Jeff's Tool Shed

As I mentioned a couple of weeks ago (see this post) the fine folks at SolidProfessor hooked me up with their 2009 suite. Where I already know how to use SolidWorks, and I went through their 2008 stuff not too long ago, I decided to approach their 2009 offering a bit differently. I enlisted my 15 year-old son, Nico, to go through the 3D Skills portion. I figured if he could learn the basics of SolidWorks via SolidProfessor’s tutorials, that would speak pretty well for them. I mean, c’mon, we’re talking about a teenager here! It doesn’t take much to distract one. A pretty girl on TV, some (c)rap song playing, innumerable text messages; you get the idea.

I’ve been watching Nico as he’s been going through the lessons and he hasn’t looked up once. He also hasn’t called me over to explain anything. This, in my opinion, says a lot about how well SolidProfessor explains the lessons. He completed the lessons, and not too badly for a first time user of both SolidWorks and SolidProfessor. It wasn’t perfect, but how could you expect it to be? In talking to him about it, there was some terminology that he didn’t fully understand, but was able to figure out what he needed to do. He’s a gamer, not a CAD jockey. Nonetheless, I think he, and SolidProfessor, did a good job. If I can, I’m going to see if he’s willing to give the Core Concepts section a try.

Next up for me, some of the advanced lessons. First one I’m going to tackle is Advanced Surfacing. I don’t have much experience with surfacing, so I’m hoping to learn a lot.

At SolidWorks World 2009, Jeff Ray announced the “Engineer Stimulus Plan”. In a nutshell, SolidWorks will be giving out of work engineers a free seat of SolidWorks. They are still working out the final details of how the plan is going to work, but expect it to launch in Q2 2009 in North America. This is quite the undertaking by SolidWorks. I commend their efforts. I wonder, though, how do you see such a stimulus helping you if you’re unemployed?
Along those same lines, Fisher/Unitech, a SolidWorks reseller, have been running a program of their own. Called ‘No Engineer Left Behind’, they are offering free training, a 30-day eval copy of SolidWorks and the potential of placement with one of their numerous customer. If you’re located in the Midwest, go here for more info. If you ask me, Fisher/Unitech definitely puts the Value in Value Added Reseller. It would be great to see more resellers join in (you reading this, Tom?).

Where this is my personal blog, I figured I’d do a shameless plug for the new company I’m working for. It’s still SolidWorks related as that’s what we, and by ‘we’ I mean me, use here.

Ultimate Survival Technologies is a company that produces safety/survival equipment for first responders, the military and outdoorsmen. We have everything from tinder to portable chemical decontamination facilities. The coolest thing, though, is that I’ll be recreating all of our products in SolidWorks. A lot of it is going to require old school reverse engineering (calipers and tape measure) as there just isn’t any documentation. Just the kind of challenge I like!

Also aligned with UST is Status Racing. Status Racing designs and manufactures racing seats for the “Tuner” or the professional. Memory foam, carbon fiber and kevlar are just some of the materials that go into these seats. These, too, need to be modeled up. This is an even bigger challenge for me as my experience with surfacing is all but nil.

That’s all. Just a shameless plug for the new company. I’m sure this will get burned on Pulse.

Well, if you are, Surfware has just opened up a demo and training facility in Camarillo, California.  Check out their press release:

Camarillo, CA – February 23, 2009 — Surfware, Inc., developer of SURFCAM® Velocity CAD/CAM systems Powered by TrueMill®, today announced the opening of the Surfware Demo and Training Center in Camarillo, California.

This state-of-the-art facility will serve many functions. It will be a multi-media center where live demonstrations of TrueMill and SURFCAM will be filmed and made available on the Surfware website, YouTube and other communication outlets.

The facility will host live webcasts, where people around the country and the world can view real-time demonstrations of using TrueMill for the high speed cutting of titanium on a Haas machine.

The Center will also serve as a R&D site where additional research on the vast potential of the TrueMil technology will take place. The results of this research will benefit the machining industry worldwide.

Finally, to ensure that visitors to the Demo Center feel at home, the facility is a bright, well-appointed and comfortable place to visit.

