well, here’s your chance to show them off.
3Dconnexion has launched a design contest that challenges you to design the 3D Mouse of the Future. Here is the official press release that was issued on July 11, 2011.
3Dconnexion Kicks Off Global “3D Mouse of the Future” Design Challenge
Design Contest Invites 3D Professionals and Enthusiasts to Create the Ultimate 3D Mouse for the Chance to Win a $5,000 CAD Workstation
BOSTON – July 11, 2011 – Dedicated to improving the way people interact with digital 3D content, 3Dconnexion today kicked off a new contest for designers everywhere – challenging them to create the “3D Mouse of the Future”. For the months of July, August and September, designers across the globe can submit their designs for a chance to win monthly prizes of 3Dconnexion SpacePilot PRO, SpaceExplorer and SpaceNavigator 3D mice, as well as a grand prize of a custom CAD workstation.
“Engineers and designers across the world in a range of industries use 3Dconnexion 3D mice to better understand their designs and improve their workflow,” said Antonio Pascucci, vice president of products, 3Dconnexion. “We initiated this challenge to give people the opportunity to show us their best creative thinking, whether they are using our devices day in and day out or not at all. We’re really excited to see what creative and innovative things the community can bring to the 3D mouse.”
To enter, designers and 3D enthusiasts are invited to create their 3D Mouse of the Future. The only element that must remain constant in each design is the integration of 3Dconnexion’s inherent controller cap. At the end of each month, a panel of judges will select their three favorite entries. The first place winner will receive a SpacePilot PRO 3D mouse, the second place winner a SpaceExplorer 3D mouse and the third place winner a SpaceNavigator 3D mouse.
The nine monthly prize winners plus a community wildcard (the entry with the most “Likes” on Facebook) will be entered into the final phase of the competition where a grand prize winner will be selected by a public vote. The grand prize winner will receive a custom workstation, up to a $5,000 value. More information about the 3Dconnexion design challenge and submission guidelines are available on 3Dconnexion’s website and Facebook page.
About 3Dconnexion
3Dconnexion is the leading provider of 3D mice for 3D design and visualization. 3Dconnexion devices support today’s most popular and powerful 3D applications by offering users a more intuitive and natural way to interact with computer-generated 3D content. 3Dconnexion’s award-winning 3D mice serve a wide variety of industries and are used by 3D designers, animators and artists worldwide. 3Dconnexion is headquartered in Munich, Germany with North American headquarters in Boston, Mass and offices worldwide. For more information, visit www.3Dconnexion.com. You may also connect with 3Dconnexion on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/3Dconnexion) and Twitter (http://twitter.com/3Dconnexion).
Full details on this contest can be found here on the 3Dconnexion website and also here on the official 3Dconnexion Facebook page.
So let’s see what you got! Make your fellow SolidWorks designers proud!
more draftsight news: linux version
A few weeks back DraftSight removed the beta tag from its flagship Windows product. On Wednesday, they added another product, this time a Linux version of there popular FREE 2D CAD program.
So what does this mean? Not much if you are a Windows homer but if you run Linux at home on your personal computer this is a major announcement as it will now allow you to run DraftSight natively on your Linux machine.
Below is the official press release from Dassault Systemes about the new version. You can also see screenshots at the end of the press release.
Dassault Systèmes’ DraftSight
Now Available for Linux
Linux Users Can Now Create, Edit and View DWG Files with DraftSight
VÉLIZY-VILLACOUBLAY, France, – March 9, 2011 – Dassault Systèmes (DS) (Euronext Paris: #13065, DSY.PA), a world leader in 3D and Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) solutions, today announced the availability of a beta release of DraftSight for Linux. DraftSight is a no-cost 2D CAD product for CAD professionals, students and educators that can be downloaded at DraftSight.com.
DraftSight for Linux allows users to create, edit and view DWG files. DraftSight generally takes a few minutes to download and runs on multiple operating systems, including Linux and Mac OS in beta, and Windows XP, Windows Vista and Windows 7 in general release.
“We’re very excited to finally announce to the DraftSight community the availability of Linux in beta for DraftSight,” said Aaron Kelly, senior director, DraftSight, Dassault Systèmes. “We’ve been working on the Linux version since the launch of DraftSight and have seen a significant rise in demand for this over the last few months. It’s been our objective since the start to respond to users by providing them with products that will meet their needs.
DraftSight beta users have access to no-cost Community Support available within the DraftSight open, online SwYm community where they can access support and training resources, along with an environment to interact, ask questions and share their opinions. The DraftSight community is one of the first social networks designed by engineers for engineers, designers and architects.
