Mike Puckett's Blog

The Easiest Fee To Avoid, In The Most Simple Way...

Over the past few days, there has been a stirring of dust among the Solidworks Blog community in regards to new fee policies being instituted by Solidworks for customers who allow their subscriptions to lapse. 

The current 'mini-firestorm' seems to have been ignited over on Matt Lombard's Blog.  His tirade against the new fee policies drew further harsh criticism from fellow Solidworks blogger, and photoworks guru Rob Rodriguez who went as far as to call for Solidworks users to refuse to renew their Solidworks subscriptions.

Solidworks has not been quiet on the subject however.  In a response to Matt's original post, Rich Welch who is the Vice President of customer services for Solidworks, replied to the criticism with an explanation of the increased fee structure.  Evidently neither Rob or Matt are buying into his response.

So is the policy fair?  Well from a business standpoint our company will never find out, because we realize that software, and the costs associated are all part of doing business.  Therefore we never allow our subscriptions to lapse, hence we will never have to pay the fees associated with that scenario.  Granted both Matt and Rob are entrepreneurs, and software costs can be a big part of their annual expenditures.  At our company, I have an annual budget that I also have to maintain, and included in that is the cost associated with maintaining four seats of solidworks, including one premium license.

So what is the solution?  Well fortunately for us, we all live in a great country that offers a market system.  So for those truly upset with the new policy, I offer you up a couple of links.  Below you can find direct links to competing Cad software sites where you can request information about obtaining their software:

Unigraphics

Pro Engineer

Autodesk Inventor

The problems with switching to any of these other brands is that they simply aren't as good as Solidworks.  The problem with boycotts is they simply don't work, and are meaningless (how many gas boycott emails have you received?).

So does that mean that we should allow Solidworks to sit back, and reap the rewards of their popularity?  Not at all.  In fact Solidworks 2008, and 2009 is a perfect example of that.  Solidworks 2008 was revolutionary in terms of changing the way the 3D Cad interface looked.  Solidworks could have simply sat back and let some other company lead the way, but they once again proved that their vision was one that every other Cad company would follow.  Take a look at the other Cad packages available, and they have all pretty much followed in the footsteps of Solidworks.  2009 takes the next leap in changing the performance of 3D Cad software.  In those regards I believe 100% that my subscription fees have been very well spent, and I have no issue whatsoever signing the requisitions for another years service.  Once I see the innovation at Solidworks end, thats when it will be time to move on.  Of course, that would be the beginning of the end for Solidworks.

All in all there is one very simple way to avoid the whole fee issue all together.  Stay current on your subscriptions!  At a former employer, someone once recommended that we could wash the shop rags ourself to save some money.  The simple reply to that suggestion was that somethings are just the cost of doing business.

So in the mean time, before Matt and Rob take my advice and switch to another package, be sure to buy their books that they have written about the Solidworks software.  Links are provided below:

Rob Rodriguez Photoworks Book

Matt's Solidworks 2007 Bible

Matt's Surfacing Bible

Matt's Solidworks 2009 Bible (sorry, no link yet)

Solidworks 2009: Assembly Cuts Propogate To Part Level

In one of the more useful enhancements, users of Solidworks 2009 will now have an option to propagate assembly cuts down into the part.  Here is how you do it:

Start with your assembly.  Lets add a rectangular cut through one of the oval parts, through the square brass part.

Next you sketch on a plane, face, etc, just create a sketch, and start an extruded cut:

In the extruded cut property manager, you need to select a new option highlighted below:

By checking "Propagate feature to parts", that will add the feature to the part.  Now open the part, and you should have a feature added to your part:

 

You will notice it is a derived sketch, with an external reference back to the assembly.  In the assembly, the feature will show up in the feature tree:

The Best Way To Discover Solidworks 2009...

Undoubtedly you have seen more than your fair share of articles covering Solidworks 2009.  So what is the best way to discover the next version?  Well there are actually a few.  Aside from visiting my blog for a new daily review for the rest of August, you can sign up to attend a reseller sponsored launch event.  If you head on over to the newly released Solidworks 2009 Launch Site you can sign up to attend a reseller sponsored launch event.  Look into a few different ones because some of them may even include free lunch, and who does'nt like free stuff?

So whats the second best way to discover the new release?  Well here is a little secret that most resellers are going to hate me for revealing, but if you attend a local usergroup meeting that has a Solidworks 2009 presentation, chances are you will see the same exact presentation, possibly by the same person, but without the sales presentation thrown on top.  This actually makes this the best way to discover the new version!  Head over to the Solidworks User Group Network site to find a meeting near you.

And as always, stay tuned here for a review of new features every day during August.

Solidworks 2009: Enter & Esc Key Use

A level of consistency has been added to just how the enter and the escape keys work in different areas of Solidworks 2009.  In past versions, you simply couldn't hit the ESC key to exit a command, and using the enter key would accept and close others.  Here is a quote from the what's new guide:

This addition really does make workflow better, and there is ongoing discussion as to where else it should or shouldn't work.  Stay tuned to the Solidworks forums as I'm sure the discussion will be picked up there once service pack 0.0 is released.

Are you A CSWP? Win a Cool Prize, Get a Free Test....