According to Stephen A. Diehl, President and CEO of Surfware, “With the launch of the Surfware Demo and Training Center, we now have an outstanding facility that will further demonstrate the tremendous cost savings and efficiency gains created by our TrueMill technology. With the opening of the Demo Center, Surfware is continuing its commitment to product excellence and innovation.”

About Surfware, Inc.

Surfware, Inc., the developer of SURFCAM Velocity CAD/CAM systems and the award-winning, patented TrueMill technology, provides optimal solutions for today’s manufacturing challenges.  SURFCAM and TrueMill are cost-effective solutions that provide measurable productivity gains.  Surfware, Inc. traces its roots back to three generations of Diehl family members involved in machining.  For additional information, visit www.surfware.com.

Kerri Dunne

I had the distinct pleasure of sitting down with Kerri Dunne during SWW ‘09 and spend some time interviewing her. Kerri is, by many accounts, the brains behind SolidWorks World. As the manager of the events team, she oversees all that goes into making each year’s SolidWorks World a success. However, believe it or not, SolidWorks World is only one of over 50 events that Kerri and her team, Liz Hamlin and Audrey McDowel, put together each year. Those events include nation-wide trade shows, incentive trips (I want in on one of those!), annual sales meeting and leadership events for resellers.
Kerri is a 13+ year veteran of SolidWorks. She started out in event planning, but moved into internet marketing for a while. When the Events Manager position opened up, she was compelled to go back to event planning. In her words, “When you’re an event planner, you can never get out of it, it’s in your blood. You just have to do it.” I’d say it was a good move on SolidWorks’ part to put her in that position. I have yet to hear of a bad SolidWorks event.
While Kerri and her team are the main people involved in the event planning, larger events mean they need additional help, so they’ll hire in contractors. For SolidWorks World, where the scale is so much bigger, even more support staff are needed. They bring in additional help for A/V, networking and additional event planning.
How do they plan an event as large as SolidWorks World? They’re able to estimate attendance based off of previous years’ data, as well as customer base growth. The thing is, they’ve already planned SWW ‘10 & ‘11. Kerri and her team are working on SWW ‘12. No, she wouldn’t tell me where ‘11 or ‘12 are going to be. Believe me, I tried. I actually interviewed Kerri before we’d found out that SWW ‘10 was going to be in Anaheim, and she wouldn’t even cough up that info.
When it comes to the planning of SolidWorks World, Kerri’s first concern is the facility. Are there rooms large enough to accomodate breakfast, lunch and the general session? Are there enough rooms, of adequate size, to accomodate all the breakout sessions? Is the layout conducive to good flow for the attendees? Are there enough hotel rooms? All questions that have to be answered before anything gets booked.
At this year’s SolidWorks World, over 50 countries were represented. Attendees came from as far away as South Africa and Australia. The event team has a small role in foreign traveler’s attendance as well. Many foreign attendees need letters from the company to obtain travel visas, which are indirectly supplied by SolidWorks.
When it comes to the special events, Kerri and her team turn to destination management groups with the city or venue. A “profile” is presented to the group outlining the general SolidWorks World attendee. From that profile, the management group provides a list of possible sites. The team will then fly out to view the various sites before any contracts are signed. Once everything has been chosen, the events team again flies out, a few months prior to SWW and makes sure all the preparations are taken care of and that there aren’t any glitches.
While there are those who label Kerri as the busiest SolidWorks employee at SWW, she was quick to point out that all the SolidWorks employees eat, breath and sleep SolidWorks World while there. She mentioned, too, the amount of employees that are working “behind the scenes”, making sure everything runs smoothly. That’s a sure sign of a good manager; one who gives just dues to those that deserve it.
I asked her, too, about SolidWorks World being held in a foreign location. She said that it was something that had been talked about but it was cost prohibitive. By keeping SolidWorks World in the states, SolidWorks is able to keep the conference fees down. To move it overseas would only increase the fees for the attendees.
I truly enjoyed talking with Kerri. As with most SolidWorks employees, her passion was out there in the open. As she spoke of SolidWorks World, you could almost feel just how much she truly enjoys what she does. If you ever have a chance to meet Kerri, be sure to thank her for a job well done.

