Customer Stories
SolidWorks World 2012 International Series: Talking Shop with Kavita Aroor
As we gear up for SolidWorks World 2012, we'll be running a series of interviews that shine a spotlight on our employees from different parts of the world, and why you might consider attending. This time, we're talking with down
... ContinuedGet into SolidWorks World 2012 for free with our hobbyist contest #sww12
You might think that SolidWorks is all about business. But that's not really the case. Sure, most of you are using SolidWorks tools to design products, machines, vehicles and any other manner of things. But we know that some of
... Continued2012 – The Year of the Sports Car Comeback?
Green vehicles were all the rage in 2011, with a heavy focus on reducing fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. Consumers are trying hard to be green at every turn – and this doesn’t end when they hit the road.
... ContinuedWe have a winner in the SolidWorks World 2012 International Intrigue Contest
Two weeks ago, we gave SolidWorks users outside of the US a chance to attend SolidWorks 2012 for free, complete with air and hotel. The only thing you had to do was answer a few questions and make the best
... ContinuedDIY Design at Cedarville University
I first learned about Jay Kinsinger, professor of engineering at Cedarville University, from the school's VAR, 3D Vision. They told me about how in addition to pushing design to its limits using the tools at hand with his students' projects, he also designs steel-frame bikes on his own time.
... ContinuedIntroducing the SolidWorks Holiday Gift Guide
I’ve been thinking about developing a Holiday Gift Guide since the first day I started at SolidWorks. While I’m impressed by all of the products our customers design, I’m most intrigued by the ones that I may have actually purchased
... ContinuedConfigurable PDM
Part of my job as Product Manager at DS SolidWorks Corp is to visit customers and see how they are using our technology. I love to ask how they did things before implementing our software, what productivity gains they have
... ContinuedSolidWorks customers chime in on SolidWorks 2012 at the annual media day
On September 6, we'll officially unveil SolidWorks 2012—but today, here at SolidWorks HQ, we gave a few of our friends in the press a sneak peek of the 20th release of our product. The day started off with a look
... ContinuedDesign That Matters: accelerating development and saving lives with SolidWorks
Back in 2009, former SolidWorks CEO Jeff Ray wrote about Design That Matters, a local non-profit organization that leverages volunteer engineers and designers to come up with life-saving products for use in the developing world. SolidWorks has been a long-time supporter of Design That Matters, and the group even appeared on stage at SolidWorks World 2009, showing off an infant incubator designed using car parts.
... ContinuedCEOs perspective: an update on the recovery in Japan
Last month, I went on a week-long trip to Japan. This was the first trip I have made to the country since the earthquake and tsunami earlier in the year, and I was particularly interested in seeing how our customers and reseller partners were doing.
On the flight over, I noticed that only 2/3 of the seats in the airplane were occupied. I have been to Japan many times in my years at SolidWorks, and have never seen a plane that was less than full. However, one of the flight attendants told me that only a month earlier, most flights were only 1/3 full, and that they have been seeing a noticeable improvement in travel to and from Japan. So that gave me some small bit of hope.
... ContinuedReporting back from the SolidWorks Executive Forum in Minneapolis
I had the opportunity to sit in on one of our Executive Forum gatherings in Minneapolis recently. Despite unseasonal heat for Minneapolis, approximately 30 customers from our largest accounts in the area joined us for the day at the Walker Art center downtown.
If you’re not familiar with them, the Executive Forums are a fairly new program started last year and sponsored entirely by SolidWorks. They’re geared more toward managers than the power users who normally attend SolidWorks User Group meetings. The sessions are small, informal, and provide attendees an opportunity to hear the SolidWorks strategy as well as network with peers and exchange best practices (two users from Trail King in South Dakota earned the honor of having driven the farthest with a 4.5 hour road trip). Customers present as well – rather than a case study on WHY they picked SolidWorks, they talk about HOW they’re using SolidWorks products. For the SolidWorks employees in the audience, this is the best part.
Trip report: my SolidWorks User Group tour
As you may recall from my earlier post, I spent the week of May 23 driving through the southeastern US with SolidWorks User Group Network coordinator Richard Doyle, attending user group meetings and visiting customers. It is always exciting to get out of the office and meet with SolidWorks users, and I learn something new every time. Rather than give you a day-by-day retelling of my trip, I thought I would talk about some of the highlights.
Each of the user group meetings was different and enlightening in different ways. The first meeting was in Atlanta, Georgia, and was held at the Quickparts headquarters. The second meeting in Greenville, South Carolina, was held at Clemson University. At this meeting, several resellers set up a display of 3D printers for the 70 attendees to demo, and SolidWorks customer Redneck Engineering brought out a few custom choppers. Here’s a picture of me sitting on one of them along with Vince “Nobody” Doll, who runs the company.
Three Elements Timberworks cuts development costs by 50% with help from SolidWorks
Three Elements Timberworks, Inc. from Colorado isn't your average SolidWorks customer. They don't build motorcycles or medical devices or any kind of machinery. Rather, they design and assemble of hand-cut, custom timber frames for interior and exterior residential and commercial projects throughout the Rocky Mountain region.
Recreating the U.S.S. Missouri with help from SolidWorks
I recently learned about an interesting project we're sponsoring here at SolidWorks. It's the work of a gentleman named Donn McKinney, who hails from Yorba Linda, California. Donn is a fan of the World War II-era Iowa-class battlships built for the United States Navy, and he has decided to attempt to create a fully-operational 1/32-scale model of the U.S.S. Missouri. And by fully-operational, Donn means that it will have full navigation, propulsion and radar capabilities.
If you're not familiar with your naval history, the Missouri was the last battleship built by the United States, and saw active service from 1945-1955, with a reactivation period from 1984-1991. Today, the Missouri is a museum ship. It weighs 45,000 tons, is nearly 900 feet long, and is capable of carrying a crew of 2,700.
That's a big ship, and it's hard to imagine turning something so huge into a 1/32-scale replica. Even at that size, the final result will be over 27 feet long. So to get started, Donn is using SolidWorks to create a full model of the Missouri. In fact, he's already started to build parts of the hull, and is making significant progress modeling the other parts of the superstructure. Donn is currently estimating that the project will take 2-1/2 to 3 years to complete. Talk about dedication.
Matti Technology AG uses SolidWorks to shorten design cycles by up to 20%
They may not be a household name, but Switzerland's Matti Technology AG is a major player in the development of printing presses, finishing lines, drying techniques, and digital printing technologies. They provide high-speed solutions to support a variety of business printing needs, and have successfully integrated a thousand different digital systems