rocksolid perspective - jason raak

sww10 – day 3…in pictures

sww10 – day 3

Well day 3 of SolidWorks is also now behind us and SolidWorks WORLD 2010 has drawn to a close.  This year for some reason, more so than the last two years, seemed to just fly by.  So many months of planning are now done and over with and now we will begin to look forward to SolidWorks 2011 and SolidWorks WORLD 2011.  Here is another bulleted list of all the events that took place on Wednesday at the Anaheim Convention Center.

• General Session
  • New SolidWorks online store
    • http://store.solidworks.com
  • Top 10 Enhancement Requests from SolidWorks Brainstorm
  • Model Mania Winners
    • Customer
      • 1st – Nick Vande Waerdt – Kooima Company
      • 2nd – Todd Newhouse – Cyan Optics
      • 3rd – Michael Hess – mhda
    • Reseller
      • 1st – Darin Grosser – DASI Solutions / Jeremiah Davis – ModernTech Mechanical
      • 2nd – Jason Pancoast – CAPINC
      • Neil Custard – GoEngineer
  • SWUGN Awards
    • User Group of the Year – New Hampshire SolidWorks User Group
    • User Group Leader of the Year – Anne Yust – Twin Cities Simulation User Group
    • SWUGN Lifetime Achievement Award – Rodney Hall – Catawba Valley SolidWorks User Group
  • SolidWorks 2011 CAD Smackdown
    • Jeremy “Big Rig” Regnerus vs. Ian “The Sledge Hammer” Hogg
    • Preview of the new enhancements we can expect to see in SolidWorks 2011
  • SolidWorks PLM
  • SolidWorks Product Data Sharing
    • Online product data sharing collaboration that we can expect to see later this year
  • SolidWorks WORLD 2011 announcement
    • January 23 – 26, 2011 in San Antonio, Texas
• Press conference with Bernard Charles, Jeff Ray, Fielder Hiss, and Austin O’Malley
• Partner Pavilion tour
  • Solido
  • Infinite Z
  • Z Corp
  • Dassault Systemes Simulia
• Breakout Session: Tackling Administrative Images – Adrian Fanjoy
• Breakout Session: Unemployed Models – Keep Them Working in Manufacturing – Dan Bertschi

So that wraps up another year at SolidWorks WORLD but the content is just beginning at RockSolid Perspective.  Stay tuned for more in depth coverage of all the conferences big news and happenings.

sww10 – day 2…in pictures

sww10 – day 2

This conference is just flying by as day 2, Tuesday, of SolidWorks WORLD 2010 in now in the rear view mirror.  Tuesday was another exciting day with a ton of buzz around the Anaheim Convention Center.  Here is a bullet list breakdown of what Tuesday gave us at SolidWorks WORLD 2010.

• General Session
• Certification Team
• 25,000 Certified Users
• New CSWE Exam
• 3D Virtual Reality
• Jon Hirschtick interviews James Cameron
• James Cameron was a precision tool & die machinist in college
• James Cameron Press Conference
• Breakout Session: 10 Essentials You Must Understand to Use SolidWorks Effectively – Phil Sluder
• SWUGN Leaders Luncheon
• Breakout Session: SolidWorks Crashes & Slowdowns – It’s Not Always the Software – Jeff Mirisola
• Breakout Session: 10 Administrative Essentials for all SolidWorks Users – Matt Lombard
• Meeting with 3Dconnexion in the Partner Pavilion
• SolidWorks WORLD Event
• Aerosmith Cover Band
• 15 sweet cars
• Great food, drinks, and networking

Again, stay tuned for more detailed posts about all of these happenings.  There is a lot of great stuff to write about, just no time to do it unfortunately.

sww10 – day 1…in pictures

Here are some pictures of the Monday morning General Session and 1 of the sign outside my presentation.

sww10 – day 1

So Monday is also now officially in the books and my head is still spinning from everything that happened on the first real day of SolidWorks WORLD 2010.  I wanted to get something out to you about what happened but I will need to do individual posts on these things.

For times sake, here is a bulleted list (in order) of what happened on Sunday for me.