Vuuch (pronounced vooch), is a great new tool out there to make collaboration easier. I first heard of Vuuch through Chris Williams via Twitter (you do know what Twitter is, right?). I finally got to meet Chris, and the rest of the Vuuch team, at SolidWorks World 2009 and was immediately impressed with the passion he has for Vuuch. While Vuuch is still in beta, one can easily see the impact it would have on your design process. Rather than having to send emails back and forth, all the while trying to keep track of said emails, wouldn’t it be easier to tag a part (or feature, assembly, etc) with your comment, question or concern and be able to share it with your team? With Vuuch, you can do just that. I’m the only user in my company, so fully testing out Vuuch’s capabilities aren’t easy, but I can see the possibilities. As soon as Vuuch gets Excel set up (which is coming), I’ll be better able to check it out. I’ll keep you informed.
I’ve been Vuuched, have you? Check out www.vuuch.com for a free trial.

A warning: This post will have absolutely nothing to do with SolidWorks, or CAD for that matter.

Why do people feel that part numbers need to represent anything? Too often I’ve seen "smart" part numbers end up being so convoluted that you need a PhD in cryptography to understand anything. What’s bringing this on? I’m ashamed to admit it, but there is such a part numbering system here. It’s not as ugly as some I’ve seen, but it’s frustrating nonetheless. Naturally, I tried to get the powers-that-be to see the error of their ways but, in the end, I had to concede. (Today is only my third day, I don’t want it to be my last.)

What so many people fail to realize is that a part number is just a placeholder in the MRP system (or whatever inventory control system you’re using). The part description is the important part. Yes, I know there are those who are screaming "blasphemer" at me, I don’t care. The minute you implement a "smart" part numbering system, you’re setting up for future failure. At some point you’re going to have a new part that is really similar to an existing part so you’ll add some sort of suffix or prefix to its number so you can differentiate between the two. Next thing you know, you’ve got a third one that’s similar to the other two. Another suffix, perhaps? Oops, look, here’s a fourth one. Ok, we’ll just create another classification, slide the first three over and now we’re good. Right? Crap, what to do with the old numbers? Hey look, this part is sort of like the first four, but it’s also sort of like these ones over here…
It’s enough for me to want to pull my hair out.

Everyone, for the most part, has heard of the KISS principle, right? Keep it simple stupid. A part number should be just that, a stupid number. Whether it’s 4-, 5- or 6-digits really depends on your company’s needs. How many parts are you dealing with? Let the description take care of telling you what it is: Screw, HHC, 1/4-20 x 1, GR5; Cable, Red, 4 GA; Number, Part, Stupid.

Think about it, no more having to train newbies on how your part numbering system is deciphered. No more having to come up with new codes. Need a new part number, just take the next available one. The world is already confusing enough. Let’s not make it worse with "smart" part numbers, ok?

</end rant>

Jeremy Luchini

I had the opportunity to sit down and talk with Jeremy Luchini on Tuesday, Day two of SolidWorks World. Jeremy is in charge of certification for SolidWorks. Whether you’re going for your CSWP, CSWA, CSWI or any other CSW*, Jeremy has had a hand in it. A quick note here: I’m not the world’s best interviewer. Couple that with the fact that I’ve known Jeremy for a while, and how down to earth he is, and it was more like a couple of friends talking over a beer. I do hope, though, that some questions you may have about certification get answered here.

Jeff: Would that be an apt description?

Jeremy: That’s right.

Jeff: What, exactly, is your title?

Jeremy: Certification Program Manager for SolidWorks.

Jeff: How long have you been with SolidWorks?

Jeremy: I’m just finishing up my eighth year.

Jeff: Have you always been involved with certification?

Jeremy: No, actually I started in the training group. They hired me to write the API training manual for engineers, so that’s where I started; teaching guys how to automate SolidWorks and we developed an API instructor exam based on that, so I got to learn about certification and become a CSWP myself, then took over the program six years ago. So six out of my eight years has been as certification manager.

Jeff: Do you like it?

Jeremy: I love it; I think it’s the best job in the company.

