Category: SolidWorks World

Staying Connected to all things SWW10

Connect to the SolidWorks Community

There’s already a lot of buzz being built about SolidWorks World 2010 (SWW10), even with it being months away.  To help readers keep track of the goings-on, SoildWorks website has a pipe that feeds articles from many of the SolidWorks related blogs.  Not every article fed into the pipe is going to be about SolidWorks World 2010 right now, but a lot of them are about it already (such as the article you are reading right now).

Additionally, on that same webpage resides a Twitter fed pipe for all tweets labelled with the hatch #SWW10 or #SWW2010.  Since the SolidWorks World 2010 hatch is used, it’s a sure bet that the tweets fed into the pipe are about SWW10 in some fashion or another.  There aren’t many tweets just yet, but as we get closer to the conference, this will change drastically as more comments and planning are discussed.

In addition to this, I’ve set up the Twitter pipe on SolidWorks Legion, which will remain visible in the upper right menu until some time after SWW10 concludes in January 2010.  *Update, I’ve removed the Twitter feed from my sidebar due to slow load times.  Please see my Twitter feed page.*

SolidWorks World 2010: Call for Papers

Call for white papers,white papers,sww10,SolidWorks World,SolidWorks World 2010

SolidWorks World wouldn’t be the same without the Breakout Sessions and their presenters. Each year, there is a call for papers.  T his is where anyone with experience in a particular topic can propose a presentation as a speaker.  N ot everyone who submits a paper will have their presentation accepted.  H owever, you never know.

Topics of interest this year are as follows:

    CAD Administration
    Data Management

  • Team Data Management
  • Enterprise Data Management
  • Personal File Management
    Design Automation

  • General
  • API
  • Design Tables
    Design Communication

  • General
  • eDrawings
  • Rendering
  • Animations
  • 3DVIA Composer
    Design Validation

  • General
  • Mechatronics
  • Structural Analysis
  • Flow Analysis
  • Advanced Analysis
  • Tolerance Analysis
  • Sustainability
    Education
    Modeling Essentials

  • General
  • Managing Large Assemblies
  • Mold/Tool/Die
  • Sheetmetal
  • Surfacing
  • Sketching
  • Weldments
  • Working with SolidWorks Drawings
  • Mechanism Design
    Productivity Tools

  • General
  • Routing, Piping, Harnessing
  • ECAD to MCAD
  • Hardware and 3D Content
  • Data Translation
  • Design Standards
    Customer Success/Designing Better Products

Two types of speaking opportunities exist:

  • Breakout Session speakers (for sessions that last from 60 to 90 minutes) – must have experience presenting technical information effectively, providing interesting, original, and informative content.
  • Hands-On Breakout Sessions (for sessions that last from 60 to 90 minutes) – Hands-On sessions entail presenting to no more than a maximum of 30 attendees who will each have use of their own computer. Hands-On simply means that attendees will have the ability to follow along and actually “do” what the presenter does, so they have a “hands-on” experience in the session. The presenter must have experience presenting technical information effectively, providing interesting, original and informative content. Hands-on sessions require a second speaker to act as a guide to keep the class up-to-speed with the pace.

    • SolidWorks World 2010 Registration

    SW,SolidWorks,SolidWorks World,SolidWorks World 2010,2010

    It hardly seems like all the much time has gone by since SolidWorks World 2009.  E ven during our current recessed economic times, SWW09 proved to be unexpectedly successful, with a larger than expected attendance. It’s now time to begin thinking about SolidWorks World 2010 (SWW10)!  Date: January 31 – February 3, 2010 in Anaheim, CA at the Anaheim Convention Center.

    Each person may have their own reasons to consider attendance.  High any list should be the vast quantity and quality of the so-called Breakout Sessions.  SolidWorks topics are thoroughly covered from beginner to advanced levels in pretty much any area, with a large number of industries represented.  In the past couple of years, I’ve attended Breakout Sessions covering sheet metal, API and macros, project management, data management, PLM/PDM, solid modelling solutions, design tables, solid modelling methodology, photoworks, tips & tricks, etc.  I have been thoroughly surprized at just how much I’ve been able to take back with me from each SolidWorks World.  Check out the SolidWorks World 2009 Video Highlights.

    For many of us, attendance can be difficult to justify to our company.  SolidWorks World offers some resources and cost savings.  There is help on the SWW10 website that provides content you can use when writing a justification letter to management.  This year, more information is available, including a video that can be used as part of your overall presentation to management.

