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SolidWorks Rolls Along
A report from SolidWorks World 2006 recently held in Las Vegas, where the
next release is revealed -- in a rather unconventional mannerby
Roopinder Tara, Editor, TenLinks,
March 28, 2006 The annual SolidWorks user meeting, conference
and exposition, aka SolidWorks World, has gotten bigger each year. This
year, with 3,800 attendees, SolidWorks proudly states that it is the
biggest MCAD conference in the world
SolidWorks has successfully been selling its MCAD software for
over 10 years. It is a mature company with a mature product. SolidWorks
now has over 500,000 users and, more importantly, it is on the short
list for millions of 2D users on the verge of upgrading to 3D. So now that sleepless startup days are but a memory,
it cannot be faulted for loosening up a bit and having a bit of fun.
SolidWorks 2007 previewed in a "dating game" format. All but
the blonde were SolidWorks employees.
SolidWorks 2007
SolidWorks 2007 was previewed--strangely enough--in a dating game
format. A good looking blonde took turns interviewing the 3 bachelors,
each personifying a facet of the new release. Opportunities for sexual
innuendo and double entendres were rampant--and appreciated by
the largely male crowd. Amid the distraction, this hardworking reporter
made this list of the top new features of SolidWorks 2007 -- as judged
by the crowd applause.
- Dimensions automatically space themselves out
- Sheet metal folding with bend lines
- Automatic flange on sheet metal
- Leader lines that can be broken and moved
- Belts generated automatically in pulley assembly to show motion
- Push/pull to deform surfaces
- Convert rotary motion to linear travel
- Automatic filleting and draft (with SWIFT -- more on that later)
- Tolerance stack up (with SWIFT*)
- 3D annotation
- Sketching with dynamics
- Centerline extraction for analysis
SWIFT
SolidWorks Intelligent Feature Technology (SWIFT) is an attempt by
the company to eliminate or reduce manual tasks--a way to let the
computer do things that users would have to do, freeing them to be more
creative. In an example shown, a complex fillet sequence on a part
resulted in an error. It was explained that (without SWIFT), the user
would manually have to determine where the error occurred using the
history tree and then resequence the filleting process--a time consuming
task. With SWIFT, a dialog box appears with a “fix this” button and the
software takes care of it. This generated quite some applause.
Fixing filleting and draft features is just the first step, Rick Chin
of SolidWorks told TenLinks. “There will be more enhancements resulting
from SWIFT in future releases. The hope is to eventually make the
creation of all features easier. SWIFT is the brainchild of Chin, who
left SolidWorks in 2001 but returned in 2005 with the idea that
SolidWorks should be doing more to intelligently assist the user.
In light of an industry perception that SolidWorks had grown
increasingly complex over the years, I asked whether SWIFT was not just
an answer to a problem that SolidWorks itself had created. “No,” says
Chin, “Complexity is industry wide--things such as the history tree are
not unique to SolidWorks. However, with SWIFT, we’re in the forefront in
making our software easier to use.”
Kubotek a Surprise Exhibitor
Kubotek was the big surprise on the show floor, as its KeyCreator
product (formerly CADKEY) competes head on with SolidWorks. I’ve
attended shows where sneaky competitors have been escorted out by
security. So why was Bob Bean, COO of Kubotek, openly holding court at
SolidWorks World? Certainly, no other CAD company was present. It turns
out that Bean managed to convince Jon Hirschtick that Kubotek technology
is really about collaboration.
Kubotek was pushing REALyze, a data conversion product. REALyze is a
standalone product that costs $6,000 for an individual license and
$15,000 for an enterprise license. Even though aggressive per seat
pricing is available, this dwarfs Kubotek’s flagship KeyCreator. Kubotek
has been banging the collaboration drum lately (see
press release).
Is Kubotek still a MCAD company? Is the company still going to put
out KeyCreator on the same release schedule as before? Bean assures that
this is so. I can only conclude that Kubotek is probably considering the
benefits of hitching up to a market leader with a new product offering.
