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Archive for May 2nd, 2008

It may just be that I’m running a fever as I write this, I’ve been as sick as a dog all this week, but I can’t help feeling this way.  Can I pour my heart out to a listening ear out there on this vast cyber universe?  Well, it’s like this. My own copy of the newest SolidWorks book I had been (un) patiently waiting for so long finally got here just a few days ago. It is, indeed, a great book, great quality, lots of colorful illustrations, plenty of examples and lengthy explanations, and written by a famous bestselling author. Who could ask for more, right? Well, it is really great, only I have a bit of a problem. You see, I’m using an educational version of SolidWorks 2007, and all the files and examples contained in the book were created in SolidWorks 2008. Why is this a problem for me? Well, simply because  there is no way I will ever be able to open  the files  in SolidWorks 2007, there’s no way to convert the SW2008 files into something I can open and still benefit from (parasolid won’t do for the purposes of the tutorials in the book), and at least for now, this is the only SolidWorks I can have. Bummer!

I’m not complaining, really, I’m not. Well, OK, maybe just a bit. But I’m not complaining about the book, because when I ordered it, I already knew what I was getting into. It didn’t take me by surprise. I knew the examples were modeled in SW2008, and that I would not be able to open them, but I bought the book just the same, because I also knew how hard it is to get reliable information on this particular area of SolidWorks and I just wanted to learn. I tried really hard to win the SW2007 training manuals for this particular topic on eBay, but it’s a task that proved to be impossible for me, someone always snatched out of my hands 10 seconds before the end, so I went for the book instead.   Hmmm, I wonder if you know what book I’m talking about. Chances are you own one too!  Did you guess?  Yes, of course you know!  It’s Matt Lombard’s  new Surfacing and Complex Shape Modeling Bible. Really nice book! It’s a soft cover, but it has the quality, looks and feel of a hard cover book.  I hope I can still get a lot out of it, even when I’m not able to open the files and examples. I have been browsing through it and it looks like I may as well be able to.

Like I said, I’m not complaining, but I do feel  bummed out about this reality of what using an older version of SolidWorks means. It means not being able to open files and share documents with users of the new version. It means not being able to fully benefit from books like Lombard’s, because they mainly target the new version. It feels like missing out on a lot of good stuff and not getting the materials you need to learn, unless you can pay thousands to attend the special training at the VAR or you are lucky enough to win a manual on eBay. I feel like I’m on the outside looking in. And  in many ways, I guess I really am,  especially since I’m only using an educational version of the software, that will expire in a year and months, and after that, well… I really don’t know.  I wish I could buy my own license of SolidWorks, and I’m saving some money, but for now it’s only a dream. SolidWorks is not cheap, and, as Vic Leventhal said to us during that first Tri Valley SWUG meeting, it’s not likely to ever become cheap. So… It is more likely that in a year or so  you may find me working for a company in the area and who knows what version of SolidWorks they’ll use, or if they’ll use SolidWorks at all. I hope they do, because I love the software and I’m putting a lot of effort into learning how to use it. In the meantime, all I can do is make the best of what I have and the resources available, and keep at it, even on those days when it feels that I’m merely muddling through it. Even though I’m on the outside looking in, I’m still grateful for that little window that was left open for me to gaze into all this marvelous world that revolves around SolidWorks and that, otherwise, I would’ve never known it existed at all. Maybe someday I’ll manage to get in, who knows? You got to have a few dreams, right?