For more information, please visit DraftSight.com. Also, check out DraftSight on Facebook and Twitter.
3dconnexion hits the 1 million milestone
Today 3Dconnexion announced that has achieved its 1 millionth 3D mouse shipped milestone. That achievement is truly astonishing for me. Below is the official press release from 3Dconexxion.
3Dconnexion Achieves One Million 3D Mouse Milestone
3D Mice Revolutionizing the Workflow of Engineers and Designers Around the World
FREMONT, Calif. – March 2, 2011 – 3Dconnexion today announced it has shipped more than one million 3D mice, supporting today’s most popular and powerful 3D software solutions from companies including Autodesk, Dassault Systèmes, Siemens, PTC, Google, Microsoft, and Adobe across computer aided design, digital content creation, architecture and construction, and geographic information systems.
3Dconnexion 3D mice unlock the power of 3D design applications by allowing design engineers to interact naturally with 3D content as if they are holding the model or camera in their hand. Many of the world’s leading companies in industries from aerospace to automotive, consumer goods to electronics, and machine tools to game development, use 3Dconnexion 3D mice to boost productivity, efficiency and the comfort of their design teams.
“As we accelerated through the one millionth 3D mouse milestone, we’ve seen customer recommendations become an increasingly powerful driver of our business,” said Dieter Neujahr, president of 3Dconnexion. “And the future looks bright as we continue to bring the benefits of superior 3D navigation to an ever wider range of software applications and new market opportunities, bound only by the imagination.”
To mark its “One Millionth 3D Mouse Milestone,” 3Dconnexion will host several activities throughout the next month, offering users the opportunity to win a 3D mouse. For more information, visit 3Dconnexion’s website, Facebook and Twitter.
The core technology inside all of 3Dconnexion’s 3D mice originates from the field of robotics and space exploration. In 1993, a 3D controller was used on the space shuttle Columbia, manipulating the first robotic arm in space, and was the launching point for a family of 3D mice that now help 3D professionals in hundreds of thousands of organizations to design, innovate and create some of the most well known products in the world.
About 3Dconnexion, A Logitech Company
3Dconnexion, a wholly owned subsidiary of Logitech (SIX: LOGN) (Nasdaq: LOGI), is the leading provider of 3D mice for 3D design and visualization. 3Dconnexion devices support today’s most popular and powerful 3D applications by offering users a more intuitive and natural way to interact with computer-generated 3D content. 3Dconnexion’s award-winning 3D mice serve a wide variety of industries and are used by 3D designers, animators and artists worldwide. 3Dconnexion is headquartered in Fremont, Calif. with European headquarters in Munich, Germany and offices worldwide. For more information, visit www.3Dconnexion.com. You may also connect with 3Dconnexion on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/3Dconnexion) and Twitter (http://twitter.com/3Dconnexion).
#sww11 top 10 list
Every year at SolidWorks WORLD they announce a Top 10 list of enhancements that are created by and voted on by you the user. This year was no different. Here is the Top 10 list from SolidWorks WORLD 2011.
10. Press ESC to return to graphical interface – OK, I can understand this.
9. File compatibility between versions – Why is this not #1???
8. Ideas section available at all times in the Forums – Good idea, but really, top 10???
7. Convert solid to surface without having to delete a face – Would be useful…great idea!
6. Enhanced equations – Sounds like SolidWorks 2012 might already be improving this.
5. Feature freeze – Supposedly already included in SolidWorks 2012.
4. Clean uninstall– Supposedly already included in SolidWorks 2012.
3. Dangle children relationships instead of having to delete them – Would be handy!
2. Utilize processor cores better – Yes, yes, yes!
1. Stop angle mates from flipping around – Good idea but I am not sure it warrants the #1 request.
There are some great ideas in this list but there are also some head scratchers. One thing that I don’t understand when looking at this list is how a CATIA translator is not included. That seems to be such a hot topic when talking to other users but yet no one votes for it?
What enhancements would you add to this list that aren’t already on it?
draftsight released to the masses!
I am a little late getting to the party but on Wednesday, February 23, 2011 Dassault Systemes removed the beta tag from the 2D CAD offering DraftSight and released it to the public. Some of you may have forgotten that this product was still in beta (like I did). This was probably due to the over 400,000 downloads during the beta period.
