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Archive for July 19th, 2008

This is a little story that reminds me somehow about the way some of us approach SolidWorks and, more in particular, the new functionality that is added to it with every release. Read on and you’ll see what I mean.

One of the many summer activities for kids in this area is a one week bowling camp. It’s really fun and a great value for the money, because at the end of it all the kids receive a customized bowling ball of their choice and a bag.  My older son tried it last year and loved it, so this year we decided to sign up both boys for the camp. Now, you have to keep in mind that my younger son is only four, and his hands are so small, his fingers so short, that not a single one of the house balls in the whole bowling alley could fit him. The space between the holes for the fingers and the thumb has always been too large for him. For this reason, in order to bowl with the others, he holds the ball with both hands, gently places it on the lane and gives it a little push, then stays there, watching his ball slowly creep to the pins, at an “astonishing” speed of  1.5 mph.  Problem is, unless he’s allowed to use bumpers, the ball almost never makes it to the pins,  and usually ends up in a gutter, as a dead ball, instead. As the camp came to an end, we could hardly wait for him to try his new ball, the one that had been customized for him, using exact measurements of his hand and fingers.  The coach gave him his ball, and he placed his fingers and thumb inside the holes to hold it. He was so delighted! “It fits, mom! Finally, I have a ball that fits! Now I can hold it!” he said. Suddenly, it was his turn to bowl and what did he do? Well, while still keeping his fingers inside the holes, and as everyone cheered for him, he carried the ball all the way to the lane… then gently placed it down and gave it a push with both hands.  Oops!   I guess it’s going to take some time for him to realize he doesn’t need to do it that way anymore. He’ll get it in the end, I’m sure. I’ll make sure he does!

But, you see, the way my son continued to cling to his old ways even with the new and improved ball, reminds me a bit of all of us. Here we are with our “brand new ball”, this powerful software, full of functionality and great features, yet, many times we don’t use any of it, or don’t even know of its existence.  Instead, we continue to “give our ball a little push” in order to get the job done, just like my son did. And if you don’t believe me, go to the forums, read a few blogs, or check out the videos I posted of the last Tri-Valley SWUG meeting. You’ll see many users that seemed surprised to hear about top-down modeling, smart components, mate references, etc. Functionality that is not precisely new.   I wonder why. Is it lack of information about this functionality? Lack of educational materials? Misinformation? Lack of trust that this functionality may actually work the way it’s supposed to? Is it that we can’t come up with a good use for it? Or is it just that it’s too hard to get out of our comfort zone and try something new? Whatever the reason, it is a real shame. After all, what good is all this functionality, all this power, if we don’t use it?

So, next time you’re using SolidWorks, if you have a chance, try something new, just for fun. Explore a bit! You may be surprised by what you find! It may be just what you needed all along to stop pushing your ball down the lane and knock down a few pins for a change!