Graphics Systems SolidNotes

Graphics Systems User Conference

It’ll be that time of the year again soon; football and hunting seasons will be in full-swing, with Halloween just around the corner.  But most importantly, it’s SolidWorks Premiere season.  Every year around October, the newest release of SolidWorks is on showcase to show users all of the new features and added capabilities in the software; many of which were generated from the million-strong SolidWorks community.  And every year, users find ways to see this content, whether it is on the Internet, or at a VAR rollout.

This year, Graphics Systems is offering more than just an update on the latest features.  We are offering users, managers, and executives an opportunity to share and learn ideas and solutions they can implement into their everyday processes to improve their products and efficiency.  

 The Graphics Systems User Conference brings over 35 in-depth technical training sessions, dozens of industry solutions, and 100’s of engineers under one roof.  The technical training sessions cover the entire gamut of SolidWorks, Simulation, Product Data Management, Technical Communication, and Management topics. 

Whether it is a technical session on the newest SolidWorks tips & tricks, a session on Sustainability and what it means to be “green”, or a session on engineer recruiting and hiring best practices, it’s all here.  This conference is an excellent opportunity for companies to start looking at new technologies and ideas that help solve the issues they face today.

 

The Graphics Systems User Conference is a two-day event, October 6-7, and will be held at the Lake Lawn Resort in Delavan, WI.  It’s a short drive from Madison, Milwaukee, and Chicago.  We are running an early bird special where attendees can purchase the two-day pass for only $99 before August 27.

You can find more information along with a full listing of the conference agenda by clicking the links below.  We look forward to seeing all of you at the conference.

>> View Full Conference Agenda

>> View Presenters

>> Send a Justification Letter to Your Boss

Engineering the joe!

A few weeks ago my colleague, Jeff Setzer, blogged here on SolidNotes about his iPad, SolidWorks, and the effect technology has on engineering.  I discovered recently that a tool I use almost daily and contributes to my work as an engineer is designed in SolidWorks.  Its not my laptop, memory stick, or even my new office chair. It is a portable espresso maker.

 

A few months ago I received as a gift the handpresso Wild DomePod.  I already am a profficient coffee drinker: I roast my beans on a small commercial roaster, I blend almost exsclusivley for espresso brewing, and my home-machine has been modified with a PID controll to help me dial in for specific temperatures depending on the roast and blend.  But as for office coffee I would always bring in (and still do) an extra shot or two for that cafe' Americano later in the morning or afternoon.  I needed something that would travel well (I teach SolidWorks and Simulation classes at our satellite offices), pack well, but still pull an acceptable shot.

When the handpresso first arrived to the market, it was the result of brainstorming and idea-generation from an industrial design firm, Nielsen Innovation. They struggled with the same problem I had: "I'm an engineer, I thoroughly enjoy coffee, how can I enjoy the two.. all the time?" Nielsen came up with the novel concept of using something akin to a portable bike tire pump and combined it with the ease of ESE pods.  For my audience who has no clue what this three letter acronym means, ESE stands for Easy Serve Espresso.  They're pre-packaged coffee pods ground for espresso machines.  Last year, on a trip to New York state I had the pleasure of trying this version of the handpresso at the United States distributor, Importika. The handpresso was exactly what I needed and this past winter saw the introduction of the DomePod model; now you can use your own fresh ground coffee!

 How does the DomePod fuel my days?  Simple, really. View this photo to see the handpresso being readied for use.  The ground coffee is packed in to a small basket.  Pump the handle about 40 times. Hot water from the breakroom tap is poured into the clear resevoir.  The filter cap is screwed on and the pressure is released with a press-button on the unit's body.  A pressure gauge built in to the handpresso allows you to make sure you've pumped it up enough.  When the shot it pulled and you're ready to clean it the whole thing comes apart as it went together.  The spent coffee grounds easily "pop" out of the basket and in to the trash.  (ESE pods are even easier!)

Do I mind the stares or jeers from my co-workers?  Not all!  I know they're jealous because they wish they had an ultra-compact, portable, very well built espresso maker designed in SolidWorks.  I wonder if the folks at handpresso used Flow Simulation to optimize the design?

The iPad is going to change the engineering world

The iPad has landed, and the computing world will never be the same. That goes for our little corner of that world in engineering and design, too.

