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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Comments can be added to items in the FeatureManager design tree (assemblies, components, features, sketches, and so on) in the manner of Post-It® notes. You can include a date and time stamp in text comments.

To add a comment, right-click an item in the FeatureManager design tree and select Comment, Add comment.

The Comment box will pop-up and you can start typing  text. 

You can also add the current date and time by clicking the  Date/Time Stamp.

Click Save and Close.

So how do you view these Comments??  Well,there are a few ways to view Comments.  If you hover over the Part, Feature or Drawing View it will pop-up.

You can also view all the Comments in the Model, Assembly or Drawing in the Comments folder int he FeatureManager.

So the next time to add a empty model in your assembly for a BOM, or model something way out in left field, do your fellow co-workers a favor and add a comment.

The reason I haven’t been posting anything is that my wife gave birth to our second child on March 23rd.  We were planning on having the baby in April, but he wanted to come out a little early I guess.  Aiden Robert was born at 2:44am on March 23rd. 

Now, a new baby is a lot of work.  But having a 20 month old daughter and a new baby is a challenge at times.  Zoie will be 2 in July.  My wife Lisa and I wanted our kids to be close, but maybe not that close..:-)

So, being the great husband that I am, I took a few weeks off work to help out at home.  Zoie loves her new brother and I couldn’t be happier..!!  I’m truly blessed to have 2 beautiful children and a wonderful wife.  I’ve been a little tired and its been really crazy around the house, but it’s well worth it.

My tip:  Bring something to do!!

They don’t tell you this in the nice letter they send you, but when you are waiting in a room for 3+ hours it gets a little boring. 

More SolidWorks tips, tricks and info to come!!!  Stay tuned.

So what I’m currently looking at is moving this to a self hosting site and using WordPress as my blogging software. I hope to provide a lot more videos and tech tips in the future.

My goal is to have this done by April before #2 child arrives. Otherwise, it might not happen…….

Thanks for reading…!