Category: Resource Review

SolidWorks World 2013: What’s in Orlando, FL besides Walt Disney World Resort?

Dothan, AL is the Peanut Capital of the World.  Salinas, CA is the Lettuce Capital of the World.  Alma, AR is the Spinach Capital of the World.  Though Orlando’s nickname is The City Beautiful, some might call this sprawling area in Florida the World Capital of Amusement Parks.  There are so many, it’s hard to think of other things to do there.

Guess what!  There are other attractions too!

And, other stuff to do too, depending on your interests.

If you are staying an extra few days after the end of SolidWorks World 2013 with or without kids, there’s plenty to do for all sorts of interests in the greater Orlando area.

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:

Enjoy!

Resource: Guide to submitting Enhancment Requests for SolidWorks

I wrote up an article on the SolidWorks Blog a couple weeks ago.  It can be used as a resource to guide users to the area where they can submit their requests to improve SolidWorks.  The article is called Need SolidWorks to do more?  The article covers how to submit bugs and enhancement reqeusts.

Briefly, users should submit bugs to VAR.  A VAR can quickly determine if the bug is known or unknown and how best to address it.

Requests for new functionatality in SolidWorks (known as Enhancement Requests) may be submitted through the Customer Portal on the SolidWorks website.  However, always check to see if someone already has submitted a similar request, so you can vote for theirs instead.

If your request is for new functionality in SolidWorks, the first place to search is the Knowledge Base in the Customer Portal.  The Knowledge Base has quick how-to instructions.  It also has a list of outstanding enhancement requests from other customers.

Anyway, I invite you to check out the article.  It thoroughly covers the submission process.

 

Cool demonstration of the full scale of the Universe

The full scale of the Universe traverses the sizes as small as one Planck Length (hypothetically the size of quantum strings, branes and foam), all the way up to the distance to the farthest galaxies (and a bit beyond).  A project called “The Scale of the Universe 2” by Cary Huang helps put all of ths into perspective.  Differences in sizes between different elements of the world around us is a bit surprizing.  In particular, check out the size comparison between an ant and the largest bacteria.

 

The web tool doesn’t just show examples at each scale.  It also provides a brief summary or explanation of every object when you click on it.

 

SolidWorks World 2012 on LinkedIn (show peers that you are attending)

If you don’t have a LinkedIn account, you might consider creating one.  LinkedIn is a great tool to connect with peers, potential employers/employees, consultants, and display your career information in an interactive manner on your own terms.  If you already have an account on LinkedIn and you are attending SolidWorks World 2012, then it may be beneficial to goto the SolidWorks World 2012 event page on LinkedIn to state your attending status.  Showing others that you are attending SolidWorks World highlights that you are participating in an event that potentially expands your skill set (see SWW12 Justification Letter).  A side benefit is that this page provides  an additional outlet to connect with other attendees to build up your contacts.

As of right now, several events have been set up on LinkedIn for SolidWorks World 2012.  Feel free to join the others, however, I recommend joining the event page created by Matthew West, DS SolidWorks Social Media Manager.