Tag: SWUG meeting

Ontario SolidWorks User Group meeting, mid Dec 2011

Some would say that travelling to Ontario in December is foolish.  It is wet, snowy and very cold.  Well, call me a fool.  I visited Toronto to present at the December meeting of the Ontario SolidWorks User Group.  It was cold, but not much different from Massachusetts.  It was a little rainy, again no difference from where I live.  No snow!  This time of year should’ve been nothing but snow everywhere.  Then again, Massachusetts also had not snow at that time.  Maybe I’m not so foolish afterall.

I presented on Advanced SolidWorks Customization Techniques.  This is a preview version of what I will be presenting at SolidWorks World 2012.  This is a presentation similar to one given a few years before at a SWUGN Technical Summit, now updated for SolidWorks 2012.

Several discoveries were learned on this trip.  I discovered the locals believe that Toronto has the “worst traffic in North America”.  That’s an arguable yet still valid assessment.  Rain, no matter how slight, makes the traffic unbearable.  And, even with reduced crowds due to rain, a SolidWorks Employee can draw people from miles (er, kilometers) around to a SolidWorks User Group meeting.  Oh, and one more thing.

This is Canadian Slice Pizza: bacon, pepporini,  mushroom, and of course, cheeze.  It’s apparently normal to serve it on a corrugated paperboard as a stand-in for a plate.

Yes, it’s called “Canadian” in Canada.  Quite tasty, and it is a combination of toppings that I’m not quite so unfamilar with.  Thank you to Chris White for organizing this event and to everyone who attended!

 

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.