The 2009 SolidWorks User Group Network (SWUGN) Technical Summits are about to get underway!  The first one finds SolidWorks returning to sunny Orlando, FL, the site of the recent SolidWorks World 2009 conference, on April 28.

If you didn’t get to attend SolidWorks World this year, the Technical Summits are the next best thing!  I liken it to a massive user group meeting.

The structure is similar to one day at SolidWorks World, but on a smaller scale; and they are bringing it to you!  There will be representatives of local user groups, VAR’s, and SolidWorks in attendance and presenting at all of these events, as well as user presentations.

What’s In It For You?

There is typically a continental-style breakfast served, followed by a short orientation session.  There are usually two training tracts running simultaneously through two breakout sessions in the morning and three in the afternoon.  Lunch is provided (in my experience, usually a 3- or 4-course meal) during the break between morning and afternoon sessions, and Richard Doyle gives a Tips & Tricks session along with relevant news and information and some nice door prizes.

And the cost for this entire day’s worth of training?  A mere $40.  Now I know in this current economic climate, funds are scarce…  But I think that $40 is a real deal, considering the amount of training and networking to be had.

As of this writing, the 2009 schedule is as follows (please visit the SWUGN Technical Summit page for full details, session schedules, and any changes/updates):

Orlando, FL – 04/28
Atlanta, GA – 05/19
Happy Valley, PA – 06/16
Columbus, OH – 07/21
Vancouver, BC – 08/11
Minneapolis, MN – 08/18
Denver, CO – 09/15
San Antonio, TX – 11/10
San Jose, CA – 12/08

The North Alabama SolidWorks User Group (NASWUG) (my local user group) should be well-represented at the Atlanta, GA Technical Summit.  Unfortunately, I will not be able to attend this year due to a new baby arriving on the scene around that date.  But I hope that you will take advantage of this opportunity to learn something new and meet some new friends!

Fielder Hiss, Director of Product Management at SolidWorks, took the stage once again for Wednesday’s General Session.  SolidWorks had another surprise in store for everyone, as Joe Grand and Dr. Mike North from the Discovery Channel show, “Prototype This” took the stage.  At first, it seemed as if they were a no-show, then they made their way through the audience from the back of the room on an apparatus they had designed for firefighters to use to transport gear and personnel.

They gave an interesting talk about some of the projects they have worked on for the show, including a “poo” scooper, a 30-foot tall waterslide simulator (a five week project!), and a 6X6 ATV that looked more like a bug than a vehicle.   The most interesting part of their presentation to me was when they were talking about themselves and the producers butting heads over what to actually show.  They said that when the show first started, the producers were more concerned about building something, when in reality, there is a lot of background design work, prototyping, and testing that has to occur before you get a finished product.  The guys really wanted to show that process, and that “prototyping is worthwhile, even if it fails”.  So in the beginning of the show, it was focused on building, but towards the end of the season, they had gravitated more to showing the design process.

TOP TEN ENHANCEMENT IDEAS

Next up was Bruce Holway, Manager of Product Definition at SolidWorks, to introduce the top ten enhancement ideas for SolidWorks.  Of course, this year, everyone already had access to this information through Brainstorm (Customer Portal log-in required), SolidWorks’ new customer enhancement request site.  Bruce also gave some recent examples of the top enhancement implementation in SolidWorks 2009:

• Slot tool in sketch
• Clearance-check in assemblies (similar to interference detection)
• Retain dimension in drawing views of mirrored parts
• Propagate assembly features back into parts as part features
• Title block wizard

The actual top ten enhancement ideas were read to the crowd one by one by SolidWorks User Group Network (SWUGN) user group leaders.  They are:

10. Excel behavior in tables
9. Abort any running command by pressing ESC
8. Add Lock Point for model rebuilds
7. Dual Monitor support
6. On-the-fly equation creation and editing
5. Faster rebuilds on complex models
4. Ability to rename configurations while referenced
3. SolidWorks backward compatibility
2. Clear memory when a file is closed

And the number one enhancement idea is:

1. Increase program stability

SWUGN AWARDS

The next speaker was Richard Doyle, who introduced the current SWUGN representatives.  Then the SWUGN Awards were handed out:

• 2008 User Group of the Year – Tom Cote of the Central MA/Northern CT SolidWorks User Group
• 2008 User Group Leader of the Year – Rob Jenson of the Southern Minnesota SolidWorks User Group

Two Lifetime Achievement Awards were given:

• Gerald Davis of the Colorado SolidWorks User Group
• Dan Bertschi of the Northeast Ohio SolidWorks User Group

MODEL MANIA 2009

Mark Schneider, Product Manager at SolidWorks, was next on stage to announce the SolidWorks World 2009 Model Mania contest winners in the Customer and Reseller categories.  (Please click the inline graphic to view the names.)  This was the first year that I competed in the Model Mania contest; I got the part modeled and the simulation set up, but I was unable to get the drafts applied correctly.  This is an area where I need to work on, as the parts I designed are usually machined prismatic parts or sheet metal, and require no drafts.  Mark was also going to demonstrate how to model the part, but unfortunately there was some sort of error and the model shown in his presentation was from last year’s SolidWorks World conference.

