SWUGN Group Leader Spotlight – Adam Green

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Since 1996, SOLIDWORKS User Groups have been a valuable resource for SOLIDWORKS users all over the world.  The SWUGN Committee and DS SOLIDWORKS provide ample support, but the real stars are the SOLIDWORKS User Group Leaders. Every week or so we’ll spotlight one of our group leaders and the local user group chapter that they are responsible for leading.

Adam Green – United Kingdom SOLIDWORKS User Group North West

Adam

In August of 2014, I heard through the grapevine that someone was interested in resurrecting a SOLIDWORKS User Group in (or near) Manchester, England.  I reached out to a fellow named Adam Green, and it was one of the best emails I’ve ever sent.  It didn’t take long for Adam to get up to speed and start putting together some great meetings.  I was fortunate to be able to attend a meeting in Liverpool in June, another reason to be thankful that I reached out to Adam.  Here’s what Adam has to say about the group.

Who are you and what do you do?

Hey, my name is Adam and the Design Manager at Locker Group Ltd in the UK. We specialize in the design and manufacture of mesh products for the Oil and Gas industry and the AEC Industry. I specialize in 3D Design and Automation of SOLIDWORKS. I live in a village in Cheshire on the banks of the Manchester ship canal. In my spare time I play for the local football (soccer) team and I enjoy hands on DIY projects especially when I can use new technology.

When did you first start learning/using SOLIDWORKS?

I first came across SOLIDWORKS whilst studying Mechanical Engineering at University. I realized what a great product it was from the start and quickly started to pick-up the tools and use them to better my designs. As I first came across SOLIDWORKS at university I recognize the value of bringing industry and education together.

Tell us a little about your SOLIDWORKS User Group.

We are based in the North West of the UK, encompassing large cities like Manchester, Liverpool and Lancaster. This area has a lot of different industries all mixed in together and so a vast amount of experience and expertise. This made it the ideal place to set up a User Group. We have been up and running since September 2014 and hold 4 meeting every year with attendances ranging from 30 to 100 per meeting.

Are you the founder of the group?

Yes. There has been a number of smaller user groups around the area in the past however I wanted to bring all of the different areas together to enrich the User Group.

What as the best meeting you’ve had?

In June this year we merged forces with Liverpool John Moors University’s Annual Design Show. This event was significant for a number of reasons.

It was attended by 100 people which was great. I have no real experience in events operations, so it was really pleasing to see it all come together and everything run so smoothly.

Richard Doyle, Simon Booker and Ian Pilkington also came to the meeting which meant a lot to our group and gave the local SOLIDWORKS Community a boost of confidence.

Since then we have had a meeting in September, where we saw a number of returning members from the June meeting. One of the members, Alan, is a product designer. He attended the June event and whilst there he met a graduate student who impressed him so much that he helped him to find his first graduate job – this made me feel very proud of our community.

What have you learned personally from your UG?

3D printing and Additive Manufacturing is growing more and more, this is an area that I haven’t really look at since university. In September we teamed up with Canon who showed the users the different types of technology and how to get the best data out of SOLIDWORKS for 3D Printing.

What was the worst meeting you’ve had?

I wouldn’t say that it was a bad meeting but the first meeting didn’t quite go to plan. I had arranged a number of presenters to come and talk to the members, however about 1 hour before the meeting a presenter dropped out. At first it was panic stations, but this gap in the schedule allowed the members to share stories and experiences, so it probably turned out better in the end.

Why should people attend a SOLIDWORKS User Group meeting?

There is very little reason not to attend at least one of our meetings per year. We move around the North West to enable SOLIDWORKS users in every corner of the region to take part. The community we have started to build is founded on the very principal that SWUGN was founded on – knowledge sharing!

We have worked hard to listen to our members, connecting them with the wider SOLIDWORKS community and most of all we are always looking to make out meetings fun! If you can only make one of our meetings I urge you to come to our June 2016 at Liverpool John Moors – this event will be our annual main event.

Thanks Adam!  I hope to see you again this summer in Liverpool.

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