Before I go any further, I'd like to state that I am not a "Mac fanboy." I've never owned a Mac, and even when I was working with them at the University of Rochester 20 years ago, where Macs outnumbered PCs 20 to 1, I firmly believed that Microsoft was going to become the world standard desktop computing plaform -- which it inarguably has.

That being said, in the mobile world, the iPhone has set the standard. If you're looking to do something on a mobile device, chances are it'll be available in the iPhone. And with the innovation that Apple has enabled with the platform, people are doing things on their iPhones that nobody would believe could be done on a small mobile device just a few years ago.

So when Apple announced the iPad a few months ago, I was very curious. The iPhone can do lots of things -- users can Tweet, Facebook, blog and even look at 3D models with 3DVIA Mobile. But the small form factor that makes it perfect as a smartphone also limits it's ability to do the things that can be done with a larger screen, such as a laptop or netbook. On the other hand, a netbook really isn't a device that can be used as naturally as an iPhone; the desktop-oriented nature of Windows gets in the way. Enter the iPad.

The iPad has only been out for a few days, and things are changing rapidly. Already, I have used SolidWorks Lab's "Drawings Now" to view uploaded SolidWorks drawings, and while  the 3DVIA Mobile app for the iPhone doesn't look all that great scaled-up on the iPad, it works.

Using a $12 remote desktop connection app, I am also able to connect to my Dell M90 wirelessly, and use full-blown eDrawings that way. It's pretty slow to rotate 3D models over the remote connection, but for 2D drawings it works quite well. I can double-tap zoom into views, use the measure function, and even a few of the redline tools. It's not perfect, but I'm doing all this stuff on a device that's only been out for 72 hours using tools that weren't designed for the iPad in the first place.

Oh, yeah -- I've also dropped the PDF versions of the SolidWorks and Enterprise PDM Installation and Admin guides, the What's New In SolidWorks 2010 document, and a few technical whitepapers. Folks, as an e-reader the iPad is a no-brainer. I've got about twenty pounds worth of printed material in the iPad right now, and they are available any time, right alongside any computer I'm using -- just like a printed manual or library book. Except these electronic books have hyperlinks in their tables of contents :)

As time goes on, I am sure there will be bigger and better things coming for the iPad with respect to engineering data access (and even content creation, I believe). Stay tuned to SolidNotes and I'll be sure to give updates as they happen.

But I can say this: the iPad really is a game-changer.

SolidWorks 2010 Movie Trailer Spoofs! Wayne's World, James Bond, Office Space, Terminator

If you attended our SolidWorks 2010 Midwest Premiere events this year, you were one of the over 400 lucky SolidWorks users to see our SolidWorks "movie trailers."   These spoofs, created by our very own marketing group, really added to the "movie" theme of our events and were very well received by the audience. I think my favorite one is the James Bond spoof on 3DVIA Composer. 

Check them out and comment on your favorite one!

SolidWorks 2010 Features - 3D CAD - Wayne's World Spoof

3DVIA Composer - Product Documentation - James Bond Spoof

Enterprise PDM - Product Data Management - Office Space Spoof

Simulation (FEA) - Product Analysis- Terminator 2 Spoof

SolidWorks 2010 Midwest Premiere

Note: This article was written for me by our own Dave Pond, who is coordinating our rollouts. Dave does a great job in making these really fun events and assures me there will be some suprises you won't want to miss. Personally, I'm excited to be showing 2010 on the largest screens EVER and hope you don't get motion sickness :)

You're invited to experience SolidWorks 2010 at one of our four 30 x 50 ft. movie screens at Marcus theaters across the Midwest!

SolidWorks 2010 is the culmination of 14 years of implementing enhancements based on customer requests from the million-strong SolidWorks community. As a result, SolidWorks 2010 is dedicated to optimizing the core design functions you stake your career on every day.

A more intuitive user-interface significantly reduces mouse travel and increases design efficiency. SolidWorks 2010 further improves user productivity by automatically detecting and resolving modeling challenges that would typically be frustrating for new users.

In October, we will be hosting a series of events that will showcase the new features of SolidWorks 2010.  We invite you to join us at the location nearest you.  To sign up, please click on the register button below.

Register for the SolidWorks 2010 Premiere and we'll show you the following highlights of the best release of SolidWorks!

