August 20th, 2009
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When you say “Summit” in Minnesota, most folks think of one thing…..BEER! Now, don’t get me wrong, that isn’t a bad thing. But what I’m going to talk about is the SWUGN summit in Minneapolis. This was the second year that this great event was held in Minnesota and it was another success. Over 150 attendees flocked to learn about SolidWorks. There were 2 sessions running at a time which made it hard at times to decide which one to attend. You could pick from SheetMetal, Driveworks, PDM, Assemblies, Simulation, Tips and Tricks and more!
This year I gave a Tips and Tricks presentation. Other than my zipper breaking on my bag (I had to “force” it open) and my presentation mode not working (no dual display) it went very well. Lots of interaction which is great. There is nothing like some yelling out “Show that again..!!” Makes you fell pretty darn good. I even think Richard Doyle picked up a thing or to..:-)
To find out more about the SolidWorks User Group Network (SWUGN) and the summits, click here. You will be glad you did.
August 1st, 2009
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Today I was on the SolidWorks Forums and got to thinking about installing Service Packs (SP) in SolidWorks.
I was wondering if users run right out to the SolidWorks Customer Portal and just download the latest and greatest SP or do they look at the bug fixes (SPR) and make their decision on that.
When I get a e-mail (or whatever) telling me there is a new SP ready, I will wait a few days to even look at the Fixed SPR list. The reason I do this is usually there is a lot of traffic on that site when a SP update is announced and I don’t want to even attempt to download the patch.
Next, I see if there are any fixed SPR’s that will affect us. If there isn’t, I won’t even bother upgrading. Currently, I’m running on SP 3.0. All of my users are fine (at least I think so cause there isn’t a line outside my office) so I don’t touch my installation.
If you do upgrade, make sure you test the install before deploying it. You don’t want to have a user come by and tell you his macro worked yesterday and it doesn’t today. I’ve been there and done that. That user will haunt you until it’s fixed..:-)
Bottom line is if all is good in your SolidWorks World, then just let it be. You;ll be glad you did.
July 8th, 2009
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It has been way to long since I’ve posted anything. There have been a lot of changes with work (I’m still employed) and been busy spending time with my family. The summer goes by too fast.
A few weeks ago, SolidWorks launched their beta program. I’ve been a beta tester in the past and I recommend it to everyone. It’s a great way to get a sneak peak at the upcoming release and provide feedback. The one thing I hate about the beta program is the way it’s set-up for users on SolidNetwork licenes. Basically, you have to download a temp license, save it on your PC and for through 12 steps to get SolidWorks up and running. And the funny thing is, at the end of the instructions it says….and i quote…”Try to launch SolidWorks 2010 Beta.” I love that. Every time SolidWorks says “try” i get a little nervous!!
What I would like to see is SolidWorks issue a temp serial number that would expire after the beta program. SNL customers already get a home use license, why not a beta license? Or better yet, use the SolidWorks on a stick concept from a few years ago at SolidWorks World. For anyone that isn’t familiar with SolidWorks on a stick, it was a USB drive that had SolidWorks loaded on it. It was all concept and after 90 days it was invalid. The great part about this was you didn’t have to LOAD any software on your PC.
So, will I be beta testing? I don’t think so. I’ll look at the What’s New document (which anyone can download from the customer portal) and that’s about it.
I’d love to hear your comments on the beta program.
June 2nd, 2009
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Sometimes it takes reading a blog post to generate another blog post. Hence, this post.
I had a user group member ask me this same question at a meeting. I got to see exactly what he was trying to do when Mike Puckett and I went on a customer visit. Then today, Anna posts a way to do this on her blog..! So I thought I’d give you another option to capture the same result.
First, I created my sketch profile and extruded it as a thin feature. Note: I have a .001in gap between the 2 lines so I can create a sheetmetal feature from the solid.
After I have my base shape, I created a sheetmetal feature out of it by going to Insert, SheetMetal, Bends
Once you have your sheetmetal feature created, you can sketch the profile you want to cut out and do a Cut Extrude. NOTE: I have “Nomal Cut” selected. This will give you the laser cut shape.
And there you have it. The final product.
The nice thing about this option, is if the shop comes up and says that they are going to saw cut the tube, you can just edit the cut feature and un-check the Normal Cut option and you have a straight cut.
May 8th, 2009
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It’s been a long time since I’ve posted anything. I’ve been helping out on a hot project at work and to make things even worst, my DELL M90 started to have some major issues. After having a DELL tech come out 3 times and replace my graphic card twice (replaced a FX 1500m and a FX 2500M) and replaced my motherboard twice, they gave me a new M6400.
We have a good warranty through DELL at work. But I’m not very impressed with there support. I lost a lot of time with crashing, etc. and it took 3 visits over a months time to get a replacement.
Right now my new laptop is getting imaged by our IT department. I’ll do some benchmark tests on it and post a review once I get my hands on it.
Here are a few images of what I’ve went through the last month. The first one is a SolidWorks file I have open. As you can see, it doesn’t really look like a model. But it’s in there somewhere. The second image is a PDF file. The only way I could view a PDF is by re-sizing the window until it was so small you couldn’t see it anyway! Fun stuff.
