Category: Resource Review

United SolidWorks of Contributors

Future SW Online Community 

With two recent surveys (1) (2) regarding the future of the online SolidWorks community as conceived by the SolidWorks Corp, it is becoming apparent that some plan is in the works for a new vision of this online community.  How is that vision shaping up for far?  SolidWorks’ Matthew West’s recent words seem to point to having “a  central repository on solidworks.com” where tips, tricks, hacks, tutorials, instructions, etc can be collected.  To me, this suggests an educational focus.  Mr. West continues, “I think it would be great for casual users and people who aren’t into the whole blog thing to have one place where they could find information generated by other users, and maybe even sign up for your RSS feeds.” 

Are SW Users Ready?

One problem right now, as I see it, is that there are hundreds of thousands of SolidWorks users, but only a small fraction of these seek out further SolidWorks information online.   For example, the SolidWorks Forum recently hit 50,000 users.  This was a celebrated number, but is a small fraction of the total number of SolidWorks users.  Even further fractioned is the number of those who actually actively browse the forums frequently.  And of those, how many actually participate in forum discussions?

No one should expect everyone to be online every week looking around through SolidWorks resources.  However, I think these numbers indicate that many people may not even know these resources exist; or that they have not realized the depth and value of such resources yet.  

Support from SW Corp

If SolidWorks Corp puts a concerted effort into promoting its new online community, it may have a higher level of success.  However, they already have one case study that demonstrated the difficulty of this task: 3D ContentCentral.  Even with a link built right into the SolidWorks software, I suspect the user contributed area of this site gets very little activity when compared to the total number of users.  This may be due in part to how the site is organized.  It is definitely better than before, but still lacks the intuitiveness required for content managers that house a large quantity of items.  But, this may not be the point.

Types of SW Users

So what’s really going on?  It almost seems that it is the experienced (power) users who come online seeking out resources.  These are people who may have a consulting business or they are their company’s SW guru (or future guru).   These are the people for who it is important to expand their skill set.  Should SolidWorks Corp online efforts focus on the average user, or should they focus on the power user?  I think they can support both.  They may have to do this with separate efforts.

A central repository of user provided content would best serve the power user.   SolidWorks Corp should invest in this.  It can be wiki-like.  Or, perhaps it can be more like an aggregator, similar to SolidMentor.  It would have to be organized, maybe like CADdigest.  Opposing views should be represented without prejudice.  I’m not talking about commentary (though that is important too).  I’m talking about opposing views in terms of methodology.  For example, some people prefer one particular methodology, while other methodologies that accomplish the same task are also available (and may be better for many scenarios).  If a wiki-environment is employed, debates regarding such will definitely unfold, as they do on Wikipedia.org.  Again, this would be for power uses.  I think the biggest obstacle is determining how to make such a site for the average user.   To do this, information will have to be easy to find.

Ease of Use

How does one set up content driven site that makes finding particular topics easy?  This is question I’ve asked myself about my own blog.  I see people come to this blog and look around.  I see the searches they do.  I am often frustrated at just how many searches are unsuccessful when I know I have articles that covered the searched keywords.  This is because searches are imperfect.  The results are often too exact.

Alphabetical listing by topics wouldn’t work.  For example, How-to articles are often far to complex to make such a system useful, as they often cover topics involving multiple concepts or concepts that cannot be reduced down to a simple noun phrase.  My experience with How-to books (home repair, etc.) is that they are more for casual reading to get ideas rather than actually being a go-to reference (such as encyclopedias).

The online community site would have to be heavily cross-referenced, whether it encyclopediatic (Wikipedia.org, SolidMentor), aggregational (Pulse, SolidMentor), or listy (CADdigest).  Most of the research in setting up such a site should be in the area human systems analyst to find out how people most intuitively use content managers.  If the content is user driven, the content itself be the least of SolidWorks Corp worries.

Depersonalization and Individual Ownership

So, this does bring me to a point recently brought up by Matt Lombard:  Depersonalization.  I look at this with two points in mind.  First, there shouldn’t be an effort to remove personality or individuality.  The singluar voice still has to be heard in order for a united site to work.  Second, how does one set up such a site without stepping all over copyright?  It seems to me that SolidWorks Corp may be forgetting they would have to respect the individual’s copyright over the material they produce. 

