It’s amazing who you can meet at SolidWorks World where a whole bunch of like minded folks get together.  Right after breakfast on Monday morning of day 1, Gary Hall (my brother of no relation) and I were headed up to get in line for the general session.  As we approached what we thought would be a good entrance point, Gary said hey I know those guys.  We walked over and got in line where I was introduced to Randall Bock and Wescott Pusey.  I found out from our conversations that they were SolidWorks teachers at Pennsylvania State University, better know as Penn State or PSU.  I also found out that they were running the Happy Valley SolidWorks User Group on campus.  Throught the week we kept in touch through Twitter and email and Randall ( @randllbock ) told me that one of the SWUGN summits was going to be hosted by HVSWUG later in the year.  Details have not been released on the Happy Valley Summit yet but the date has been set for June, 16 2009.  I have never been to Pennsylvania so it sounds like a good road trip to me.  I am planning on taking my family up on vacation in June and attending the Summit.  Randall has a lot of dynamic ideas and projects he has shared with us here at Educators Corner.  Be sure you take a look at what the next generation of SolidWorks students are learning at a major university. 

Randall Bock

Rich Hall (RH): Hi Randall.  Why don’t you share a little about yourself.

Randall Bock (RB): I currently hold a BS, MS in Agricultural and Biological Engineering, Penn State.  In my day job I am an Engineering Associate and Affiliate Instructor at The Pennsylvania State University in the area of Agricultural and Biological Engineering.  In my area of core responsibility, I work with faculty and students in the design and implementation of teaching, research, and outreach programs. The engineering and agricultural challenges being studied are wide ranging: bioreactors, food-born pathogens, particulate mechanics, natural resource conservation, structural and mechanical design, food and biomass processing, agricultural health and safety, ethanol production, computer modeling and simulation, and nano-technologies.  My night job is Continuing Education Instructor at The Pennsylvania State University at University Park where I develop and instruct coursework for EDSGN 496A: SolidWorks Fundamentals (3 credits).  Virtually all products manufactured in modern facilities begin as three dimensional computer models (3D-CAD).  SolidWorks has approximately 800,000 licensed seats worldwide and is the most accessible 3D-CAD application at Penn State.  This course delivers the methods and techniques necessary to become proficient in the application of SolidWorks for product design and manufacturing.  The SolidWorks corporate certification exam is included. Advanced topics on weldments, sheet metal, and finite element analysis are covered. 

RH: What led you to become a teacher and why SolidWorks?

RB: Up until 2006 I was using AutoCAD to do 3D solid modeling.  One of my students showed me SolidWorks.  I stopped AutoCAD, dove into SolidWorks and never looked back.  The software changed nearly every aspect of my job.  Design became fun and life got better.  Much of my work is developing prototype equipment for research.  Now with SolidWorks I have the ability to design and analyze using the same package.  Before my class was developed, Penn State did not offer a rigorous course in 3D modeling.  Freshmen engineering students were doing the SolidWorks tutorials as part of a general engineering class and other students we doing the Pro/E tutorials.  In general I found that the software was under utilized.  This fantastic engineering teaching tool was available but no one was using it.

RH: How long have you been teaching?

RB: I started teaching in Spring 2008 with 20 students.  The class has grown to 40 students in two sections with broad interest among under graduate students, graduate students, engineering professors and returning adult students.

RH: Why do you teach CAD with SolidWorks?

RB: Penn State has 500 EDU licenses that are available in all University computer labs through out the Penn State system.  Students new to SolidWorks can achieve CSWA level proficiency in one semester.

RH: What SolidWorks certifications do you currently hold?

RB: I passed the CSWA, CSWP, and plan to take the CSWP-CDES this Spring.  I am also a CSWA provider. 

RH: What are your classes (age range and/or skill level)

RB: The age range is from college freshmen to 65 year old professors.  Most have tried the software but they all lack the knowledge required to make elegant parts and assemblies.  Symmetry, design intent, multi body, and in context modeling are all new concepts. 

RH: What is a typical classroom day like for you? 

RB: I work as a research engineer during the day and teach in the evenings for continuing education.

RH: What is your preferred teaching method? What method of teaching SolidWorks have you found to be successful? 