More Show Highlights
- Employees of TREK bikes, known for providing Lance
Armstrong the bikes to win the Tour de France a record 7 times, were
on hand. SolidWorks has become so capable that TREK is considering
not using Alias (known for its advanced surfacing and rendering) any
longer. TREK also uses COSMOS by SolidWorks.
- Stars of The Discovery Channel’s hit show, MythBusters,
keynote presentation included discussion of a salami-powered rocket,
purportedly used by Confederates in the US Civil War. Not a myth,
they declared. Will a penny dropped from the Empire State Building
kill a person? No, due to tumbling, the terminal velocity is too
low. Use of SolidWorks on the show has helped gain approval from the
show’s insurance carrier for some of their stunts, they joked. I,
too, worried for their safety, especially after they declared their
passion for “blowing things up.” There was never any mention of
engineering oversight or approval. Also, neither of the show’s
stars, Adam Savage or Jamie Hyneman, have engineering backgrounds.
- Of humble origin: SolidWorks was born in a Dunkin’ Donuts
shop, founded by Jon Hirschtick, Bob Zuffante, Tommy Li, Scott
Harris and Mike Payne. The original name: Winchester Design Systems.
- NextEngine, a desktop 3D laser scanner, is available for
an unheard of price of $2495. This ought to bring reverse
engineering to the masses.
- File size in SolidWorks 2007 will be 50% smaller. Design
partners, Seymour and Powell, gave a keynote in which one of their
designs, a fuel cell powered motorcycle (the ENV) was shown.
Unfortunately for SolidWorks, PTC had just claimed credit for the
ENV in a
press release that just by coincidence was issued during
SolidWorks World.
- Teksoft was showing 3DsearchIt, a “Google for CAD.”
Expected to be released in 2 months, 3DsearchIt indexes all parts on
the hard drive (local or network) which it can then retrieve. Z
Corp, makers of rapid prototyping machines, takes a big step forward
in realism, produces parts in color—great for presentations and
design reviews.
- SolidWorks World 2007 will be Feb 4-7, 2007 in New
Orleans
More about SolidWorks World
Articles
-
SolidWorks Creates a Supercar - SolidWorks used in design of the
Koenigsegg, a car capable of going over 240 miles per hour by Roopinder
Tara, Editor, TenLinks, February 14, 2006
-
SolidWorks World - Day 1 - claiming largest attendance, SolidWorks gave
some details of SolidWorks 2007 and a desktop 3D color scanner, Ralph
Grabowski, WorldCAD Access, January 23, 2006
-
SolidWorks World: Day 2 - SolidWorks shows no reaction for Autodesk
publicity stunts, Ralph Grabowski, WorldCAD Access, January 24, 2006
-
SolidWorks World - Day 3 - racing at the Speedway and the dating game
presents SolidWorks 2007, Ralph Grabowski, WorldCAD Access, January 24, 2006
- Interview with Suchit Jain - vice president of analysis at
SolidWorks discusses inclusion of COSMOSmotion in SolidWorks Office Premium,
more, Amy Castor, SolidWorks Community, January 27, 2006
-
Last Day of the SolidWorks World 2006... - "industrial
anthropology," rapid prototyping and Mathsoft's use of XML, Leslie Gordon,
Machine Design, January 26, 2006
- MythBusters at SolidWorks World - TV show stars keynote user
meeting, users are fans of the software and everything is just right gushes
Rachael Dalton-Taggart, CADwire.net, January 24, 2006
-
Salami Powered Rocket
- yes, it's true, say the Myth Busters
appearing at SolidWorks 2006, also a neat $2500 3D laser desktop scanner and
the fastest production car in the world, Leslie Gordon, Machine Design,
January 26, 2006
-
Solid Showing of New Products - highlights from the many vendors
on display at SolidWorks World 2006, Nancy Spurling Johnson, Cadalyst,
January 30, 2006
-
SolidWorks World 2006 - SolidWorks 2007 features were unveiled,
SWIFT platform, more, Nancy Spurling Johnson, Cadalyst, January 30, 2006
- Trek and CAD - Lance Armstrong's time trial bike frame is on
display at the SolidWorks annual user meeting but the company also uses
Alias and thinkID from think3, Evan Yares, The CAD Industry, January 25,
2006
Press Releases
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