Jeff: That’s funny. I was talking to Bill Doll yesterday and he said he had to best job in the company running SolidWorks Labs.

Jeremy: Ok, yup, he probably has the coolest job in the company. I deal with the coolest people in the community.

Jeff: That, I would agree with.

Jeremy: Ok, there we go. I do see the stressful side when we’re testing people. You have to be able to handle that in a professional way and realize we’re trying to do good for everybody here and design exams that just identify proficiencies. Testing is a stressful thing but the celebration of the skills that it takes to become certified, that’s where the real paycheck is for me.

Jeff: Alright, let’s get into this. A lot of guys like me, who passed the eight hour exam, have seen or taken the new exam say you’ve dumbed it down, that you’ve cheapened it. What do you think about that?

Jeremy: I think, ah, you’re speaking on behalf of all the guys that took the eight hour exam and the four hour exam?

Jeff: Yeah, the people I’ve talked to.

Jeremy: Are we comparing the two?

Jeff: Comparing the two, they think it’s been cheapened; it’s lessened the credibility of becoming a CSWP.

Jeremy: Ok, I think what these guys should realize is we’re not trying to create an elite club for a small group of people. Certification is about identifying who’s proficient in SolidWorks. When the original exam, the eight hour exam, was created, the first one, y’know you gotta realize how difficult it was for us to even manage that. Somebody’s spending eight hours, on a Saturday, at a reseller taking an exam and we were actually noticing, Jeff, that it was taking people around five hours actually. People that that knew what they were doing could pass the CSWP in around four or five hours and we started looking at, obviously, updating the exam for the online environment that we have today. When I looked at it, I thought that we could break out some of the advanced parts of the old exam into specialty exams. That’s the reason we went from eight to four, was simply to say “hey, core SolidWorks knowledge is about part modeling, it’s about assembly modeling.” The hook on the new exam was, well, we wouldn’t do bottom up assembly, which the old exam did. We would do a top-down engine block assembly where we would really prove that this guy knew what he was doing with SolidWorks. Back when you took it, it was an option. If you weren’t good with assemblies, you could still become a CSWP, which concerned me and a lot of people. So, we decided to make that mandatory and pull out some of the other things, like sheet metal or surfacing which not everybody’s doing, and let those be an option for CSWPs in the future. So the guys that thing we’re watering down or making it easier, I can tell you that the pass rates involved these days, it’s dropping. Basically all the really high skilled guys took the old exam, now we have a lot more people taking the exam just trying it. The pass rates are low, it’s very hard to pass. That’s why we invented the CSWA product, to get people started in the certification program and eventually take the CSWP exam. Eventually, as that program grows and more people can claim they’re proficient in core SolidWorks, start specializing. One day we’re going to have so many professional exams, this crew that you’re talking about, who’s upset about the old exam, they’re actually…what I want to see these guys do is take the advanced exams, really advanced exams like surfacing and sheet metal, and we’re going to have a brand new market for these guys called ‘Elite Professional’. Ok? That’s where we’re at and that’s why we did the things we’re doing.

Jeff: Fair enough. People have been wondering. How many people took the exam this weekend?

Jeremy: I think we had close to one-hundred and fifty to two-hundred on Sunday.

Jeff: How many passed?

Jeremy: Well, it was a mixture of CSWP and CSWA and I think it was around forty or fifty total passed.

Jeff: Now, last year it seems to me you had a much higher pass rate.

Jeremy: No, it was only a few dozen passed out of the few hundred that took it. That’s why I, when you say that a lot of people think that the new exam is easier than the old one, I would say there’s different pressures on someone today than when you took it. They have a time limit, which they complain about, and we have to adjust. We’re dealing with people that are going to be measured by how quickly and accurately they can model in SolidWorks.

Jeff: Don’t you think you have more people taking it now that it’s offered for free?

Jeremy: Well that’s definitely part of it for sure.

Jeff: I mean, when I took it it was $500.

Jeremy: Yup, which prevented a lot of people from taking it. When we designed this system to not have to have people sitting in a training room all day at a reseller, but be able to sit online and take it when they could, obviously the participation went up just from going online, and then reducing the price. We didn’t have the overhead charge.