Here is the official press release:
Dassault Systèmes’ No-Cost 2D CAD Product DraftSight Now Available for General Release
More Than 400,000 DraftSight Downloads During Beta Test
VÉLIZY-VILLACOUBLAY, France, – February 23, 2011 – Dassault Systèmes (Euronext Paris: #13065, DSY.PA), a world leader in 3D and Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) solutions, today announced the general availability of DraftSight for Windows, a no-cost 2D CAD product for CAD professionals, students and educators. To date, more than 400,000 users have downloaded DraftSight. Originally launched in Beta version in June 2010, the general release for Windows includes many key enhancements and updates based on user feedback. DraftSight is available for download at http://www.draftsight.com.
DraftSight allows users to create, edit and view DWG files. DraftSight generally takes just a few minutes to download and runs on multiple operating systems, including Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7 and Mac OS (in beta). In conjunction with DraftSight, Dassault Systèmes launched an open, online community, where users can access support and training resources, along with an environment to interact, ask questions and share their opinions. The DraftSight community is one of the first social networks designed by engineers for engineers, designers and architects. Based on user feedback generated within the community, enhancements and updates have been made to the general release of DraftSight for Windows.
The DraftSight community is based on Dassault Systèmes’ SwYm online collaboration and social innovation platform. SwYm communities incorporate the best of Web 2.0 features such as: rich profiles, blogs, micro-blogging, “iQuestions”, wikis, media sharing spaces (data, audio, video, and even 3D), status updates, and more all within a unified layout that optimizes the user experience and facilitates and accelerates collaboration.
“DraftSight has been overwhelmingly embraced by the CAD and engineering community since its launch in June 2010. A lot of hard work has gone into this product, including many enhancements made during the beta phase,” said Aaron Kelly, senior director, DraftSight, Dassault Systèmes. “Users provided great feedback that enabled us to identify areas of improvement that we have implemented into the general release for Windows, increasing the overall performance and usability of DraftSight. It’s important for our users to remain vocal about what they want to see in the product as we continue the development of DraftSight.”
Specific updates include, but are not limited to:
· API support (available for a fee) – Enables customers to write add-on programs for DraftSight in C++ and other supported programming languages
· Localization of Help Files – Now available for users in multiple languages (English, German, French, Japanese, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, Turkish, Korean, Polish, Russian, Czech)
· Command Variables Enhancement – Enables users to set and change system variables directly from the command line
DraftSight users have a variety of support options to choose from, including no-cost Community Support, as well as fee-based Premium Services that offer telephone and email support, network licensing and access to DraftSight APIs. Specifically designed for educators, the Education Premium Service includes a Classroom and Campus Pack with curriculum materials, network licensing and telephone and email support.
“As an instructor, I always try to provide my students with the tools to create and succeed on their own,” said Thomas Mewerter, drafting instructor at South Central Louisiana Technical College. “DraftSight’s compatible structure and ability to work with DWG files gives students the freedom to download the product for free and work outside of class.”
For more information, visit http://www.draftsight.com. Also, follow DraftSight on Facebook and Twitter.
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About Dassault Systèmes
As a world leader in 3D and Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) solutions, Dassault Systèmes brings value to more than 115,000 customers in 80 countries. A pioneer in the 3D software market since 1981, Dassault Systèmes applications provide a 3D vision of the entire lifecycle of products from conception to maintenance to recycling. The Dassault Systèmes portfolio consists of CATIA for designing the virtual product – SolidWorks for 3D mechanical design – DELMIA for virtual production – SIMULIA for virtual testing – ENOVIA for global collaborative lifecycle management, and 3DVIA for online 3D lifelike experiences. For more information, visit http://www.3ds.com.
CATIA, DELMIA, ENOVIA, SIMULIA, SolidWorks, and 3D VIA are registered trademarks and DraftSight and the DraftSight logos are trademarks of Dassault Systèmes or its subsidiaries in the US and/or other countries. Other brand and product names are trademarks of their respective owners.
So what does this mean for you? Not a whole lot. I would highly suggest that if you are currently running a beta version of the software you go and download the latest release and enjoy some of the bug fixes that are corrected. All in all I am extremely pleased with this as a 2D CAD program.
Do you use DraftSight already? If so, how much time each week do you use it?
#sww11 solidworks 2012 preview
One of the highlights every year at SolidWorks WORLD is the preview of the next release of the software. This is usually done by a funny skit from the Product Marketing team at SolidWorks and this year did not disappoint.
CAD COPS, CAD COPS..WHATCHA GONNA DO WHEN THEY COME FOR YOU!
Now that I have been back to work for just over a week I have had some time to digest all of the new features in SolidWorks 2012 that were previewed during the Wednesday morning General Session. Please keep in mind that not all of these features actually make it to the actual initial release but for the most part they do. Here are the enhancements that you can look for in SolidWorks 2012.