Do I want my whole articles published on some other site?  Maybe, as long as I received some benefit from it.  Each person requires something different.  I doubt there is a single method that will fulfill the requirements of any majority of individual contributors.   This cannot be like Wikipedia.org where all content is non-copyrighted.  This is because the content provided by the individual for the Solidworks community is Original Research, unique to that individual.  Wikipedia.org does not allow Original Research at all.  A united SolidWorks community sie would have nothing but copyrighted Original Research.  SolidWorks Corp will have to recognize this and work within the guidelines established by each contributor, just as they expect their user to follow legal requirements in the use of the SolidWorks application.  SolidWorks Corp cannot dictate to us on how the rules will be set for such a site.  They will have to find a consensus upon the contributors, somehow.  This is why I previously stated such a site is a risk to SolidWorks Corp.  How would they handle content if they do not own that content?  Also, how do they prevent bias from interferring with the content that is provided?

Where to Start

Maybe to start, SolidWorks Corp can set up a simple RSS feed page that links to the major SolidWorks blogs.  It should still be easy to use and in a format that can be easily referenced and provided to non-power users.  These qualities will allow a dynamic area that will benefit the power user and also provide value to others.

Other Solutions Needed As Well

Something that may be just as effective for the average user is an effort to work on the improvement of the documentation provided by SolidWorks Corp for its software.  Why must a user come online in order to find a tutorial and how-to guide for basic functions?  The information provided on some of the technical blogs should already be apart of the manual provided by SolidWorks Corp for its SolidWorks software. 

Discussion to Continue

So, that’s my thoughts about this at this moment.  I welcome other ideas, points and counterpoints.   If ideas come up that have merit, I will likely adjust my own input about this matter.  I’ve set this article as second in a series of article that will likely continue, called “Future SW Community”.  Let see where this discussion leads.

P.S.

One additional point on a sidenote:  We need printed manuals!  At the very least, I feel there needs to be printed CAD Administrators manual that allows CAD Administrators and power users to have access to detailed information in offline settings for study and research.

SolidWorks Resources Availability

There was a time when online SolidWorks resources were far and few between.  When I started using SolidWorks back in 1998, I found nothing.  As time progressed, sporadic sites popped up and vanished.  This or that VAR would occasionally put up a page with macros or examples of models.  Many of these sites were never updated or were simply taken down later.  After a time, I stopped looking online for SolidWorks resources.

Then in 2005, I started looking again.  To my surprize, I found several useful sites.  Most of the sites were still limited to one or two pages of content, but they provided real resources.  Some had a page or two of macros, some How-to articles, career info, etc, such as Matt Lombard’s old site and Lenny’s site. A couple of sites where commercial in nature, selling macros, add-ins or educational services, such as Bitwright or SWTools .  Of course, some promote the individual’s consulting business while providing free content, such as Roland’s site Esox Republic and also Joseph Jones’ site NHCAD.  The most ambitious site was likely Mike J. Wilson’s Web Site, which used to have tons of models and the infamous SolidWorks based debunking video which proved the 9/11 Pentagon attack was by an airliner and not a missile (still available on YouTube here).

However, the one thing I missed was a comprehensive site with tons of files, FAQ’s and other SolidWorks items in one place.   My particular interest was macros.  I remember back in the AutoCAD days when I could go searching out LISP routines, blocks and customized menus in databases (even before the days of the modern internet).  CADalyst provided invaluable resources, some of which is still available in various forms such as books and their home website.  Nothing similar existed for SolidWorks. 

To answer this need, I created the independent site Lorono’s SolidWorks Resources.  My intent was to create a site for new, intermediate and experienced users looking to expand their knowledge and SolidWorks skills in a way that I wished was available when I started using SolidWorks.  It includes over 100 files, mostly focused on macros, data content, utilities.  It has tons of weblinks in a collection so big, I’ve not been able to find any others like it.  In this collection are links to SolidWorks related forums, resource links (such as the above sites), tutorials, online inquiries, general engineering and SolidWorks blogs.  

This brings me to the next point.  SolidWorks related blogs have exploded in the past year and a half.  I’ve been a participant in the online blogging community since 2001 and maintained my personal blog since the beginning of 2002.  However, I never thought about blogging on SolidWorks until Matt Lombard started up his blog in early 2007 mid-2006.  Then Lenny started up a great blog site in July of 2007.  These are not the earliest SolidWorks related blogs, but they are the first ones I noticed.  Mike Puckett’s blog goes back to Feb 2007.  Devon Sowell’s Blog goes back to June 2006.  He now has another blog as well which is specifically geared for PDMWorks and other similar software.   SolidWorks User Group Network (SWUGN) now lists 16 major SW blogs, and more are out there.  I attribute a lot of this growth directly and indirectly to the SWUGN and its leadership.  The blog has proven to be a very valuable tool. 