    When it comes to costs, Full Conference Passes have not changed in price from last year.  Early registration is rewarded with 20% off the price of the Full Conference Pass.  As a bonus, special pricing is available with the 3 Full Conference Passes for the Price of 2 program.  And, as usual, CSWP’s get an additional $100 off their Full Conference Pass.

    When you attend, one thing you’ll get a sense of is the supportive SolidWorks based community.  On the front lines, you’ll find the SolidWorks employees are readily accessible at SolidWorks World, with many of them giving presentations.  One thing that SolidWorks employees know all to well is that almost every user has something to say about SolidWorks.  The SolidWorks Bloggers will be in full force, providing coverage, insight and information from a unique vantage point.  Many experienced users will be on hand to share their knowledge, and perhaps even learn a thing or two themselves.  Overall, the atmosphere is friendly.  You’ll be able to strike up a conversation with just about anyone.  I personally look forward to meeting SolidWorks Blog readers!

    Register Now

    SolidWorks World 2009 Recap

    Well,

    I flew in Sunday night @ 5 pm and flew out this moring @ 5 am.  A short and sweet visit to SolidWorks World.  (Sorry I missed you Matt)  Even with the economy in the dumps the turn out was huge.  I was extremely excited to visit with the SWUGN and Bloggers unfortunately the the Blogger event was on Saturday and the  SWUGN summit was during my presentation on Monday.  Richard, thanks for introducing me to some of the other SolidWorks instructors in the SWUGN.  Let them know I will be happy to help them out.

     Overall, very excited to see everyone this year.

    Looking forward to next year.

    SolidWorks World Presentation Ownership Poll (Link)

    Matt Lombard has a POLL about access to the presentations at SolidWorks World 2008.  Right now, all the presentation materials are behind a login.  Theoretically only attendees of SWW8 have access to it.  Do you agree with this?  Once the poll is closed, I’ll state my opinion here.

    Silicon Valley SWUG Meeting: Caught Off-Guard

    Wade Barnett held the first-quarter Silicon Valley SolidWorks User Group (SVSWUG) meeting in Campbell, CA on March 18th (a few days ago).  Other than my carpoolin’ co-worker, I had not told anyone other than Kenneth Barrentine that I was attending the SVSWUG meeting.  I was just expecting to anonymously attend to see what Wade was going to do for his SWW8 related presentation (SolidWorks World 2008).

    As Wade announces the start of the meeting, I hear my name.  It was Wade seeing if I was in attendance.  I respond with, “one minute,” as I was finishing up some business.  He calls my name again.  “I’m here.” 

    He precedes to invite me talk about SWW8 for the meeting.

    Background on this is that I did make a presentation about SWW8 that I was planning to give the next day at the Tri-Valley SolidWorks User Group in Pleasanton, CA.  However, I did not expect to speak at the SVSWUG meeting about it; so I didn’t bring my laptop (and therefore my notes/presentation). 

    However, I’m a trooper.  I quickly agree to speak.  I was caught a bit off-guard, though.  I joined Wade at the front.  Wade and I talked with the attendees about SWW8.  I was trying my best to pull my presentation highlights from memory.  It worked out OK as we volleyed through talking points.  Several times I wish I had my material with me.  It can be hard to help someone visualize what you are talking about without photos.  I hope we did help people get some sense of the scope and importance of SWW8.  Maybe more people from our area will attend next year.  Out of the 50 or so SVSWUG meeting attendees, I believe like seven where at this year’s SolidWorks World.

    For the rest of the meeting, Wade conducted an open forum with the discussion of simple tips and tricks to help solve certain problems and speed up/shortcut certain functions of SolidWorks.  He had SolidWorks running to show live examples.  It always impresses me the value that of even simple tips and tricks sessions have for many people.  He covered many points, from how to make slots quickly to how to record and use simple macros.  The open forum meant that even when Wade didn’t have an answer immediately, others were able to chime in on questions that where brought up. 

    In my opinion, the open forum approach to presentations can be useful.  It is most useful to newer users or users that don’t get a chance to explore SolidWorks in depth.  However, I think it does have its place.  At times, open forum presentations can get bogged down with questions or tasks that have too large of a scope for the brief time available.  I believe Wade was able to balance these issues pretty well in his session.  He knew when to delve into a topic, and when to save a topic for another time.  Even still, I think this format should be used sparingly.  Of course, regardless of presentation format, audience participation is always welcome.