Jeff: That’s true. So, it’s free.

Jeremy: It’s not free. It’s free if you’re on subscription service. We’re trying to build this into the value of continuing to stay on maintenance. You get the free support, you get…

Jeff: Yeah, don’t get me started on maintenance.

Jeremy: Ok, I won’t start you on maintenance.

Jeff: That’s a whole other ball of wax.

Jeremy: (laughing) Alright, you gonna take that up with my boss?

Jeff: I’m going to. If you fail it, do you get to take it again for free?

Jeremy: Well, the program we have now, if you’re on subscription service you get one free try pass or fail at the exam. At that point, the system recognizes that you took it and will refer you to the web store where you can buy it for $99.

Jeff: Oh, it’s only one-hundred bucks now?

Jeremy: Yeah.

Jeff: Oh, that’s not bad. Alright, so I went through your AE testing last year, ’cause you test AE’s.

Jeremy: That’s right, instructor exam. I remember it. I remember you teaching.

Jeff: My Patriots jersey.

Jeremy: That’s right.

Jeff: And me telling you to be quiet in my class.

Jeremy: (laughs)

Jeff: I know you said, then, what you were looking for, but what are you looking for?

Jeremy: In my words, I tell every instructor that has to teach in front of me, “Look, clearly the curriculum we have for customers is top-notch. The training manuals are printed in color, they’re step-by-step. I could sit down and learn SolidWorks just by reading those books. What I’m looking for from our instructors is what are they bringing to the table beyond what the books are telling us?” People pay a lot of money for training and they deserve value; they deserve someone who can present well, is fired up and excited about using SolidWorks. That’s the person I want to be learning anything from. CAM, CAD, whatever. So I look for passion in the instructors. I look for them to understand a difficult situation when it comes up in the training room. If they can’t answer a question, how are they skilled at finding the right answer? Do they know people? Do they get into SolidWorks trying to answer the question for themselves? I love guys that try things. You don’t have to be an expert to be a Certified SolidWorks Instructor. What I mean by that is, I don’t expect someone to understand 100% of the code. What I expect them to do is be highly proficient, much more proficient that just a casual user, so that they can approach new customers and handle the questions that come up in the classroom. There’s some strange questions that get asked and I’m looking at how you respond to them. Remember when I asked you some crazy things? Things you would never think about because you’re just following the lesson. Trying to get the information clear and I’m looking to throw some curve balls at you and seeing if you’re really ready to handle that. That’s what we’re looking for. I’m a paying customer. Am I going to leave on Friday ready to go when I’m back at my job versus reading a book.

Jeff: Fair enough. That answers the next question I was going to ask, too. So you said in the future, with the CSWP stuff, that you guys are going to break it out further. You already have the sheet metal going, right?

Jeremy: Yeah, and we launched surfacing this week.

Jeff: Oh, and surfacing, too? What else, are you going to do COSMOS?

Jeremy: We have simulation, too, but the participation rate is down a little so we’re going to see what we can do about that. It’s a pretty advanced exam.

Jeff: Well, I heard from a source…

Jeremy: Oh, you and your sources.

Jeff: Oh yeah. I heard you guys were going to be doing DriveWorks certification, too.

Jeremy: Well, you know that DriveWorks is installed in SolidWorks now; you get a free copy of it…

Jeff: DriveWorksXpress

Jeremy: …DriveWorksXpress. What we have to deal with is different installs of SolidWorks around the world, so on a global program we have to be careful how we include add-in applications on an exam. It’s not really fair for us to include add-ins that not everybody may have access to.

Jeff: You gotta answer this, the bloggers are really gonna want to know that answer. Why’d you hire Mike?