Another valuable tool is the new incarnation of 3D ContentCentral (3DCC), available as a link from within SolidWorks software.  When I first saw the new site, I started thinking that I would no longer need my own resources site.  However, they serve different purposes and have little overlap.  Many types of downloads on Lorono’s SolidWorks Resources are not available on 3DCC, and visa verse.  SolidWorks has done what it needs to do to keep 3DCC relevant and useful.  3DCC maintains its focus on 3D models from manufacturers and users.  There’s a new request line in which users can put in requests for models.  Another user can fulfill the request by uploading that model.  

I think the SolidWorks online community is finally providing the breathe needed to support its supposed 600000 users.  I have noticed that a slim percentage of those individuals are online finding what is available.  It seems the next step would be for SolidWorks to promote its online community aggressively to make the average user aware that free, comprehensive resources are available.  They started doing this at SolidWorks World 2008 by upping the profile of SWUGN.  More has to be done to get the word out.

I’m just a blogger who is blogging about blogging. 🙂 I’m doing what I can to help the effort.  I know others are giving demonstrations at user groups about what is available.  Hopefully everyone can get the word out, even if it is just to person in the next cube over.  I suspect that more people being aware of what’s out there will result in even more resources becoming available online.

Your New 3D ContentCentral

3D ContentCentral (3DCC) has recently been overhauled and drastically expanded.  It is now organized into these tabs: Home, Parts, Features, Blocks, and Macros.  Each tab has a Top Rated area and a Recently Added area.  For parts, there is a section where you can make requests for new parts.  These requests can be filled by other members of the 3DCC.  There is even a contest for who can fulfill the most requests; it has some cool prizes each month.

Parts is divided similar to how it was before, but now it is visually organized for easier identification of each area.  Featured categories, suppliers and user libraries are still available.

The Features tab is divided in many useful categories, with weldments heavily represented.  There is plenty of opportunity for us to populate these areas.  That’s the nice way as saying that Feature categories are currently pretty bare of content.

Blocks is another area that boosts the opportunity for users to populate its categories.  Some categories have a good start, while others are very bare.  Surprising to me is the fact that electrical componentry is currently highly represented in this area.

Macros is being populated fairly quickly by users.  There is already a decent selection of macros to choose from in various categories, such as Add-ins, Assemblies, Drawings, etc.

3DCC now give users the ability to both rate contributions and to comment on them.  This will be useful to determine if a download is worth your time.

My only complaint about 3DCC at this time is that it takes too many steps to get to these areas from within SolidWorks (at least in SW 2007).  Click on Design Library, then 3D ContentCentral, then User Library, then the Home icon.

Have fun with the new layout and content.  I hope to see many new additions soon! 🙂

Tri-Valley SWUG Kick-Off Meeting

Kenneth Barrentine has started a new SolidWorks User Group in the southern end of the San Francisco East Bay called the Tri-Valley SolidWorks User Group (T-VSWUG).  (I originally was abbreviating it as TVSWUG, but I just realized there is already a group with those initials).  He held the group’s first meeting a few days ago.  It appears to be a great success.  As meetings and SWUGs go, this was one big start! 

Vic Leventhal

We had Vic Leventhal (former COO of SolidWorks Corp and current Group Executive, Dassault Systemes) give the keynote speech of the evening about the history of SolidWorks.  His presentation of fun and informative.  He even gave out $50 of his own money! 

I personally give a presentation about SWW8.  In attendance, we had Gabi Jack, who recorded a video of the event.  In fact, her blog article about this meeting has edited videos of Vic Leventhal’s presentation.  Her article also includes details about the event from a unique and refreshing perspective.

Kenneth's Demonstration

Kenneth conducted a live demonstration of various tips and tricks, including topics like showing how to find the origin of a detail view for ordinate dimensioning.  The format was semi-open, with frequent audience participation.  I was impressed by Kenneth because he made hand-outs that listed the topics that he was going to cover in his presentation.  This allowed people to follow along, and they knew what to expect.

Oh, and what a day to attend.  Prizes, prizes, prizes.  Just about everyone went home with something.  I apologize for not noting his name, but here’s the grand prize winner of the 3Dconnexion SpaceExplorer.