RB: Since student learn differently, I teach using a variety of methods:

• Standard lecture for new information
• Follow the leader: for detailed modeling techniques or complex features 
• In class challenge assignments
• Timed quizzes: to prepare them for the CSWA
• Homework assignments: I encourage them to work together
• Midterm project: consisting of 8 parts minimum
• Final Project: assembling the parts from the midterm project, producing drawings and doing FEA. 

RH: What curriculum and industry standards do you teach? 

RB: I developed my own curriculum which using what I call “Basic Strategy”  (Blackjack inspired terminology).  This Basic Strategy presents good habits, best practices, and reinforces the basics: design intent, symmetry, constraints, etc.  I have found that students really need the knowledge of experienced users.  Good design practices and strategies normally come from experience; I try to give it to them in the classroom.  I tell them that as a goal: 80% of producing a 3D modeling happens in their head and that pushing the keys is the instant gratification / detail phase. 

RH: How do you use the SolidWorks Educator resources and curriculum in teaching your class? 

RB: The SWE resources are project based.  I start the students with the basics.  I feel making impressive looking parts in the beginning diverts attention away from fundamental modeling techniques.  So I have them start by making very simple shapes.  Then later after they have learned the tools one at a time, they are assigned progressively more complex parts.  After they can make complex parts, I have them pick a project.  I emphasize that the project should have some value to them personally or should otherwise be connected to a project in another class. 

RH: Do you have any work from the students you are able to and would like to share?

To view the following files you must have eDrawings for SolidWorks.  Please click the free Download link below:  

bale-compactor

Bike Project

Bike Project 2

Buick Engine Project

Crossbow Project

Food Processor Project

Go Kart

Hit/Miss Engine Project

Little Digger Project

Mouse Trap Game Project

Paint Marker Project

Pinball Machine Project

PSU Wrist Watch Project

Pump Project

Running Shoe Project

RH: What industry do you teach for or what is the prevalent industry in your area that would eventually hire a SolidWorks trained person?

RB: I do not teach for any particular industry although most student are in mechanical or aerospace engineering.

RH: What universities or community colleges are nearby that your students would attend and pursue a course of study with SolidWorks application?

RB: Penn State is it.  We are in central PA there is nothing else for miles!

RH: Have you attended SolidWorks World? If so, what was beneficial from a teaching standpoint?

RB: I attended SWW 2009.  This was a great networking and learning opportunity for me!  I am hooked!  I am already planning for Anaheim.

RH: Will your school board or current school be willing to fund a trip for you to SolidWorks World?

RB: So far this hasn’t been a problem.   Penn State supports my trip to SWW as professional development. 

RH: Knowing that most school systems are in desperate financial situations, do you feel that there will be continued support for teaching SolidWorks and CAD drafting skills? 

RB: At Penn State… if it makes money they will let you do anything.  I need to recruit more adult students.  Possibly the Engineering Stimulus will help!

RH: How important do you feel that teaching CAD/drafting skills is for the future of engineering and industry in general?

RB: It is absolutely essential for engineers of all disciplines to have a strong foundation in 3D CAD and analysis.  Many of my students receive job offers based on the classroom training and CSWA.

RH: What are the biggest challenges you face in teaching SolidWorks/drafting?

RB: Having the time and energy to do my daytime job and then get charged up to teach from 6-9pm. 

RH: What are some goals for your future and do you always plan on teaching?

RB: I started the local SWUG because I found that classroom experience isn’t enough.  Students need contact with real world projects and the opportunity to present their solutions.  I hope the Happy Valley SolidWorks User Group can provide an educational and networking resource for Penn State students and local industry.

We are hosting a SWUGN Summit on June 16, at Penn State (State College, PA).  Please watch the SWUGN web site for further details.  Please feel invited to join us for a great time in Happy Valley!

Randall,

Thanks for taking the time to share with me at Educators Corner.  I am looking forward to visiting you in June!

Stay Tuned for more from the Educators Corner featuring SolidWorks!

I wanted to walk through the breakout sessions that I attended and give a brief summary of each and my impressions.  All of the sessions were informative and had relevant content based on what I needed during my attendance.  Since my company is contemplating moving to a new PDM system, my concentration was on anything PDM related.  I enjoyed all the sessions although 2 were “death by powerpoint” and almost put me in a coma.  To everyone’s sessions I mention here, keep up the good work and for the death by powerpoint guys, try and have some varied content next year. 

