Category: CAD Mngmt

Up in the clouds at SolidWorks World 2010

A new game has taken SolidWorks World 2010 by storm.  Count how many times the word “cloud” (as in cloud computing) is spoken.  At one point, it might seem that entire speeches consist entirely of the word “cloud cloud cloud cloud cloud cloud cloud cloud cloud.”  There’s a message somewhere.  Oh, that’s right.  Cloud computing is the future of SolidWorks and the rest of the Dassault Systemes applications (maybe even for high security customers). 

Cloud computing has many advantages over traditional installed software, according to Jeff Ray, CEO of SolidWorks.  No matter how good SolidWorks is, it is still limited by the computer upon which it is installed.  A significant investment is required to purchase computers that are powerful enough to get the most out of 3D CAD software.  Also, installed software tends to be limited by computer operating systems.  SolidWorks, in its current form, will not likely to be ported over to run natively on a MAC OS.  Instead, SolidWorks will bypass these limitations with cloud computing.  With cloud computing, “SolidWorks” (in whatever form it takes) may run on any platform.  In fact, the user’s computer power will play very little roll.  CAD files (even hugh assemblies) can be accessed instantly and edited on practically any platform, such as Microsoft, MAC OS, Google OS, Firefox, and iPhone.  This is all accomplished without installing any software.   They even discussed SolidWorks running seamlessly with ENOVIA V6, maybe even sometime this year.

According to Ray, the new cloud technologies will be rolled out as they are ready.  The customer will choose when (if ever) to implement.  These improvements represent a “completely new design environment”.  Ray also stated that these new techologies where developed in secret and “run like a start up”.  Technically, all this cloud talk represents nothing more than vaporware right now.  However, if Dassault Systemes delivers, they may have a massive game changer on their hands.

Stump the Chumps submission form

See if you can stump the chumps with your SolidWorks questions at our session in SolidWorks World 2010:

Stump the Chumps question submission form

Also, if you have files to submit as part of your question, please email your question and files to stumpthechumps@gmail.com.

SolidWorks is easy to learn

Based on my recent unscientific research, SolidWorks seems like it is an easy application to learn.  In one poll, I asked for preference of educational choices for new employees not familiar with SolidWorks.  A second poll asked how current users actually learned SolidWorks.  The results are a little surprizing.

Of the respondents to the first poll, just slightly over 50% said they would teach SolidWorks to new employees on the job by mentoring them.  Just under 50% said they would send their employee to VAR classes.

In the second poll, the overwhelming majority stated that they are self-taught in the use of SolidWorks.  Some questions comes to mind.  If SolidWorks is so easy to learn, do the VAR classes serve any purpose?  Or, is it that the VAR classes are so ineffective that one is forced to learn on their own?

My own experience in sending new employees to VAR taught introductory SolidWorks classes have yielded mixed results.  They do not seem effective in many cases.  In fact, the VAR classes actually seem to be turning off some individuals to the use of SolidWorks.  It may be that there is just too much information crammed into the short 3 to 5 day courses.

SolidWorks is easy enough to learn without classes.  Classes should simply be used to provide a head start.  Instead, in some cases they seem to have the opposite effect.  Maybe the classes need to be broken down a bit.  Perhaps the introductory class can take a slower pace and focus on core skills over the 3 days.  Then, more complex skills can be taught in an intermediate class over another 3 days.  (The current advanced classes offered by VARs would likely remain the same.)

How did you learn SolidWorks?

In a previous article, I recently asked for the opinions of others about the best methods to train new employees for SolidWorks.  So far, the response is split between “on the job training with a mentor” and “VAR taught introductory courses”.  This is a bit of a surprize given the emphasis placed on VAR based training these days.   Do others question of the value of VAR training?  Is it effective?  Or, is VAR training just not worth the costs or the time away from work?  My own experience is that VAR training classes do not necessarily give the best benefit to new users.

The responses made me curious about something else.  How did current SolidWorks users learn the software?

How did you first learn the SolidWorks application? (Pick the primary method)

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SolidWorks Labs: Watchit Widget

Watchit!Watchit!SolidWorks doesn’t just make CAD software.   They also make Yahoo! Widgets.   One cool widget from SolidWorks Labs is Watchit Widget.   This widget tracks when changes to watched files.   When Watchit detects a change, it populates its window with information about that file.   This is useful in environments where two or three CAD users are sharing files in a single network folder.   I think this is the intended use.   As a bonus, this widget is also good for CAD Administrators who want to make sure network locations for support files are kept intact, as it not only tracks files, but also whole folders.   The admin can track if additions are placed into the Materials Database folder (say from materials downloaded from Matweb.com).   Such notification would allow the admin to then take that file and incorporate it into the company’s material database.   It would also allow the admin to detect if some user has “accidentally” modified the SolidWorks template file.

Note, it might seem that this sort of application works best if placed in a corner in the “second” monitor of a dual monitor computer system.