- Performance
- Clear the file from memory when closed
- Administration
- Complete uninstall
- Uninstall via an admin image
- UI
- The ability to pin documents in recent files
- Unit switcher on the status bar
- Command search
- Dual monitor support
- Parts
- Feature freeze
- Sheet Metal
- Parallel to base flange
- Form tool rotation
- Ignore faces when unfolding
- Equations
- Equation editor
- Different variables available via dropdowns
- Automatic solve order
- Assemblies
- Tab key to hide components
- Additional motion sensors including actuator loads and bearing loads
- Drawings
- Exploded views available in view pallete
- Create BOM’s without pre-selecting views
- Sequential ballooning
- Magnet lines to line up balloons
- Automatic reuse of view labels
- Add center marks at any time
- 3dvia Composer
- Per pixel lighting and ambient inclusion
- BOM highlights
- Custom compass
- Costing Tool
- Sheet metal costing including templates for suppliers
- Cost reports
- Template editor
I will be selecting some of my favorites from these in the upcoming weeks and give you my reaction to them. Ricky Jordan from www.rickyjordan.com has a great write up and some great pictures of the new features listed above. Make sure you go check out his SolidWorks 2012 Sneak Peak post.
#sww11 wednesday roundup
Well, SolidWorks WORLD 2011 is over for another year and it did not disappoint. I have heard many in the SolidWorks community that were there that this was the best one ever, and I can honestly not disagree. The event staff did an outstanding job with everything at SolidWorks WORLD this year.
Wednesday morning General Session is usually the technology preview time of the show and this year did not disappoint. The day started off with Mike Puckett and Avelino Rochino introducing Matt Perez of SolidWorksLessons fame. Matt discussed his concepts behind some of the unbelievable car modeling that he has used SolidWorks for. I would definitely suggest that you check out his site to learn more about him.
Jeremy Luchini then took control of the main stage and was quickly joined by a special guest.
That’s right! Kevin Bacon was in the house. Kevin talked about what is was like making the movie Apollo 13 (recognize the connection to Monday’s special guests) and also spoke about his website sixdegrees.org.
Mark Schneider was up next and announced the winners of the popular Model Mania contest. Below you will find a picture of this years model and also the winners from both the customer and reseller groups.
Neil Cooke then jumped on stage to preview both SolidWorks n!Fuze and also SolidWorks Live Buildings which I will cover more in depth in upcoming posts.
The next chunk of the morning session dealt with the preview of SolidWorks 2012 and also the Top Ten enhancement requests driven by you, the users, in the forums. I will cover both of these in upcoming posts as well.
Bertrand Sicot, the new CEO at SolidWorks Corporation, then came on stage to wrap up the 3 day whirlwind of General Sessions. The announcement was made that on Thanksgiving Day of 2010 the 1,000,000th license of SolidWorks Educational Edition was shipped! What an unbelievable achievement. Tying into that Jeff Ray came on stage and introduced the crowd to an unbelievable 13 year old that is using SolidWorks at an early age to solve some complex problems. Riley Lewis is a 7th grader in San Jose, California that has used the software to design a lock pick, un-pickable locks, and also is currently using it on a project for his dad’s company.
Bertrand closed the session by announcing that SolidWorks WORLD 2012 will be held in San Diego, California on February 12 – 15, 2012. San Diego is a great place for a convention and is something that you should start planning on attending today.
Stay tuned for more in depth coverage of some of the previews shown last week and also for an all around assessment of SolidWorks WORLD 2011.
#sww11 tuesday roundup
Day 2 at SolidWorks WORLD 2011 is also in the books at this time and it seems like this year the event is flying by quicker than any of the others I have attended.
Day 2’s General Session was a great time to recognize users helping users with the announcements of the SWUGN awards and also a time to recognize customers that are doing amazing things with SolidWorks.
After Fielder Hiss opened the session with some general announcements the stage was handed over to Richard Doyle who is the User Community Manager. Being a leader of a SWUGN group I can say that what Richard does day in and day out is far beyond what I could ever put into words and I appreciate everything that he does for the user community. Every year SWUGN hands out awards for the User Group of the Year, the User Group Leader of the Year, and also a lifetime achievement award which was renamed this year to the Michelle Pillers SWUGN Community Award which is a lifetime achievement award for those that have been involved and dedicated a lot of their personal time to make SWUGN a success. The 2011 winners were:
- User Group of the Year – Chicago SolidWorks User Group
- User Group Leader of the Year – Ed Gebo of the Connecticut SolidWorks User Group
- Michelle Pillers SWUGN Community Award – Wayne Tiffany
The other thing that happens on Tuesdays annually during the General Session is the spotlight of some unbelievable SolidWorks customers. This year was no different. Jon Hirschtick was up on stage to help spotlight these customers this year.