Monday: Sheet Metal – Why do I do it like this or that? by Wayne Tiffany

Boy I like the energy Wayne always has during his sessions!  As always he brought more of the thinking aspect and problem solving for the parts along with using the software.   The challenge in manufacturing is not necessarily building the part in SolidWorks but building the part for manufacturability in the real world while keeping an eye on cost.  Thanks for bringing this point to your presentation Wayne.

Monday: Experience SolidWorks Enterprise PDM by Kurt Lundstedt PDM Technical Sales Mgr. DS SolidWorks Corp. (Hands On)

Getting my feet wet for the first time in EPDM was a hoot.  After using another PDM system currently that seems to have more than its share of problems, it was nice to sit down and just work through a set of proceedures for check-in/check-out that just worked.  I know, I know, you say but it was a canned demo.  I played around in it a little more than I should and didn’t quite follow the instructions.  What was I supposed to do?  You give a guy a computer and access to a new program and expect them to follow instructions!  I really like the interface and was able to ask some tough questions that were answered immediately and thoroughly.  I was also able to see some custom uses in the BOM tables that were very useful.  This was a great session that helped get me acclimated to the real uses of PDM.

Monday: Experience SolidWorks Workgroup PDM by William Briggs, Senior Techinal Support Engineer DS SolidWorks Corp. (Hands On)

Another hands on PDM.  This time it was Workgroup.  After having the EPDM earlier in the day, I wasn’t sure what I would get out of this session.  I have been using Workgroup on my local for about 2 months.  To my suprise, I was challenged by what was shown in the session.  I also got to meet Joy Garon (PDM Geek by her own admission) from SolidWorks.  Joy was nice enough to walk me through a couple of scenarios for why one PDM wouldn’t work in our company structure.  I appreciate it immensely Joy Thanks!

Tuesday: Bending and Shaping – Using SolidWorks Sheetmetal Tools by Casey Gorman (Hands On)

Since my company has not moved to SW 2009 yet, I decided to take a few of the sheet metal sessions offered this year.  Casey’s session, although labeled beginner, was probably intermediate in content due to some of the features he covered and modifications to features that were talked about.  I appreciated that he showed full use of various aspects of the sheet metal tools in SW.  The other thing that Casey drove home was the use of SYMMETRY in the model.  This is one thing that can’t be spoken about enough when designing/building a part in 3D.  Great job Casey and I hope to see you presenting again next year.

Tuesday: How Students Tap Creative Powers – Learning SolidWorks by Bill Casnovsky

I attended this session to try and get an idea of how educators were working with students to teach CAD using SolidWorks and how I might relate the experience to my companies in-house training.  Bill had a vast age range he teaches and varying degrees of experience in his students.  I thought the incorporation of Rapid Prototyping in the class structure was excellent as this give the students a physical goal to attain.  

Tuesday: Data Migration Strategies for SolidWorks Enterprise PDM by Marc Young

This session like so many of my other choices was work related.  I wanted to see what was recommended by others when doing migration.  Although incredibly informative with a bounty of good content for what I attended for, this was not a session for the beginner or the too much lunch crowd.  Marc covered some difficult topics encountered during migration and gave good examples of what to expect and pitfalls to avoid.  But alas this presentation was “death by Powerpoint” and not for the faint of heart.  I was only able to concentrate and stay awake by shear will.  Some others in the back were not so lucky as I heard snoring from both directions over my shoulders.  I actually got to meet Marc Wednesday during a roundtable discussion and found him to be a nice guy. 

Tuesday: Working with SolidWorks Templates, Formats, and Options by Tom Cote (Hands On)

This was a good beginner session.  I have been using the principles outlined in this session for several years.  It was suprising to me to see how many users did not know how to use the details outlined in this session.  I hope they understood and are able to implement these strategies in their companies.  Thanks for a very thourough walkthrough session Tom.  This is one that I would recommend to any beginner attending SWW for the first time.