Jeremy: Honestly, I wasn’t planning on hiring Mike. He and I have been friends for a while and he told me he was looking for work because things weren’t working out where he was. I tried to introduce him to the company I highlighted at the CSWP event, Megabrands, because they were looking for somebody of his caliber. Mike said that he saw I had an opening in my group and I said we did. We try not to draw from the customers or our resellers unless we’re asked about our jobs, and Mike did ask. He knows some of the fun things we do and he, clearly, has a voice in the community. I really enjoy Mike’s passion and what he brings to the table for my team. We’re almost like self-marketing guys. We have to build the exams and then communicate what we’ve done. I think Mike’s real asset to the team is going to be sharing what we’re doing and why we’re doing it; kind of like this interview. Getting some things cleared up with people so they’re not frustrated with us. So they’re nodding their heads ‘yes’ and understanding. That’s a long answer to why I hired Mike, but why wouldn’t I hire him? He’s got SolidWorks running through his veins, like the rest of us, so it was an easy decision. He came in, interviewed and hit a homerun. When are you coming in?

Jeff: (laughing) I’d love to. Can I work from Seattle?

Jeremy: Anything is possible.

There you have it, my loyal reader.

I had planned on telling you about all the new functionality in SolidWorks 2010, but the "new" technology I was using failed me. I had downloaded a voice recorder for my iPhone so I could just record what was said instead of writing notes and the recording is inaudible. No worries though, I know that many of my fellow bloggers, if not all of them, have posted about what’s new.

This was my busiest SWW yet, and I didn’t even make it to one break out session. Between meeting with partner product reps, interviews and meetings, I just could seem to make it to the sessions I wanted to go to. Nonetheless, I wouldn’t have missed it for the world. The folks at SolidWorks pulled off another fantastic event. Well organized, high spirited and just plain fun. It never ceases to amaze me how approachable all the SW employees are from Jeff Ray down. Believe it or not, as exhausted as I am, I can’t wait for next year’s conference in Anaheim!

Another bonus of coming here is to be able to truly meet, and spend time with, all those I’ve met on the forums, in the blogosphere and on Twitter. Of course, there’s seeing those that I’ve met before as well as meeting new people. It’s really hard to decide what the best part of any SolidWorks World is. It’s all just such an awesome experience.

For next year’s conference, I’m going to have to be better prepared. I had worked my schedule around breakout sessions I wanted to attend; ones that pertained to my previous job. With the change in jobs, my preferences changed but that led to conflicts with other scheduled meetings and interviews. Live and learn.

I started writing this yesterday, sitting in the lobby of the Dolphin Hotel, but finished it at my parent’s rental in Ormond Beach today. There were just too many people walking by that I wanted to say goodbye to, to be able to finish. I fly home tomorrow afternoon. I can’t wait to get home and see my boys this weekend and then start my new job on Monday!

Spring training is just around the corner…Go Sox!

Wow, I can’t believe it’s day 3. It’s amazing how slowly SolidWorks World comes, compared with how quickly it ends. Now we have to wait almost one more year until SolidWorks World 2010 in Anaheim, California. That’s right, we’re heading back to California. There were a lot of us betting on Las Vegas, especially where we were in San Diego last year. Goes to show you what we know.

As usual, today’s general session was awesome. The guys from Discovery Channel’s Prototype This were here to talk about their show, their designs and how they utilize SolidWorks in their design process. Their jobs are right up there in cool factor with The Myth Busters and Dirty Jobs.

Next up was the Top Ten List, presented by SWUG Presidents, and here they are:

10 – Excel behavior in tables
9 – Abort any running commands by pressing escape
8 – Add lock points for model rebuild
7 – Dual Monitor Support
6 – On the fly equation creation and editing
5 – Faster rebuilds of complex models
4 – Ability to rename configurations while referencing
3 – SolidWorks backward compatibility (big cheer from the audience on this one!)
2 – Clear memory when a file is closed
1 – Increase program stability.

While we may see, hopefully, some of these enhancements in SolidWorks 2010, we’ll have to wait and see. SolidWorks has a pretty good track record of getting the top enhancements into future releases, so we’ll have to keep our fingers crossed.

Richard Doyle then introduced the SWUGN committee. It was time for the SWUGN awards.
User Group of the Year: Central Massachusetts/Northern Connecticut User Group
User Group Leader of the Year: Rob Jensen
Lifetime Achievement Award: Gerald Davis and Dan Bertschi

That was the first half of today’s session. More to come soon, including my interviews with Jeremy Luchini and Kerri Dunne.