Career Archives - Page 5 of 11

New Section View Assist tool in SolidWorks used as example of teamwork

I was recently interviewed by Entertainment Engineering, an online magazine that covers technologies used in many types of entertainment devices and events such as movies, concerts, theme and amusement parks, electronic games, etc. The November 2012 issue focuses on the value of individual contributors and also of teamwork in the design process. Here’s the kicker, I’m quoted in the issue’s editorial article along side the great Steve Wozniak. Kinda cool.

The article for which I was specifically interviewed is called Teamwork Improves Section-View Options in SolidWorks 2013, which leads-off a series of interviews with various individuals from all over the engineering discipline. In my interview, I talk about the new SolidWorks section view functionality (now called Section View Assist) that has a whole new user interface that changes the way section views are created on drawings in CAD. This includes how I originally developed the concept which was then improved and refined via teamwork within the SolidWorks organization.

Section View Assist replaces the need to first create sketches before being able to create a section view. Instead, you can directly place cutting line on the original view and have the section view generated automatically. If you want to use aligned section view, you can add offsets to the cutting line directly in the Section View Assist interface (without the need to draw lines or edit sketches). Same goes to notch and single offsets. The new user interface saves time and steps. The improvement is nearly exponential. The more complex your cutting line, the quicker you can create it versus old methods using sketches.

Recently found in the SolidWorks Blogospere

There is a number of good articles that have popped up recently in the SolidWorks blogospere. Here is a selected set of particularly interesting finds:

Link to thickness(es other than Sheet Metal) is a how-to article that shows you the the instructions and value of using Link to thickness capability in SolidWorks for parts other than sheet metal.
Wrapping text onto a conical surface is a how-to article with instructions on how to add extruded text to the face of a cone.
Using Large Design Review in SolidWorks 2012 covers how-to use LDR.
Comparison between SolidWorks 95 and Solidworks 2012 compares the improvements that have been made to SolidWorks over the years.
Who says there not hiring is a brief article about a recent Solidworks User Group meeting where an employer attended, and it just so happened they are seeking talent for their start up in the Boston area.
Demystifying the Color Settings in SolidWorks Parts and Assemblies gives very detailed information on using colors in SolidWorks models.

Enjoy!

Firsts and lasts and repeats of SolidWorks World 2012

SolidWorks World 2012 saw some firsts and some lasts. Attendance peak was just shy of 6000, first time attendance reached that level. Attendance of the CSWP-CSWE Event was well over 800, also a first. Yet, there’s a last too. This was the last time the event is for CSWP attendees.

Next year, the special event will only be for CSWEs. In part, this is in recognition of the success of the CSWP program, where having the Core certification is becoming the norm. It is also meant to honor the new status of the CSWE.

This is also my first SolidWorks World as an employee. This means I was very busy with the business of…well, I was working. This was the reason for my lack of posting articles during the conference. As mentioned previously, I did frequently update the SolidWorks World 2012 flickr group and the hashtag #sww12 on Twitter.

Along with some first and lasts, there are also some repeats. San Diego was again a great host city, even covering the conference on a local news station. We again had an awesome Gaslamp Block Party as the Special Event. The food was much better this time around.

Birds-of-a-feature is where people of similar interests can enjoy their meals together and have interesting discussions. There’s been some experimenting with the format of this idea in recent years. This year, Birds-of-a-feature was returned to the Breakfast and Lunch room, where it seems to work well. It is no longer limited to just one day, nor just to lunchtime.

The keynote speaker, Tony Fadell (billed at the inventor of the iPod), was announced just ahead of the conference. Yet, SolidWorks World still managed to have a worthy surprize speaker, Mike Rowe of Dirty Jobs!