Wednesday: SolidWorks Network Implementation – Where do I put this and why? by Nicholas Benner

I attended this same session at SWW2007 in New Orleans and wanted to see what had been or could be updated as this topic is something that I have personally been trying to do within my company for the engineers.  What I found out was that Nicholals has updated the presentation and information to be relevant to SW 2009 and even included 64 bit OS tips.  Cudos for this update and staying current.  I enjoyed the session and hope to implement more of the details that were shared.  Nicholas, I’m still trying to get that library you promised.  Maybe next time.

Wednesday: Migrating Successfully to SolidWorks Enterprise PDM by Jason Lattimer

Another work driven session to try and get a handle on what would be involved in a migration for my company.  Good topic a content with lots of good suggestions, time lines and input from  the VAR that supported their implementation.  Since I was interrested this was a good session but be ware this session was “death by powerpoint”.  At least Jason made it interresting and changed the subject often without skipping around.  Good session for advanced users/cad admins looking to migrate.

Well, this does it for the break out sessions I attended.  Overall I had a very interresting and company productive SolidWorks World 2009.  Depending on what you want to see, I would recommend any fo the sessions I attended.  I hope to see you all at SWW2010!

 

Fielder Hiss opened Wednesday’s general session with a welcome and an introduction of Sponsor Don Richardson from Microsoft. 

Mike North and Joe Grant, two of the guys from “prototype this” were the special guests for Wednesday.  The came into the assembly on a rescue cart they designed on one of the shows.  It was very hard to get a clear shot of Mike and Joe because during their presentation they both were in constant motion like kids with ADD and a sugar buzz.  I finally got the next picture near the end.

 On the show, both the mechanical and electrical systems are designed for what ever the challenge is. During the presentation they were trying to show the design process. One of the quotes and eventual theme they follow was “You don’t have to succeed to learn something”.  “Sometimes failure is ok” which is alright in engineering because engineering is a path of discovery. Have fun with it.

After the ”prototype this” guys left the stage, the top ten list announcement was started by Bruce Holway the manager of product definition for SW.  Bruce stated that SolidWorks has implemented over 70% of top ten from recent years.  Brainstorm, which was an online community style web based forum, was used to create the top ten list.  User group leaders from around the country were recognized and actually got to announce the top ten as voted on by the users.  My new friend Randall Block (5th from the left) from the Happy Valley SolidWorks User Group got to name #5 (on-the-fly equation creation and editing). The next item on the agenda was the What’s new 2010.  I won’t go into much detail but the list included such neat items as new view mates in assembly which works kinda like the isolate command but shows all the mated items based on what part you select and hides all others.  Other things of interest were new mirror components optimization for components, multi-body sheetmetal, structural features like welds, updated dxf output and reference planes creation.  I am looking forward to seeing the implementation of most of these items.

It’s hard to believe that the 3rd general session of SolidWorks World 2009 is over.  I guess this leaves only one thing….looking forward to SolidWorks World 2010!

Well, today was day 2 of SolidWorks World 2009.  I had to ask myself, after yesterday could things get any better?  With all the technical content going on in the sessions, SW wouldn’t dare have technical content in the general session….or would they?  The session opened with the same really cool video as on Monday an then Fielder Hiss came out and opened up the show.  He spoke about how great is was to have Richard Branson on Monday an then he introduced Jeremy Luchini and a video of everyone at the CSWP event from Monday night.  Jeremy then introduced Yanack Trembly of Mega brands an they talked about the design intent of the NEO Shifters and how SW played a major part in the quick turn around of the design and getting the product to market.  Several annimations of the different characters were shown.  Man are those things neat.  Fielder then introduced the keynote speaker who happened to be none other than Jon Hirschtick, former CEO and founder of SolidWorks.  Jon started out by giving kudos to current SolidWorks management team by saying that they are the best in history of company.  John then went on to discuss what he thinks are the future trends in technology.

Touch/motion like Iphone and other touch phones is one trend, the next is online applications such as online banking.  He asked the question how about online CAD with hosted server space and applications.  Neat futuristic idea.  Next trend was video gaming technology such as real time rendering which one type is being used in SW 2009.  The last technology trend Jon sees as important is 3D printing.  He believes that this trend will continue to grow until engineers are using 3D prints like paper now.  After this Jon showed a video excerpt from the new Iron Man movie where Tony Stark is designing Iron Mans suit in virtual 3D space.  That would be really nice. 