Grand Prize Winner

I believe there was a little over 50 people in attendance.  This photo shows that it was pretty much a full house.  I thank Kenneth for organizing this event and getting this new group started.  I personally look forward to attending more of his meetings.

SolidWorks User Group Network Technical Summits

It’s another year, and Richard Doyle is moving a full steam putting the 2008 Technical Summits together.   If you haven’t attended one yet, I invite you to read my review of the San Jose Technical Summit in 2007 to get an idea of what to expect, and the benefits of attending.

Briefly, they include training and discussions on a variety of topics including sheet metal, drawings, weldments, and assemblies.  They also have seminars on newer functions such as RealView Graphics.  COSMOS, PDMWorks and other third party applications are also covered.  For a sample agenda and more information, please visit the SWUGN website.

Here’s the remainder of the schedule this year.  Even if one is not near your home town, I recommend attending the closest one to you.  It will be well worth the trip, especially if you need an alternative because you cannot make it to SolidWorks World.   RSVP soon if you are near Orlando, FL or Nashville, TN! 

Orlando, FL – 3/18

Nashville, TN – 04/09

Oklahoma City, OK – 5/20

Baltimore, MD – 6/17

Vancouver, BC – 7/22

Minneapolis, MN – 8/19

St. Louis, MO – 9/23

Salt Lake City, UT – 10/21

Chennai, India – 11/18

Los Angeles, CA – 12/16

Various SolidWorks Discussion Forums (Part 2)

To continue with Part 1 of this article, here are more SolidWorks related forums.

Solidmentor Solid Forum– This site is well organized and contains many resources, including forums dedicated to SolidWorks discussions.  It lists posts by topic in the Solid Forum area.  Membership (free) is required to participate.  Activity is low, with new posts appearing on a weekly to monthly basis; though when new messages appear, replies appear in rapid spurts thereafter.  The forums on Solidmentor have an unfinished feel to them.  I think this is why activity is still very low despite the popularity of the general website.  At this time, I do not recommend the Solid Forum, though I do recommend the overall Solidmentor website.

SolidWorks Forums– This is the home site for the forums managed by SolidWorks Corp.  Forums exist for practically every nuance one could imagine within a SolidWorks discussion, such as Assemblies, BOM, Design Tables, Surfacing, Routing, Toolbox, COSMOSWorks, and User Groups (just to name some).   Within each forum, messages are ordered by most recent activity.  Personally, I’m not fond of the fact that so many categories for forums exist on the site.  Membership is required to view and participate in discussions.   Membership is technically free.  SolidWorks Corp frequently watches the forums for their own purposes.  Some people don’t seem to like this fact.  There are a lot of knowledgeable participants, several of which are SolidWorks Corp employees.  This means that most inquiries are addressed quickly.    This is by far the largest SolidWorks forum site, with tens of thousands of members.   Participation is heavy.  However, participation does not seem to include most members.   One point of caution, be sure to use the non-Java interface.   The site is well moderated.  I recommend this site, in part because of the activity level, and in part simply because it is the main site for SolidWorks discussions, and it is run by SolidWorks Corp itself.

SolidWorks Yahoo! Group– This is main SolidWorks based forum on Yahoo! Groups.  It is dedicated to SolidWorks.  Topics can be listed either in order of recent activity, or by topic.  Membership (free) is required to participate in the forum.  This group provides a significant number of other resources, such as download, weblinks, and polls.  Activity occurs on an hourly to daily basis.  I personally co-moderate this group.  I recommend this group for the activity level and additional resources; oh and yes, also because I help run it.  🙂

SolidWorks-APl Google Group– This is a Google group that is specifically for discussions regarding SolidWorks API.  It lists posts by most recent topic.  Membership (free) is required to participate in discussions.  This group is a good place to ask API related questions.  It is for more advanced users.  The group has seen more activity in the past than it does now.   However, if someone does post a question, it is often answered by others fairly quickly.  It appears to be loosely moderated.  Activity is weekly to monthly.  I do not recommend this group because of its low activity.

SWcad– This is another Google group.  It is dedicated to SolidWorks related discussions.  It lists posts by most recent topic.  Membership (free) is required to view and participate in discussions.   Activity is on a daily to weekly basis.  It is tightly moderated.  New users are placed on probation.   I do not recommend this group due to low activity levels. 

Please comment if you know of any other groups.  Feel free to check out all the groups I listed, even if I do not recommend them.   Some that do not suit me may work well for others.  However, I personally visit and participate on all of these sites.  Also, feel free to comment on my opinions here.