• SolidWorks SustainabilityXpress
• Rapid Dimension for Drawing Detailing
• Improved Mirror Components in Assembly
• Multibody Support for Sheet-Metal Parts
• Mouse Gesture Heads-Up User Interface
• Sheet-Metal Export to DXF/DWG Enhancements
• Configuration Publisher
• And Much More!

^{Tues., Oct. 6th - Milwaukee (Brookfield), WI
Thurs., Oct. 8th - Chicago (Addison), IL
Tues., Oct. 13th - Madison, WI
Thurs., Oct. 15th - Green Bay, WI}

SolidWorks Corporation purchases Priware

Effective today (3-26-08), SolidWorks Corporation has purchased Priware from the UK. Priware is the developer of CircuitWorks. While "CircuitWorks Lite" has been incorporated into core SolidWorks for some time (and will continue to be in the future), the full-blown CircuitWorks software will now be part of SolidWorks Office Premium.

There are two functional changes going forward:

1. Customers who have SolidWorks Office Premium will get CircuitWorks at no additional charge, starting with SolidWorks 2008 SP 4.0.

2. Customers who have CircuitWorks will have their corresponding SolidWorks seat upgraded to SolidWorks Office Premium at no charge.

SolidWorks World Tuesday

This morning the general session featured more excellent speakers. Dr. Don Norman of Northwestern University won the Franklin Medal in 2006 (past award winners include Marie Curie, Albert Einstein and Stephan Hawking) and he's quite famous in design circles (just Google him and you'll get a ton of hits). He gave some great examples of why design needs to be for the user and not for the designer. Pick up one of his books to learn about his philosophy in depth as I can't really do it justice :).

Dr. Robert Ballard is most famous for finding the HMS Titanic, but he is one of the world's foremost oceanographers; if you've seen many Discovery and Science Channel shows related to undersea exploration, you will recognize him instantly (he was also the guy who did the "real science" segment at the end of every episode of the old Seaquest: DSV sci-fi TV show). What I took most from his talk was that by 8th grade, you've either got a new scientist/enginner or you've lost them. Both of my brothers are classically-trained teachers and I have heard the same thing from them many times -- middle school is where personality and behaviors are set in. I resolved during this talk to take a more active role in somehow reaching out to kids in that age group, both as a professional in the engineering world and also as an amateur scientist (astronomer, in this case) to spark real interest in the science and engineering. I have a few ideas but I'd love to hear about any you may have!

One tool that SolidWorks Corporation has developed that I think will be useful is SolidWorks for iPod. No, it's not a software solution; it's a website that has cool videos, renderings, and technical tidbits that are made for the iPod. SolidWorks thinks this is such a great idea that they gave every regular attendee of SolidWorks World an iPod Nano loaded with this content! See www.solidworks.com/ipod to get content for your own iPod.

SolidWorks World Monday

After yesterday's debacle in Green Bay, I was happy to turn my attention full-time to all things SolidWorks. This morning's guest speakers were very good. Danny Forster of TV's "Build It Bigger" gave a humorous and interesting talk tying together style and engineering from an architectural perspective. Theo Jansen of Holland is an artist who makes what he calls "beach creatures" that are mechanical automatons that are powered by nothing more than the wind. Google him and you'll find some fascinating articles and video on his work -- really thought-provoking!

Being from the original Dairy State, I did find it humorous when, at this morning's breakfast, they ran out of milk for the stacks and stacks of cereal displayed on the tables. I guess California cows may be happy, but not very productive compared to Wisconsin cows!

3DVia is a hot ticket on the showroom floor. This is an awesome solution for creating truly interactive documentation for tech pubs, as well as mockups of super-large assemblies. We'll be showing it at Graphics Systems in the near future! Take a look at the information on www.solidworks.com.

Like Fishing?

We're going to have an event at Cabela's in Germantown, WI on May 22. During that event, we'll be showing SolidWorks, DriveWorks, COSMOS/Works Designer, and PDMWorks Enterprise. If you're interested in seeing any of these technologies, it would be a good event to attend. We'll have some food and door prizes too! See http://www.gxsc.com/demos_cabelas.htm for details.

Jeff's SolidWorks World #3

One of the cool things about the SolidWorks community is that several members have excellent blogs. Ricky Jordan of North Alabama is one of those members and his detailed account of the happenings at Solidworks World 2007 are very well worth reading. I was going to make a detailed report myself, but since Ricky already did I figured "why re-invent the wheel?" :) You can find Ricky Jordan's SolidWorks World 2007 reports on his website.