Jon then went into two customer video and live interviews.  The first was with NewBalance shoes where their design process for the soles was discussed.  Matt Dunbar was introduced and as he spoke with Jon he mentioned that he was wearing prototype shoes made in their engineering department.  Really neat surfacing they are doing and especially since the SW tree typically has 1300-1800 features.  The next video/interview was with Sony/Ericsson.  Vision and market research including trends start 2 years in advance of product release.  After they started using SW their design cycle time went down 75% and they product over 4000 rapid prototypes a year.  Incredible stories and content.  Thanks Jon for giving us what we need to hear. 

When Jon left the stage Stephen Endersby was introduced and he started speaking about SW Simulation but was interrupted with game show music and this banner and a Sumo Wrestler:

Jeff Ray then rode out on a pink scooter:

The Sumo Wrestler then rode the scooter and then picked it up and smashed it on the stage:

After the last part of the SW Simulation demo, Fielder spoke about the special event and closed the session.  I had several great sessions during the day including one on sheetmetal, an educational session, a PDM strategy session and a working with templates, formats and options session.  I picked up several good tips and tricks during the sessions.  Tomorrow is day 3 of the main event here at SolidWorks World 2009 and the opening should be good since SW lets the cat out of the bag about SW 2010.  As I leave this post I’ll just give you the classic story book conclusion,

The END!

All I can say is WOW! what a day.  Monday started out with a bang here at SolidWorks World 2009.  The facilities are great and so are the people.  The general sessions are always fun when everyone crowds the door about 10 minutes before time to open them.  Then it’s as if someone shot a bucket filled with water full of holes with birdshot when all the Solidworks dweebs, Sorry, ENGINEERS, filter into the room!  It looks something like this:

Jeff Ray opened the session by giving a warm welcome and then proceeded to go through the Solidworks report card of itself based internal criteria.  Several customer success stories were shared including one where a design team build a baby incubator out of spare automobile and motorcycle parts for use in developing countries.  Then it was on to the feature presentation with guest speaker Sir Richard Branson of Virgin brand companies.  The sit down interview was excellent as Jeff asked questions pertaining to current and past personal and corporate exploits.  Richard exuded charm and confidence but was also very funny.  From the stories he told I think he is also quite the practical joker.  His latest concerns are with the environment and trying to convert the Virgin branded companies from “dirty” fuels to more “clean” fuels.  He was recently on a test flight of one of his 747’s running on blended clean bio fuels.  Unlike many men in his position, he has achieved some extraordinary goals and has managed to retain a reachable feel to his person.  It was great to have him as a guest.

The rest of the day was also a hoot as I attended Wayne Tiffany’s sheetmetal presentation, a hands on session for Enterprise PDM, Matt Lombards workflow for 2009 and another hands on Workgroup PDM session.  Boy what a full day.  And if that wasn’t enough, the Certified SolidWorks Professional (CSWP) event was held from 7-10pm near the hotel.  We were treated to great food including roasted turkey and pork and mashed taters (sorry for the southern).  On each table were 2 sets of ICoaster parts from one of the sponsors Mega brands.  We were supposed to have a contest by teams to build but as engineers, geeks, dweebs and what ever else you want to call us, got to looking at the parts, we ended up building them ourselves.  And having a great time doing it!  Special thanks to the certification team that put on such a great event.  Thus ends day 1.  I’ll be back again tomorrow for another update.  {{Preview}} former Solidworks CEO Jon Hirschtick will be headlining the general session.