• General Session
  • Dassault Systemes will be playing more of a role with SolidWorks in the future.  Bernard Charles, CEO of Dassault, is around this week to promote that.
  • SolidWorks “green” hot rod
    • Runs on bus batteries
    • 0 – 60 in 3.6 seconds
    • Jeremy Luchini and Mike North (Prototype This) work on this project together
  • SolidWorks in the Cloud
    • Enough said
  • James McLurkin
• Breakout Session: Tips, Tricks, & Things – Phil Sluder
• Lunch
• Breakout Session: In-Context Modeling: The Original Design Automation – me
• Breakout Session: Model like a Maniac – Mark Schneider
• Breakout Session: 11th Annual SWUGN Summit
  • The West Michigan SolidWorks User Group is 1 of 5 groups nominated for User Group of the Year.  It is great to see our group get recognized.
    • We will find out on Wednesday at the General Session the final results
• Press Dinner
  • Great food, networking, and location.  All around great event.
• CSWP Event
  • Loud music, RC cars, drinks, and food.  A geeks paradise, right?

I will probably be doing this sort of post every day and then going more in depth with some of this stuff in separate posts so stay tuned.

sww10 – day 1/2

So day 1 (or 1/2) of SolidWorks WORLD is in the books.  Sunday in Anaheim was a busy day for me.  The day started off with a meeting with Scott Harris who was one of the 6 guys that started SolidWorks back in the early 90’s.  Scott has since retired and has moved on to other ventures.  These new ventures are 2 companies called Solido and Infinite Z.  I will review both of these products more in an upcoming post by for now I encourage you to check out their websites to see what they are all about.  You will not be disappointed.

After my meeting with Scott I headed off to meet with Bill Doll.  Bill was previously in charge of SolidWorks Labs but over the course of the past year has moved into another area of SolidWorks Corporation.  I am not allowed to talk a lot about what me and Bill talked about but I again, encourage you to check out SolidWorks Labs and see all of the great products they have to offer.

My afternoon consisted of a 4 hour power geek session with Greg Jankowski called the CAD Managers Boot Camp.  I am planning on doing separate posts on the breakout sessions I attend so stay tuned.

The event officially kicked off with the Welcome Reception in the Partner Pavilion last night and all I can say is WOW!  It looks as if attendance is booming and the down economy of the last year has had no effect on SolidWorks WORLD 2010.  After the welcome reception wrapped up I headed over to the SWUGN leaders party which offered great food, drinks, and networking with user group leaders from around the world.

That is all I have time for now but be sure to check back for more in depth details of Sunday’s event and also of the rest of the week sessions and news from SolidWorks WORLD 2010.

sww10 - let the festivities begin!

Let the festivities officially begin.  I arrived in sunny and warm Anaheim, CA around 12:00 PM PST yesterday.  The 60 degree weather that greeted me when I got off of the plane was a welcome feeling for me compared to the 0 degree temperatures I left in West Michigan on Saturday morning.  After an uneventful trip I quickly checked into my room to kick back.  I had no OFFICIAL plans for Saturday so I spent the day relaxing and catching up with friends.

The fun officially begins today.  Starting in about 30 minutes I have meetings booked and my scheduled is solid until Wednesday afternoon.  I wouldn’t trade this for the world though.  I encourage all of you to stay tuned right here for coverage of all of the events and also check out all of the other blogs and tweet feeds.  To find both of these you can visit the SolidWorks Community page on the SolidWorks WORLD website to see all of the coverage in one place.

Oh, and 1 more thing, if you want to follow all of the happenings in Anaheim in your own twitter program, the official hashtag is #SWW10.  Enjoy!

where to find me at solidworks world 2010

SolidWorks WORLD starts on Sunday in Anaheim so I thought I would let you know where I would be during the event.  Below you can find a list of the break-out sessions that I am planning on attending.

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Sunday, January 31, 2010: 1:00 – 5:00

CAD Administrator’s Boot Camp
Greg Jankowski, SolidWorks Corporation

Monday, February 1, 2010: 10:30 – 12:00

SolidWorks Tips, Tricks, and Traps
Phil Sluder, Mechanical Engineer, TriAxial Design and Analysis
Room: Ballroom D
Presentation Abstract: Fast paced session with a unique collection of useful SolidWorks tips not found in the help file. Phil will explore new tips for 2010 and some of his past favorites. WARNING: this presentation may contain sleazy features.

