June SW Legion Contest: Create an Ellipsoid model

The June SW Legion Contest is a different kind of challenge!  The task is to submit the simplest SolidWorks model of an ellipsoid possible.  The person with the least combined number of features and sketches wins.  Use of equations is highly encouraged. 

The submitter must be the author of the file they submit. 

Contestants may email their entry to me at my email address by the end of July 6, 2009 PDT.

Ellipsoid

The prize is one CSWP test of your choice (CSWA, CSWP, CSWP Sheetmetal, CSWSP FEA, etc).   

Past winners of the Legion Contest are eligible.  In the event of a tie, tie breaker will be in the form of email roshambo.

Best of luck to everyone!

SWW09: Monday, final thoughts

The experience of coming to SolidWorks World 2009 as a member of the press is certainly unique to me.  Beyond access to the Press Room, the pass pretty much allows me any opportunities while here.  The way I look at it is this, my experiences are meant to be shared with everyone.  That is to say, they are your experiences, not mine.  When I first accepted the offer to join the Press Pool at SWW09, my focus was writing for those individuals who were not able to come to this grand event.  However, I now realize that I’m also writing for everyone, including attendees (and even fellow bloggers).  My experience is really unique.  It is something that even other attendees may not even image.  How many regular Joes can say they were in a press conference with the likes of Sir Richard Branson, or joined others to sit down with Jon Hirschtick for a quick lesson in the Blackjack, or went to a Press Event, or attended the CSWP Event, or watched Richard Doyle be honored by his peers and Jeff Ray himself, or sat down with vendors for sneakpeaks of products still in development?  And this with in a 36 hour period?  So, I am here for everyone else, to expound upon my unique experience, to give a more complete picture about SWW09.  This gift granted to me from SolidWorks Corp is really a gift granted to all SolidWorks users.

Day 3 of SolidWorks World 2009 starts now.

SWW8 Pre-Day (Jan 20, 2008)

Flying in on the afternoon of Saturday, I was greeted by beautiful San Diego weather.  It was the sort of picture perfect day that one tends to take for granted in San Diego.  Sunday was just a beautiful, but I didn’t know that from personal experience.  See, I was at the first day of SolidWorks World 2008, buried deep in the heart of the San Diego Convention Center.  In the morning, I attended two Focus Group sessions, the Design Checker Focus Group and the Surface Model Functionality Focus Group.

Now, I know what you are thinking, “Who cares about Design Checker, and in fact, who even uses it?”  Well, this is likely part of the reason SolidWorks held a focus group on the topic.  Participation was a little light.  When invited to the focus groups, participants were told that the group size would be limited to 12 people.  The group for Design Checker hit 9 people, and that was including the two SolidWorks employees there were putting it on.  Points discovered in the meeting basically revolved around the fact that Design Checker is not nearly as flexible as people need.  For example, there’s no way to create custom checks for type of items not included within the software.

The Surface Model Functionality Focus Group was brimming at the edges with over 15 attendees.  Most of the comments during his session revolved around increased functionality and ease of use for the various surfacing features.  SolidWorks staff was on hand to both take the suggestions and immediately respond when someone mentioned a bug-like issue.

After that, I attempted to take the CWSP test.  I got hung up on an apparent error in the test that turned out to be an acceptable part of the test.  I will need to leave some feedback about the issue since it has the distinct appearance of being unintentional.  If it is intentional, it’s an issue that should be evaluated at least, since it is distracting to say the least.  It is frustrating to see a flaw in the model only to find out I got the problem correct (after wasting half my time trying to resolve the issue).

After that, I attended the Attendees Reception in the main Exhibitors hall.  I found a few familiar faces among the vendors’ booths and fellow attendees.  I didn’t walk out of the Reception with nearly as much swag as I would’ve expected.  That is prolly for the best since I forgot my backpack.  Oh yeah, let me tell you about this backpack.  This is the best swag I’ve ever received.  It’s like a million pockets.  However, there is one area where SWW8 was woefully lacking.  They didn’t provide pens!  I can honestly say I have never been to a technical event where pens where not provided, either as swag or just as courtesy.  But despite this frustrating point, the overall experience was great.