WHAT’S NEW IN 2010

Next up was what everyone was waiting for – What’s New in SolidWorks 2010!  SolidWorks usually does an elaborate skit to add some levity into the What’s New presentation, but they changed things up this year.  Ian Hogg, Product Marketing Manager for SolidWorks, joined Mark on stage, and they brought up a couple of customers on stage and showed their designs, and then proceeded to demonstrate some of the new and improved features of SolidWorks 2010 that would help in their design efforts.

The first customers were Samuel Schweighart and Gregor Cadman of Terrafugia, creators of the Transition®, which is a “roadable light sport aircraft” or, a flying car with foldable wings.

To help Terrafugia, they suggested the following new or updated tools:

• New View Mate tool
• Updated Mirror Components tool
• Updated Design Study Optimization tool that will enable users to run an optimization or design scenario and review the result plots of any configurations run by using a slider-bar interface.
• Multi-bodies in the sheet metal environment, with each body able to be flattened independently
• Ability to mix sheet metal and weldment features
• Better DXF output for sheet metal flat patterns

Next, Jeremy Regnerus and and Neil Cooke, Product Marketing Managers for SolidWorks, took the stage and introduced the next customer, Matthew Wilkins of Magenn Power, creators of the Magenn Air Rotor System (MARS).  MARS is a portable lighter-than-air tethered wind turbine that can reach altitudes of 1000 feet.

To help Magenn, they suggested the following new or updated tools:

• New Assembly Visualization tool
• New Property Manager Builder
• New Drawing Annotation tools, such as the ability to attach GD&T frames anywhere to dimensions, drag and drop notes into others to combine them, an option to show quantity next to balloons, and Excel functionality throughout all tables, including BOM’s
• New Drawing Productivity tools, such as a new heads-up display for changing dimensions, ordinate dimensions can span to detail views, and stacked dimensions will move when adding new dimensions to keep the proper alignment
• New Direct Editing tools that allow users to use Instant 3D to drag faces on imported parts and will recognize hole patterns (features are created in the FeatureManager tree using these tools)
• New Enterprise PDM (EPDM) functionality that will allow EPDM to manage and replicate all Toolbox components, and you can manage certain processes (such as file conversion) by spawning them to the EPDM server
• Sage, a new sustainable product tool developed in collaboration with PE International that can help designers and engineers pick alternate materials and do design comparisons to help lessen the environmental impact of their designs.

Jeff Ray took the stage and announced that Sage will be available in an “Xpress” version with every license of SolidWorks.  The add-on will actually be available in the coming months prior to the release of SolidWorks 2010 at SolidWorks Labs.

SOLIDWORKS 2010

Jeff Ray announced the dates and location for SolidWorks World 2010.  The next conference will be held at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, CA on January 31-February 3, 2010.  I wonder where the offsite event will be? 

Jeff then introduced Dr. Dave Gossard, who was SolidWorks co-founder Jon Hirschtick’s CAD instructor at MIT.  Dr. Gossard was in attendance, and they showed this early video clip of him demonstrating the CAD system they had developed.  (I tried to find a link to the video, but had no luck; I have seen it online before though.)

Next up was a short video showing full machine simulation running inside of SolidWorks with the integration of National Instruments LabView.

SOLIDWORKS ENGINEERING STIMULUS PACKAGE

Jeff then made an announcement that SolidWorks will be offering an “Engineering Stimulus Package” that will provide out-of-work engineers and designers with free SolidWorks software, free training, and a free try at the CSWA exam.  SolidWorks is partnering with it’s reseller channel to offer this generous service.  It will initially be rolled out in North America, and then world-wide.

SOLIDWORKS AND EDUCATION

Next, Jeff talked education, and mentioned that there were 25,000 schools worldwide using SolidWorks.  They have delivered 18,000 seats to 900 schools in Ireland and are working to help “develop master instructors to go out and train others”.  He also mentioned the University of Florida (UF) and how they were using SolidWorks on their SAE Mini-Baja team.

The team had a display in the Partner Pavilion, and I took the opportunity to speak a while with one of the students (sorry, can’t recall your name!) on duty at the booth on Monday.  I was really impressed with the amount of design, analysis, and prototyping that they do and the quality of the completed buggy.  I participated on the Mini-Baja team when I was at UAHuntsville, but I believe that we were really disadvantaged compared to these students!