The 1st spotlight was of a customer that was officially customer #1 of SolidWorks. In 1995 Barrett Technology, Inc. purchased the 1st ever seat of SolidWorks for $1,295.00 and as this say it has been history ever since. Barrett is a manufacturer of robotic arms and have developed a robot that can run on (5) household 9V batteries. What an amazing success.
The 2nd spotlight was on a company called MAKO Surgical Corporation which design robots to be used in surgery. I was blown away with how they use SolidWorks. What they do is the will take a 3D scan of someone’s knee if a knee placement surgery is pending and then they will take that scan into SolidWorks and model up a replacement knee to match the existing one. How unbelievable is that. A recent surgery patient joined the party on the stage and announced that he was walking 2 hours after having knee replacement surgery and was playing golf 3 weeks after. Unbelievable!
The 3rd spotlight was different than the 1st two but an awesome story all the same. The company is called Local Motors which uses an open source approach to building cars. All of the decisions being made during the design and production of the cars are based on a community of everyday people like you and me. Currently there are roughly 9,500 community members. Each car has a limited quantity made (2,000) and it takes them ONLY 15 months to go from a 2D sketch to the 1st working prototype.
Unfortunately as the Bionic Builders were being introduced to the crowd I had to cut out to get ready for my presentation which started at 10:30 AM so I don’t have anything to report on them other than that what I did see them doing was great!
After another day full of technical training sessions and meetings with Partner Products we wrapped up the day at the conference off site event. I will detail this event in a separate post because I feel that the SolidWorks Event Team deserves more the 1 sentence.
Stay tuned for all of the Wednesday happenings as more live coverage from SolidWorks WORLD is coming your way!
#sww11 monday roundup
The 1st full day of SolidWorks WORLD 2011 is officially in the books and it was a great day!
The day started off with the General Session as it normally does. Last year on Monday the big SolidWorks in the cloud announcement was made so there was some anticipation this year about what would be introduced. Well, this year there were no BIG announcements like that but it was still an unforgettable General Session.
Jeff Ray started the General Session of by talking about some of the GREAT SolidWorks customers out there. Many of you were enthralled with what was happening in Chile a few months back as 33 miners were safely rescued after being underground for 69 days. SolidWorks customers played a major role in this rescue effort and they were recognized by Jeff yesterday morning. Schramm, designed the drilling rig that drilled down to originally find the miners alive and also drilled the “Plan B” shaft during the rescue effort. Another SolidWorks customer, Center Rock Inc., designed the drill bits that we used on the rescue shaft. And a 3rd SolidWorks customer, Oakley, made special sunglasses for all of the miners rescued so that as soon as they got out of the capsule the sun light did not do harm to their eyes. All of these companies and designers should be applauded but are often never thought of.
Jeff then thanked the crowd for a great 7 years as CEO of SolidWorks Corporation and then introduced Bertrand Sicot to the crowd as the new CEO. Bertrand made some opening announcements and then jumped right into the SolidWorks V6 talk that was previewed last year. Bertrand’s statement about what the future of SolidWorks looks like with this development work being done was “SolidWorks will ALWAYS offer a desktop application”.
Bernard Charles, from SolidWorks parent company Dassault Systemes then made his now annual appearance at SolidWorks WORLD and made probably the biggest announcement of Monday. He, along with Jeremy Luchini, introduced the crowd to Post3D. What is Post3D you ask? Well, it looks like a virtual environment where you can join others in a virtual showroom to look at a design. It looked very similar to the semi popular SecondLife virtual world. Bernard said this is going to be the “new way to do business”. I will have a more in depth post covering my thoughts on a program like this after the show.
Then came the highlight of the day (and probably the highlight of my SolidWorks WORLD career). Apollo 13 HEROES Gene Kranz (Mission Control Director) and Jim Lovell (Astronaut) took the stage to tell of the story of that NASA mission that all of us are so familiar with. I do not think that I would be out of line to say that all of the attendees were at the edge of their seat as this story was told. What an unbelievable privilege it was to be in the same room as these 2 true American Heroes.
The rest of Monday consisted of meetings with exhibitors in the Partner Pavilion (which I will discuss in a later post) and also sitting in on some technical training sessions (which I will also discuss in later posts). The day ended with a unbelievable fun night at the CSWP event that included great food, great music, and Nerf gun wars.
Stay tuned today for continued coverage from SolidWorks WORLD 2011.
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