Mike Puckett's Blog

This Week's Trick @ Solidmentor...

Need a model of a shipping container?  Want to know how to model a pipe thread?  Well those are a couple of topics that were discussed, and then answered in the parts forum on Solidmentor this week.  This is an example of what resources are availabe to you just by clicking a few links.  Keep them in mind next time you have a question you would like answered.

Head on over to The Solidmentor Parts Forum and see what you can find now.

Why You Should Attend Solidworks World 2008 Reason 5: Sneak Peak At Solidworks 2009

So we crack the top five this week with what is normally one of the most anticipated event each year at Solidworks World.  On Wednesday morning during the general session, the Solidworks Development team will highlight and present some of the more exciting features in the next release of Solidworks.  In San Diego, they will be previewing Solidworks 2009.  Yes just three short months after 2008 was unleashed on us all, we will get to see some of what Solidworks 2009 will have in store.

In his Podcast, Jeff Ray said that they have a very exciting announcement about 2009.  So Jeff, if you (or your personal assistant) reads this, we are expecting big news!  The preview given is done in the form of some sort of skit that is pretty entertaining. 

So if you want to be able to go back to work the week after Solidworks World, and share all the insights into the next version, you will not want to miss Solidworks World 2008 in San Diego!

Editor's note: Ok, so yeah I skipped #6!  20 some odd weeks ago when I counted out the weeks, I was off by one.  I didn't want the #1 reason to go to be posted two days after the conference ended!  So if you will feel a sense of loss if you don't get a #6 entry, lets make that reason this: Why You Should Attend Solidworks World 2008 Reason 6: To Meet Me!

Never Fear, It Won't Disappear...

The once annoying problem of the flyout feature tree disappearing during mates, seems to have been solved once again in SW2008.

As you can see, once the tree is in flyout mode, and you select the first tree item, the flyout stays put for a second selection.  I remember this being fixed at some point in an earlier version, only to reappear after a service pack.  Lets hope its fixed for good this time!

Why You Should Attend Solidworks World 2008 Reason 7: Solidworks All-Stars...

Each year Solidworks World brings together a large group of Solidworks users that fall under the classification of 'All Star's.  These are people that are very active in the Solidworks community be it through User Groups, Books, Blogs, or employment.

San Diego once again will see many of these people in attendance.  Here are a few names of people you are more than likely to run into, or listen to in a break out session:

Matt Lombard

Greg Jankowski

Richard Doyle

Marie Planchard

Yannick Chaigneau

Ed Eaton

Phil Sludder

And those are only a few.  You will see most of those guys walking the hallways, and giving presentations that are always a hit with attendees.  So if your planning to attend, make sure to look up these guys for sure!

This Weeks Trick @ Solidmentor...

Ever wanted to overlay a second style hatch, over a first in a drawing?  And what about wanting to make that second hatch a different color?  Well someone wanted to do just that.  Check out This Post over in the SolidMentor Forums where the exact way to complete this task is described.

Solidworks World 2008 PodCast Series

The PodCast interviews for Solidworks World 2008 debuted last week over on the Official PodCast Site.  The first interview was with Jeff Ray, CEO of Solidworks.  The second interview catches up with Kerri Dunne, and Liz Hamlin from the events department at Solidworks.  Some highlights from the Jeff Ray interview include the hint of what Jeff called "A very exciting announcement in regards to Solidworks 2009".  He also talks about Solidworks 2008 being "The most ground breaking release of Solidworks since 1995".  Also of interest is how he describes the 3D CAD industry as "Still being in it's infancy".

Check out the PodCast page to hear the interviews.  Quicktime is required to listen to them, and for those iPod toting individuals, you can subscribe to the entire series in iTunes.

The Natives Are Restless....

Over the past week or so there has been a webtroversary brewing.  What is a webtoversary?  Its a combo of web and controversy.  Anyhow, take it or leave it, the 2008 Solidworks Interface has changed.  For the good, or for the bad, thats up to one person to decide, and thats you.  Each year we all expect changes to the software, but I would imagine most would agree that the 2008 changes are big.  If you have used Vista at all, you may associate the same sort of leap in the interface with what Windows has done from XP. 

