SolidWorks World 2009 is coming together

If interested, I encourage everyone to check out the SolidWorks World 2009 website.  Included are details about SolidWorks World 2009 (SWW09), of course.  Yes, it’s that time of year already.  Time flies by, doesn’t it?  The first announcement of Breakout Sessions and Hands-on Sessions is now available for viewing too. This is useful for planning attendance and maybe even in justifying the trip to one’s boss.

As usual, there are diverse topics covering the basics to advanced ideas, and the abstract to the very specific.  There is already a large selection to choose from.  Here’s the list of the categories.

CAD Administration
Data Management
Design Automation
Design Validation
Education
Modeling Essentials
Productivity Tools
Customer Success/Designing Better Products
Tips and Tricks
Design Communication

And, here’s a quick snap shot of just a few of the actual sessions:

  1. Surfacing for Beginners
  2. Using SolidWorks to create a greener World
  3. Connecting SolidWorks Enterprise PDM to your ERP system
  4. Saving time using Smart Components

From the looks of what scheduled so far, this promises to be a very educational conference.

Measure that Mate (Why are results different?)

I was recently asked,

“I did a check where the distance mate value and the measurement for the same features shows two markedly different values.  Have you ever seen anything like this?”

Distance Mate Result

This individual wondered how it was possible that his measurement of two associated features was different than the dimension he entered for the distance mate assigned to those two features.

Measurement Results

My reply was pragmatic.

“Without seeing the model directly, it’s hard to confirm the error.  However, I have found that whenever SolidWorks gives me a number and it doesn’t make sense, it is due to something the user is doing or some misinterpretation of the data.  This causes me to try to investigate when such issues arise by first considering what the user is doing.

“In this case, I’m assuming you are measuring from the center of the circle to the flat face.  However, I notice that your mate is set up face to face. I’m guessing SolidWorks is mating your hole based on the closest point of the circular face, and not the hole’s center.

“To fix this, use the temporary axis of the hole as the selected entity for your mate instead of the hole’s face.”

This individual followed my advice and was able to eliminate the apparent discrepancy.  In general, it is a good idea to check look at how SolidWorks (or any software) functions in order to understand why something is happening.

Free Training: SimulationXpress

SolidWorks is now providing free online training for the new SimulationXpress at this website.  SimulationXpress represents a rebirth of sorts to CosmosXpress and the new direction which SolidWorks Corp is taking with the Cosmos product offerings for FEA.  Check out the training site, not just for training, but also general information regarding this stress analysis application.

Drawing ER Blitz results are in

The results are in for the SolidWorks Drawing ER Blitz by Dwight Livingston.  He listed the results in order of popularity.  Here are the topic five.

  1. 60% Provide hole callouts for holes in non-planar surfaces.
  2. 59% Greatly reduce drawing user interface delays.
  3. 55% Provide the ability to item balloon sub assemblies that are inserted after the BOM is created using the Top assembly, ie 3.9 from BOM in a separate sub assembly.
  4. 54% Provide option in view properties window to add view title and/or view scale to view.
  5. 54% Create ability to combine multiple identical hole callouts in a single callout with a combined quantity.

It surprizes me a little that the view title/scale issue is in the top five.  That’s why we vote, though!  The top five seems to be a list that spreads across several difference topics, with a bias towards hole callouts.  In general, the list seems to put a higher priority for dimensioning and more ability to control tables.  It seems to put a lower priority of symbol functionality and handling.  There is a common complaint that broken views cannot be added to detail views.  For whatever reason, this appears low on the list.

The list is a bit surprizing.  Of particular note, very few items even got a majority vote.

Results

Which Way EPA?

Green industries, although growing, are still having a hard time getting the acceptance from the U.S. Government in the form of funding, supporting regulations and support from the EPA (Environment Protection Agency), or as Grampa Simpson called them, Eepah!  EEEPAH!

EPA was established in 1970.  It responsibilities cover issues dealing with the protection of the environment and public health.  They set clean water standards.  They specify limits for toxic waste sites.  They are also tasked to regulate industrial pollution, and now even the pollution from everyone’s vehicle.  Law mandates that the EPA use proven science and technical and legal data to make decisions that are in the best interest of all citizens.  (Contrary to the depiction in The Simpsons Movie, EPA doesn’t have armored tanks nor huge impregnatable city covering domes.)

In my opinion, these regulations should consider new environmental technologies.  The EPA should take a role in fostering new technologies that create solutions for environmental protection efforts.  When the EPA is doing its job, this happens.  Such efforts have already helped spark development of U.S. green industries.

The problem?  EPA is supposed to be partisan neutral.  It hasn’t be treated as such under the current U.S. presidential administration.  Its purpose and over all ability to function have been hampered on two fronts as a result of agendas that belong back in the Industrial Age. One, its budget has been substantially reduced to force it to downscale its operations.  Two, according to a recent Design World article, the head of the EPA, appointed by the President, is an individual that seems to act without regard to science or even his own staffs recommendations, in favor of the President’s agenda.  This agenda unfortunately focuses on protecting old industries, ignores the facts that those old industries can still be supported while encouraging green industry, and that old industries can actually be made safer and more efficient by using green technologies.

Beyond that, it is important to recognize that the human population is growing too rapidly for the current industrial centric paradigm to support in the long run.  I’m not talking about Global Warming.  Our planet simply does not have the resources to support the projected populations if things remain on their current path.  Being the largest consumer of resources, the U.S. bares a large portion of responsibility for these issues.  This isn’t a guilt trip.  We simply need to act in our own self-preserving interests.

New technologies need to be supported, developed and implemented to deal with the changing and currently unknown challenges 21st Century will bring.  Though some will argue that it is not the government’s job to be at the forefront of technological development, the reality is that this is a job the government takes on.  Without government “encouragement”, industry acceptance tends to lag until problems is so big that it cannot be ignored. At times, this has been to the detriment of our country, as the current fiscal crisis attests.

The EPA plays a particular role in all this by working with (and sometimes against) industry to do what is best for America’s people.  It can be a leader that creates new opportunities for U.S. industry, new jobs, new technologies, etc.  Hopefully the EPA will be able to fulfill the role for which it was established.  If allowed it, I believe it will benefit our economy (perhaps even sooner rather than later), including the creation of engineering jobs in the new and growing green industry.

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Source:  Michelle Shaland (2008) What’s the real role of the EPA?, Design World – August 2008