A SolidWorks User Group Meeting Without SolidWorks?

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I can’t recall a SolidWorks User Group meeting that I’ve attended without a single launch of SolidWorks, so last night’s North Texas SolidWorks User Group meeting was a little different.  That’s not to say it wasn’t a good meeting, in fact, it was a great one.

Thomas Allsup started things off with a really nice recap of SolidWorks World 2012.  I’ve see his SolidWorks World synopses before, and he always does a great job of making people feel like they were “almost” there.  He talked about the general sessions, and the technical sessions he attended.  His slides always include some of the things he learned in the sessions, so the attendees last night did actually learn a few things about SolidWorks.  Thomas’s presentation ended with a friendly, spirited discussion on the topic of “V”.

Next up was Anthony Botting, Simulation Specialist with Jelani AI, and a very familier face to SolidWorks/Simulation users in the Dallas area.  Tony’s topic was SolidWorks Plastics, but bereft of the actual software, he was limited to a few slides and a video presentation.  That did not temper his enthusiasm one bit, and at one point during the session, he actualy giggled over the prospect of using SolidWorks Plastics.  I also heard him mutter the term “geek-ery”.  It was fun to watch.

I got to close the meeting with a presentation that covered a little bit of everything – SolidWorks User Groups, the SolidWorks Community, the SolidWorks Forums, etc.  Included in my talk were examples of “content” that is being continuously posted in the SolidWorks forums – Part Reviewer example files, 1-Minute Tips, API examples and the like.  So while I didn’t actually fire up SolidWorks, this morning the attendees can download content and do some learning on their own.

An unusual meeting for sure, but a really good one overall.  Thanks Christie and Thomas for keeping the Dallas area SolidWorks users informed and entertained.

Richard Doyle

Richard Doyle

My official title is Senior User Advocacy & SolidWorks User Groups - but most people just call me "The User Group Guy". I've been a SolidWorks user since 1997, and was one of the founding members of the SWUGN Committee. Since starting the Central Texas SolidWorks User Group in 1999, my career path has led me to DS SolidWorks and a dream job supporting the SolidWorks User Group Network worldwide.
Richard Doyle

@https://twitter.com/swugn

Richard Doyle