A new update to 3D Content Central (3DCC) has been released just in time for SolidWorks World 2009.  What is 3DCC you might ask, well it’s a companion website to the SolidWorks software that has lots of downloadable content.  I use the word content because along with the expected 3D models, there are also categories for features, blocks and macros.  The content contained in 3DCC is from various suppliers catalogs along with user supplied items.  The models range from usable blobs of common hardware to fully configured mil-spec connectors and everything in between.  I have been an active user since 2004 and you will find guys like Ricky Jordan and Brian McElyea have made contributions to the user content located in the user library.  You will also find components from suppliers like Fischer Connectors, Misumi USA and Moog along with hardware from ANSI/ASME.  There are several way to get to 3DCC.  The first way is simply to go to your web browser and type www.3dcontentcentral.com.  This will take you to the home screen where you will need to register for an account.  Once you have an account you will be able manage all the content including downloading, uploading and rating the content.  The second but not so obvious way is on the “design library” tab of your SolidWorks desktop.  If you click the tab, 3DCC is in the tree menu.  Once you have an account, a click on one of the items will open the 3DCC website inside SolidWorks.  You can size the windows and use them as you would on the web.  One quick note here is that you must have IE or other browser running for SW to connect to the website.  The third way to get to 3DCC is to log into the customer portal from the SolidWorks website.  Once logged into the customer portal, you will find 3DCC listed under “Download” below the Self-Service heading.  Once again this will take you to the 3DCC website.  Another note here is that if you check the remember me box at log in, when you take any of these methods to open 3DCC, you will be automatically logged into your account.   

Some of the updated features in 3DCC are the ability to control your own content by using the “My 3D ContentCentral” (My 3DCC) feature.  In this release your profile is set up similar to other “social networking” sites where you can list personal information and create contacts and monitor their 3DCC activities.  Other great features of My 3DCC are My Portfolio, which contains all the content that you have uploaded, My Comments, which shows all the comments you have added to the content and My Downloads/Views which contains all the content you have downloaded and/or viewed on 3DCC.  The drill down filters have been visually revamped and are easier to use when doing a search.  Several filters are available during the search including supplier, content type and category.  The thumbnail of the content has been enlarged in the preview window so it’s easier to see the details (yea!).  Inside the content window there are options for downloading, rating the content and tagging it so that it’s easier to find.  This last one is important because different industries use different nomenclature to describe different items.  Other items of note in the content window, are the ability to send the link to someone by email, add to your favorites, post an alternative version and even embed it into a blog like this:  Download 

With this latest release, I think SolidWorks and the 3DCC team are almost there.  This is a great resource for getting content from know suppliers, hard to find parts that you need a model for, a hot new macro to solve your problems or a forming tool that you don’t have to create.  I’m looking forward to seeing some new content.  Get on 3D Content Central and show us what you’ve got.  Who knows it might be just what I’m looking for.

SW 95 Requirements

SW 95 User Guide

 Hi all,

For my first post, I thought I would share something fun since SolidWorks World 2009 (#SWW09 in twitter) is coming up in a few days.  How many folks have ever worked on SW 95 much less have seen the original disc and User’s Guide?  Well, I started out on SW 95 with a company in my distant past.  We were very small but technically savy.  As a 2-D house, we were looking to make the jump to a 3-D CADD package.  One of my co-workers knew someone who had just had a demo of this new parasolid kernel based 3-D software called SolidWorks.  In late ‘95 we had a demo from a VAR out of Atlanta and bought our first 2 seats with one seat of PhotoWorks in Early ‘96.  Being in a small company allowed me to keep my hands on certain “things” and as the company changed hands a few times, I retained posession of all the discs and most of the user’s guides up through SW 2007.  At SolidWorks World 2007 in New Orleans, I had the pleasure of meeting a group of the SolidWorks bloggers.  I was asked to join them since Ricky Jordan (of rickyjordan.com) and I are from the same user group and we were hanging around together.  During Sunday nights Superbowl party, the conversation turned to who had been using SW the longest.  As it turned out it ended up being me so that’s when I supprised the group by pulling the disc and guide out of my travel bag.  I brought them with the intention of trying to get some autographs.  Everyone laughed and the first question that popped out was “what were the system requirements?”.  In the mean time Brian McElyea (of CADFanatic.com) was in the food line refilling his plate with wings or hotdogs or something and ran into John McEleney then president of SolidWorks.  Brian mentioned the guide and our conversation so John came over to the table and introduced himself to me and started talking about SolidWorks.  I asked him if he would autograph the guide and as he was about to sign he asked the question “what were the system requirements?”.  The table erupted in laughter.  The next morning I was lucky enough to have John Hirschtick autograph the guide as well. 

Ben Eadie from solidmentor.com was covering the event and made the following video.  Thanks Ben for the nice comments. 

I hope to see you all soon,

Rich