I was really struck at how the student said that they had started using SolidWorks…they actually went to the school and demanded SolidWorks so that they would be able to get relevant jobs when they graduated.  He also said that local companies were really supportive of their team and involved with mentoring the students, as they were vying for candidates with the skills needed in their industry.

SUMMARY

In Jeff’s words, “Engineering design will be the new global language.”  With that, the SolidWorks World 2009 wrap-up video was shown.  In his closing comments, Jeff reflected back on Monday and the car ride over with Sir Richard Branson from the General Session at the Dolphin to the press conference at the Swan.  He said that as busy of a man as Sir Richard was, the only thing he was concerned with was how he could get his hands on the incubator from Design That Matters that was shown in that day’s (Monday’s) General Session.  He wanted to get that into Africa as quickly as possible.  Also mentioned Monday was that MicroWind Technologies, Inc. was looking for funding for their low-cost windmills; Sir Richard gave them a call on Tuesday!

So there you have it!  SolidWorks World 2009 has come to an end…  Be sure and check out my Flickr photostream for all the pictures I took from the conference.  I have pretty complete coverage of the Product Design Showcase from the Partner Pavilion, with pictures of just about every product that was on display and it’s information card.  I hope that in some little way I helped give those that were not able to make it to Orlando some feeling for the excitement and energy that was SolidWorks World 2009!

(Sorry for the delay in posting my Wednesday General Session wrap-up; I had to rest a little, catch up on several things at home and work, and spend some quality time with my family.)

Last edited on 04/14/2009 @ 3:15PM CDT.

Well, the 2008 SolidWorks User Group Network (SWUGN) Summit has come and gone.  There was a great turnout again this year, although we didn’t have quite as many attendees as we did last year at our record-breaking meeting.

We had several great presenters, from SolidWorks employees, reseller application engineer’s, and users.  I picked up several great tips, not only from the presenters, but from attendees!  That’s what makes events like the SWUGN Summits and SolidWorks World; you never know what kinds of interesting tidbits you are going to come across.

I’m sure that Ricky will have much more detailed info on his blog, so be sure to check it out!  Meanwhile, I have posted the pictures I took at the Summit below.  Enjoy!

www.flickr.com

Here are a couple of pics of the boatload of sushi that Matt Lombard and Richard Doyle ordered the evening before (May 21, 2007) the Nashville, TN SWUGN Technical Summit.  I believe that everyone at the table sampled a thing or two off of it.

In the second picture, from left to right:  Ricky Jordan, Matt Lombard, Brian McElyea (yours truly), and Richard Doyle.  Not pictured is Josh West, who was taking the pics with his phone cam.

This is what is so cool about the Technical Summits, as well as the SolidWorks World conferences – not only do you get some top-notch training, but you get to meet and hang out with other SolidWorks users and employees and make some great friends and contacts!

I’m back home from the SWUGN Summit in Nashville, TN, and I had a blast!  And we broke the record – this Summit now holds the record for the most attendees ever at over 100 people, so it looks like it will be back in the Nashville area next year.  I heard that over 50 people made the drive up from Huntsville, AL, alone.  It’s good to see that many people interested in your local user group experience!  And it’s very nice to see all the resellers come together to help promote and sponsor events for the users like this.

It was great meeting some new users and catching up with friends.  And I actually learned a thing or two to boot.

There were 5 dual sessions in all, breakfast with SolidWorks World 2007 highlights, and Richard Doyle gave everyone a "How Well Do You Know SolidWorks" quiz during lunch.  NASWUG’s own Ricky Jordan and Gary Hall presented along with Richard, Matt Lombard, and Brad Williamson.

I do admit that I was a little disappointed that Matt didn’t bring his banjo so he and Ricky could serenade us at lunch…he did bring a nice PhotoWorks rendering of it, however!

Speaking of Ricky and Matt, they both have write-ups on their blogs.  Ricky has a VERY detailed description of the entire day, including the winners of the quiz prizes…it’s almost as if he was taking minutes all day long.  I am going to have to start taking better notes!

Matt has a good message for SolidWorks and their resellers.  It’s all about understanding and providing for your users’ needs and opening the lines of communication.

I’m sure Richard will have some thoughts on the Nashville Summit on his blog soon.

There are still 6 more SWUGN Summits to be held this year, so check out the schedule.  I HIGHLY recommend that you attend one near you.  It’s very similar to the experience of one day at SolidWorks World.  Not only will you get to meet other interesting users, but I guarantee that you will learn at least one or two things that can make using SolidWorks more efficient and fun!