Jeff's Tool Shed

I started following Roopinder Tara’s training diary, and it’s brought back some memories of when I started using SolidWorks.

Back in ‘98 or ‘99 is when I started using SolidWorks. Keep in mind, I’m not an engineer and I had no experience with CAD, aside from about 20-30 hours with AutoCAD. (I actually referred to myself as an "uneducated hack" when I sent Roopinder some words of encouragement). I followed the online tutorials, learned the basic functionality and went off on my merry way. Thankfully, most of the parts I had to model at Genie were, for the most part, quite simple. Very few parts were "complex" and this allowed me to start creating the models from the AutoCAD drawings almost from the get-go. Yes, there were plenty of pit-falls along the way, and zippo outside training (not my choice), but I wanted to learn SolidWorks. I knew it was my way out of the box I’d been put in. Now, I’m a CSWP and I have a job, as a CAD Administrator, that I never would have been considered for without SolidWorks.

If the opportunity is there, I strongly suggest anyone learning SolidWorks get some training. Whether it’s from your VAR, SolidProfessor or a consultant, learning how to do things correctly the first time will save you a lot of headaches down the road.

One other thing…Network with other users. There are plenty of forums. Two of my favorites are eng-tips forums and the SolidWorks forum. You can learn tons of stuff from all the users on both of these sites. There are others as well…comp.cad.solidworks comes right to mind.

Remember, too, that just because you can’t get it to work doesn’t mean it’s a bug. Matt Lombard actually has a great post about learning to ask to learn, which may help out new users when asking questions in one of the forums.

Ok, I’m done for now. I’ve actually forgotten why I started writing…gotta love Mondays…

So, I figure if I’m going to be posting reviews about software and hardware mainly for SolidWorks users, you should know a little about me. That way you won’t think I’m just some uniformed hack.

My name is Jeff Mirisola. I’m a Certified SolidWorks Professional and, hopefully after next Thursday, a CmfgT. I’ve been using SolidWorks for about 7 years now. Presently, I’m a CAD Administrator for HySecurity Gate Operators in Kent, Washington. I spend my days converting our old AutoCAD drawings over to SolidWorks, redesigning for cost down and converting our "smart" part numbering system over to our new "dumb" part numbering system (I could go off on a tangent here about how much I hate "smart" part numbers, but I’ll refrain…for now). I manage the four seats of SolidWorks that we have and help teach the other users here. I also manage most of our controlled documents.

While our assemblies here are small (under 150 parts for most), my former position had me creating assemblies that regularly exceeded 1000 parts. For some, that’s not much, but it’s a far cry from where I am right now. It was at my previous job that I taught myself SolidWorks. I worked for Genie Industries as a production worker. An injury forced me into an office job for the materials department, which was followed up with a request from the, then, head of our plant’s engineering department to move over to Technical Manuals. At the time, all of the illustrations were simple 2D graphics. I’d seen the engineers working with SolidWorks and, through a bit of finagling, I was able to talk my boss into letting me experiment with it to see if it wouldn’t work well for the parts manuals. From there, I was off and running. OK, running might be a bit of an exaggeration. I stumbled a lot. I didn’t receive any formal training; rather, I relied on the help files, picking the brains of the engineers (not that there was much to pick), and our VAR. By the time I left Genie, I was one of the "go to" people for SolidWorks questions. The first manual produced using SolidWorks was for Genie’s Z-20/8. As it was my first real foray into all things SolidWorks, I’m quite proud of what I was able to accomplish in that manual. I believe that all of Genie’s parts manuals now rely on SolidWorks illustrations.

Outside of work, I’m a divorced dad of 3 rambunctious sons who are my world. I enjoy spending working with my hands (working on cars, landscaping, construction projects), playing Texas Hold ‘em, and just enjoying life.

I don’t know that this has been of any use to anyone, but I thought I’d just share a little about me with you. Below is a picture of me at a HySecurity event wearing my Genie gear, much to my boss’s chagrin.