Monday, February 1, 2010: 1:30 – 2:30

In Context Modeling: The Original Design Automation
MY PRESENTATION
Room: 207 A-B
Presentation Abstract: In context, sounds scary huh? This presentation, which is completely revamped from last year, will show you how effective and quick in context modeling can be both now and for future designs. So don”t be scared, come check it out!

Monday, February 1, 2010: 2:45 – 3:45

Model Like a Maniac
Mark Schneider, Product Management, DS SolidWorks Corporation
Room: Ballroom D
Presentation Abstract: Deep dive in to some of the basic SolidWorks commands to increase your productivity. You will be guided through the techniques used to create many of the past Model Mania designs and leverage these methods to shortcut your design process.

Monday, February 1, 2010: 4:40 – 6:00

11th Annual SWUGN Summitt

Tuesday, February 2, 2010: 10:30 – 12:00

10 Essentials You Must Understand to Use SolidWorks Effectively
Phil Sluder, Mechanical Engineer, TriAxial Design and Analysis
Room: Ballroom D
Presentation Abstract: The ten essentials of SolidWorks; not just a list of beginner topics, but concepts and tools inside SolidWorks that once learned, will help you survive your day to day projects.

Tuesday, February 2, 2010: 1:30 – 2:30

SolidWorks Crashes and Slowdowns - It’s Not Always the Software
Jeff Mirisola, Owner, JRM Consulting
Room: Ballroom D
Presentation Abstract: This presentation covers the various factors that can contribute to SolidWorks crashes and slowdowns.

Tuesday, February 2, 2010: 2:45 – 3:45

10 Administration Essentials for all SolidWorks Users
Matt Lombard, Author, dezignstuff
Room: Ballroom E
Presentation Abstract: From the author of the SolidWorks Administration Bible, this presentation details topics vital to efficient use of SolidWorks from Installation methods to Toolbox to Tools/Options.

Tuesday, February 2, 2010: 4:30 – 6:00

Stump the Chumps
Jeff Mirisola, Owner, JRM Consulting
Room: Ballroom E
Presentation Abstract: Attendees will be able to ask questions in an effort to "Stump the Chumps". The Chumps: Rob Rodriguez, Lou Gallo, Josh Mings, Ben Eadie, Alex Ruiz, Charles Culp, Bill Briggs, Ricky Jordan, Joy Garon, Matthew Lorono and Jeff Mirisola.

Wednesday, February 3, 2010: 10:30 – 12:00

Surfacing Case Studies
Matt Lombard, Author, dezignstuff
Room: Ballroom E
Presentation Abstract: In this presentation, the author of the SolidWorks Complex Shape and Surfacing Bible examines several production surfacing models in detail. Matt will describe the decision making process step by step as he leads the audience through the models.

Wednesday, February 3, 2010: 1:30 – 2:30

Tackling Administrative Images: Deploying SolidWorks to the Masses
Adrian Fanjoy, Technical Services Manager, Computer Aided Technology
Room: Ballroom E
Presentation Abstract: With many ways to deploy SolidWorks in mass it is hard to fully understand all the possibilities. This presentation will shed light on the many options associated with these methods and help Administrators determine appropriate deployment methods for their environment.

Wednesday, February 3, 2010: 2:45 – 3:45

Unemployed Models - Keep Them Working in Manufacturing
Daniel Bertschi, Cad Support Specialist, Babcock & Wilcox
Room: 209 A-B
Presentation Abstract: Do you layoff your models when the drawing is released? Keep them working for you in manufacturing! We will explore the benefits of using SolidWorks models beyond the drawing to create sheet metal, molded/cast, tubular, and machined parts. Various methods of model use in manufacturing will be discussed, along with potential hurdles to overcome.

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If you see me in one of these sessions or wandering around aimlessly in the halls, feel free to stop me and say hi.  I would love to meet you.