When looking through the Conference Notebook and Show Program, I discovered that the list of Breakout Sessions started with one of my presentations, Advanced Customization Techniques in SolidWorks within the CAD Admin category. Ironically, this session was scheduled in the last timeslot of the conference, on Wednesday at 2:45pm. Of course, there were 214 total sessions spread across 11 timeslots. I’m not 100% sure, but I believe that’s also a record.

SolidWorks World 2012 prelude (after the fact)

With my new role at SolidWorks, my time at SolidWorks World 2012 was spent working. As such, my hobbie (this website), was not updated during the conference. I had hoped for a chance to post at least a couple of updates during the conference.

I wasn’t fully out of commission though. There are many tweets and flickr updates from me during the conference. Though I made a few Facebook updates, most of these where via Twitter; so it almost goes without saying that Google+ didn’t get updated.

Also, I forget my camera, so all of my photos where with my phone. Fortunately, its camera isn’t half bad.

More to come.

SolidWorks World 2012 comes to a smartphone near you

SolidWorks World 2012 has several high quality applications for various devices. SolidWorks World 2012 is available for the iPhone and the iPad on the iTunes store, and for Android devices on the Android Market. (At SolidWorks World 2011, the mobile application was only available for the iPhone.) The 2012 version is loaded with practically all the information you’ll need to navigate the conference.

Full conference schedule
Log on to your SolidWorks World 2012 attendee account
All sessions, including descriptions, maps of how to get to the assigned room, link to speaker’s bio, and the ability to add the session to your agenda
All speakers and their bios
Floor maps for each level
Partner Pavilion directory, map, and other information
General conference information, such as overview, hours, food, and special event
Location of important points of interest
Info about Dassault Systemes, including information other mobile applications

Additionally, there are links to SolidWorks related accounts on Twitter (tweet updates on the #sww12 hashtag), Facebook (SolidWorks World page, [not the SWW12 page]), Flickr (SolidWorks photostream including SolidWorks World 2012 group with uploaded photos by SolidWorks and attendees) and Youtube (SolidWorks related videos).

As a bonus, there’s a feature to scan QR codes of badges from other attendees to start building your contact list.

Smartphone and laptop strategy at SolidWorks World 2012

Power

SolidWorks World is a big event with thousands of attendees. Due to the rise of mobile electronic devices in the past few years, an interesting problem as arisen. On a normal day, your smartphone’s battery charge may last a day or two without any worries. However, no day at SolidWorks World is normal. Even on the most battery efficient devices, you are likely to need power to recharge at some point during the day. With 2012, this need is even more obvious with the new and highly useful SolidWorks World 2012 mobile application, in addition to other mainstays like social media, calendering, phone calls to your associates and other attendees you plan to meet, etc.

My personal advice is to always have a spare battery on hand, whether you are using a laptop, smartphone, other mobile devices, or any combination thereof. Also, scope out power outlets wherever you happen to be. This applies while you are at the conference, and more so also after hours while you are out and about and when your device is most likely to be low on power. If you have a smartphone and a laptop, you may be able to charge your phone from the laptop via the normal USB connection. Finally, the most obvious thing of all, don’t forget any of the charging cables. Make sure they are on your checklist!

Wifi

Another growing need is connectivity via wifi. Those of us with smartphones may not be as tethered. However, don’t rely on cellphone carrier signal for data connections while inside of the conference center. Even an Andriod on a free data plan may need to switch over to wifi to access the Internet at some point. SolidWorks provides several wifi hotspots throughout the conference center.

Regardless to the type of device you use, scope out the locations of these hotspots a head of time so you aren’t left without data connection at an inconvenient moment. Even still, there will be many other people accessing the wifi at the same time, so please avoid downloading big files or streaming videos. I personally recommend hitting the hotspots for specific connectivity needs, then quickly moving on.

Good luck and I hope to see you at SolidWorks World next week!

The author of this article is an employee of Dassault Systemes. However, the material of this article is not representative of Dassault Systemes, nor is it reviewed by them. Please see the FTC notice in the right side bar of this webpage for further details.