Matt Lombard has without a doubt been the most vocal when it comes to speaking out about the 2008 interface.  A series of what seems to be unfortunate events has only served to heighten the tensions surrounding this uproar.  Whether you agree with what Matt has to say or not, his view is his view, and he chooses to express it in the way that he does.  The important aspect of this situation is that Matt has the ear of lots of people out there, especially lots of senior people at Solidworks itself.  In an earlier blog post, Matt Wrote About a conference call he was going to be having with some Solidworks people in regards to documentation.  Here is a list of attendees:

Mark Biasotti (product manager)
John Cochrane (product definition)
Jim Wilkinson (usability)
Dave Pancoast (training)
Greg Jankowski (customer satisfaction)
Fielder Hiss (Product Management Manager)
Donna Allman (documentation)

Thats a pretty impressive list!  What I'm showing is that despite Matt's dislike for the newest version of Solidworks, his view is still important enough to garner the attention of a group like that.  So to think that a company like Solidworks would resort to childish tricks and stupid moves just doesn't make sense.  Furthermore Matt has been invited to attend Solidworks 2008 as a member of the press.  This means that his hotel room will be paid for by Solidworks, will have unrestricted access to the entire event, can schedule interviews with Solidworks Corporate people, and will be able to attend the press dinner.  Again, if Solidworks were choosing to try to quiet this voice, I don't believe they would have asked him to attend.

Just this morning, all the Solidworks Bloggers received an email from our contact at Solidworks in regards to this whole matter.  We were reassured that in no way was Solidworks targeting Matt individually in any way.  Solidworks is a customer driven product.  I truly believe that they want to always hear the praise, along with the detriment.

Matt Lombard to me is one of the legendary names in the Solidworks Community with the likes of Ed Eaton, Greg Jankowski, and both David and Marie Planchard.  Their names are synonymous with Solidworks.  Matt's sessions at Solidworks world are always heavily attended, and he always seems to have an answer for anyones question (along with a spare wireless mouse in case his dies!).  That is precisely why his voice is so important to the future development of Solidworks.  That is also why I highly doubt he is being singled out because of his views.

If you have ever visited the Customer Experience Feedback Page on the Solidworks site, you can see the options available to users to help shape this product.  If you don't make your opinion heard, we will all end up with an Inventor like program.

A Milestone @ 10......

In 2008, Solidwork World will be 10.  The San Diego event will be the 10th event since being started way back in Palm Springs last century!  Of more interest though, is the milestone being reached at next years conference.  According to this Press Release from Solidworks, over 4,000 people will attend the event in January!  Already known as the single largest 3D CAD event in the world, the 4,000 person attendee mark is a huge hurdle to topple.  I would imagine location has alot to do with it.  Not only does the typical Southern California mild winter weather encourage attendance by those wanting to escape their snow bound cities back east, it is also an attractive travel package to those comming from Asaia.

Make sure you get over to the Solidworks World Site and register soon to be a part of this huge event.

Why You Should Attend Solidworks World 2008 Reason 8: Alpha Testing

Each year at Solidworks World during the Wednesday morning general session, the next version of Solidworks is previewed.  Obviously there is a version in existence at that point.  Well on the Saturday preceding the conference, there is a closed session where invited users sit at a computer and test the new version in its alpha state.

So how do you get into this session?  Well in the past two events, I received an email invitation.  Most likely from being a beta tester which anyone on subscription can sign up for.  All I can say is to watch your email, and join the beta program next year.

This Weeks Trick @ SolidMentor...

As a new weekly feature I will be highlighting tips, tricks, or other interesting tidbits I come across over at Solid Mentor.  Here is this weeks entry:

While in a part model, how many times have you wished you could have a one click, easy way to access that models custom properties page?  To date, Solidworks has not made this a toolbar function.  You can only access it by clicking File > Properties.  Well with the handy new Shortcut Toolbars, it only makes perfect sense to be able to place a button on it to quickly open the Custom Properties box. 

Well Solidmentor User Charles Culp has posted a solution.  His Custom Properties Button Macro posted in the macros section does the trick.  By adding this macro, you can then add it to your shortcut bar that shows up while in a part model.  That will give you the ability to click the model, select the macro button, and instantly go to the custom properties box.  Now thats a shortcut!