Solidworks is looking to get some testimonials from CSWP's about their certifications.  Along with the testimonial, they would also like you to submit a quick tip you have for using Solidworks.  If selected, your testimonial and quick tip would appear in an upcoming issue of Solidworks Express.  Need some incentive?  Well the fast moving, chopper loving, cutting edge certification team at Solidworks is offering you a little prize if your submission is selected to appear in the newsletter.  Each entry selected will be awarded an Evolve Wireless Sound System for your iPod.  The Griffin Technology product was designed in Solidworks, and the sound from the system is amazing.  The prize carries a $349 value!

In other CSWP news, the new updated online CSWP directory has made it's way back onto the internet.  Unlike the past database, CSWP's are not automatically added to the list.  To get onto the list, you have to log into your account via this Link on the CSWP Virtual Tester website.  Now for those of you who received your certification before the new online system was launched (myself included), all you need to do is visit that link and click the 'lost password' button.  You will then go through the process of setting up your password, and you will be golden.  Once logged in, click ‘Edit My Info’, and you select Yes for ‘Listed in Online Directory’ and select Yes for ‘Receive emails from Certificate Issuer’.  This process took me all of about 2 minutes to complete.

But wait, there is more!  As a CSWP you are also being offered the unique chance to take the all new Advanced Sheet Metal Exam for FREE!  The offer expires on September 30th, and you need a special coupon code to take the test. 

You should have received an email to the original email address you used when you first took your test that outlines the submission process, and also included the cupon code.  Sorry but I can't give out the code here, I don't think Luchini would be to happy about that!

Good luck!

Are you A CSWP? Win a Cool Prize, Get a Free Test....

Solidworks is looking to get some testimonials from CSWP's about their certifications.  Along with the testimonial, they would also like you to submit a quick tip you have for using Solidworks.  If selected, your testimonial and quick tip would appear in an upcoming issue of Solidworks Express.  Need some incentive?  Well the fast moving, chopper loving, cutting edge certification team at Solidworks is offering you a little prize if your submission is selected to appear in the newsletter.  Each entry selected will be awarded an Evolve Wireless Sound System for your iPod.  The Griffin Technology product was designed in Solidworks, and the sound from the system is amazing.  The prize carries a $349 value!

In other CSWP news, the new updated online CSWP directory has made it's way back onto the internet.  Unlike the past database, CSWP's are not automatically added to the list.  To get onto the list, you have to log into your account via this Link on the CSWP Virtual Tester website.  Now for those of you who received your certification before the new online system was launched (myself included), all you need to do is visit that link and click the 'lost password' button.  You will then go through the process of setting up your password, and you will be golden.  Once logged in, click ‘Edit My Info’, and you select Yes for ‘Listed in Online Directory’ and select Yes for ‘Receive emails from Certificate Issuer’.  This process took me all of about 2 minutes to complete.

But wait, there is more!  As a CSWP you are also being offered the unique chance to take the all new Advanced Sheet Metal Exam for FREE!  The offer expires on September 30th, and you need a special coupon code to take the test. 

You should have received an email to the original email address you used when you first took your test that outlines the submission process, and also included the cupon code.  Sorry but I can't give out the code here, I don't think Luchini would be to happy about that!

Good luck!

Solidworks 2009: Ribbon Cables

As a disclaimer, I have never used routing, and because of that I can only provide insight into the following enhancement based on what other users have posted.  Solidworks 2009 adds the ability to add ribbon cables into assemblies:

If your an engineer that designs things with ribbon cables, this should be a very good addition for you.  Here is a few quote from the discussion about this function:

Ribbon cable is indeed driven purely through autoroute. There is a manual routing method that is available within autorout. Ribbonc can be flexible or folded, or both mixed together. As for all routing the optimum way to us it is to route through clips. If in the real world there is no clip used it is best to use a dummy clip (or virtual clip). This is just a clip that has little visible geometry and is marked as ignore for BOM.

This new feature looks cool enought that maybe I will start to play with routing just a little bit.

Solidworks 2009: Moveable Property Manager

On the subject of being able to move things around in Solidworks 2009, the property manager can now also be moved:

To move the property manager, click and drag the title bar of the manager, and drop it where ever you like!

If your using dual monitors, you can of course move it to your second monitor, and it will snap to screen edges, and also the to the edges of other toolbars on that screen.

Solidworks Photoview 360..My first shot at it

Ricky Jordan, Rob Rodriguez, and Josh Mings have been discussing this new program that Solidworks recently licensed.  Check out their blogs about how to use it.  I gave it a shot today, and I have to say it was the easiest program I have ever used.  I'm not a photoworks person, and I have maybe done 2-3 renderings in the past 8 years.  Photoview 360 makes the process so easy.  Here is a sample of my first attempt that literally took me all of 5 minutes to set up and render:

The program is available as a download in the customer portal.

Solidworks 2009: Moveable Command Manager (Dual Monitor Hint Included)

For those that use the Command Manager, you finally have the ability to move it!  I have used it since its inception, and always found it useful.  With the introduction of the shortcut toolbar in 2008, I don't use it as much, but its still there for the more obscure tools.  In Solidworks 2009, you can now move the command manager to the left, right, and top edges of the screen.  When you click on the command manager back round, you will see these three arrow buttons pop up:

Drop the command manager on one of the arrows, and it will be placed on that screen edge.

Do you use dual monitors?  Here is a bonus hint, drag the command manager to your second monitor!  It will also snap to any of the four edges!  However, it will stay in the vertical orientation as shown below: