User Groups
From the Fire into the Frying Pan
Summer in Texas is always hot, but this year has been especially so. We're closing in on the all-time record of 63 days of 100 degree temperatures, and it's been 24 straight days since we've seen a high of 99
... ContinuedMinneapolis Just Keeps Setting Records
The three most attended SWUGN Summit events have one thing in common – they were all in Minneapolis. We're back here today with 184 SolidWorks users – another new record. I asked the crowd this morning….why? The answer is simple -
... 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.
A Visit With the Laney SolidWorks User Group
I recently had the pleasure of attending a pretty unique user group event at Laney College in Oakland, California. The group is run by Elise Moss, a long-time supporter of SolidWorks and instructor at the school. If you’re not familiar,
... Continued3 Meetings, 3 Meals, and 2 Presentations
I don't often do three SolidWorks User Group meetings in three days, but when the CEO is making his first user group appearances, your schedule tends to change. The trip started in Atlanta where Tom Ellis treated us to vast
... ContinuedMeet the CEO at a SolidWorks User Group meeting
Hello all, I am writing to let you all know that I will be visiting several SolidWorks user groups in Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina next week, as follows: May 24 – Atlanta, GA May 25 – Greenville, SC
... ContinuedThis Time You Get to Ask Questions…
Bertrand Sicot was introduced as the new CEO of SolidWorks in front of nearly 5,000 people at SolidWorks World 2010 in San Antonio. SolidWorks World is a great event, bit it isn't exactly the best place to have a question
... Continued2lbs of Bacon, 2lbs of Sausage, a Bottle of Sauce and a Bottle of Rub
Care to take a guess what that title means? Never mind, I'll just tell you. Those are the ingredients of something known as "The Bacon Explosion", a football-sized BBQ dish that packs a whopping 5000 calories and 500 grams of
... ContinuedSolidWorks Learning Resources in the Aggregate – swtuts.com
For a long time now, SolidWorks users have been creating "content" to help fellow users learn how to be more productive. SolidWorks World presentations, local User Group presentations, even things like YouTube videos and step-by-step guides. – all available free
... ContinuedMeeting at the NEOSWUG Clubhouse
If you think a SolidWorks User Group meeting has to be held in a classroom or stuffy hotel meeting room, think again. There have been meetings scheduled at museums, indoor racing venues, even bowling alleys. For the past few years,
... ContinuedUptown's Got it's Hustlers, the Bowery's Got a SolidWorks User Group
New York City is one of my favorite places. I've visited several times, and have never had a bad experience. That's why I was so excited when Matt Rohr contacted me early this year to let me know that SWUGNYC was a
... ContinuedThe Pirates are Back (and so are we)
One of my all-time favorite user group names is the Pirates on the Bay SolidWorks User Group. The group was formed in March of 2007, and has gone through three leadership changes. The current group leader, Steve Elting, has vowed to
... ContinuedFive Questions Friday with Anne Yust of Micromedics, Inc.
Name: Anne Yust Title: Engineering Document Control/Drafting Company: Micromedics, Inc., a company that develops, manufactures and markets FibriJet® Biomaterials Applicators for dispensing biomaterials such as platelet gel and tissue sealants. Job description: Support Engineering Department with drafting and document control
... ContinuedFive Questions Friday with Rachel York of Applied Robotics, Inc.
Name: Rachel Diane York
Title: Mechanical Draftsman
Job description: Responsible for routing and completion of Engineering Change/Support Requests submitted to the Engineering Department.
Company: Applied Robotics, Inc. Applied Robotics is a leading global provider of specialized end-of-arm tooling and connectivity solutions designed to meet unique application and market needs, and bringing new levels of flexibility and efficiency to bear on the industrial material handling process.
Hometown: Atlanta, Georgia
1) Why do you choose to do the work you do?
I grew up the only child of a man who could fix anything, almost to the point I would want to break things just to watch him work his magic. Watching him tear things down and build them back up to something even better made me want to take everything apart, just to see how it worked. Worse case scenario: Dad could fix it.
My mother encouraged my curiosity; whenever something broke, a can opener, garage door opener, radio, lawn mower, whatever it was, she would always give me the chance to mend it before it was deemed a lost cause and handed off to my dad. My favorite part of what I do is seeing the ‘insides’ of machines and applying what I know about how one works to fix and improve, or even help create another. The greatest challenge of all is wanting to be a part of creating something that can’t be improved, simply because it was perfect the first time – come on, it could happen!
... Continued