I attended three technical sessions today. The first one was Sheet Metal. Why I do it like this and like that? , with Wayne Tiffany. 

I’m glad I arrived early because the place was completely full. I think this session is one of the most popular ones, and with good reason. Wayne explained to us the different reasons why sometimes we need to take a certain approach when modeling sheet metal parts. K factor was discussed, as well as the use of mitter flanges and close corners, among several other topics. I must say, as a new user of the Sheet Metal functionality, I learned a few things today. I won’t try to go into detail about what was presented in this session, because you can download the presentation from www.kcswug.com , as soon as it becomes available. Also visit the following websites that were offered to us as additional sources of information:

www.sheetmetaldesign.com

www.tyharness.co.uk/sheetmetal

The second technical session I attended today was No Red Pencil Required. Learning to use SW Design Checker, with Richard Doyle.

This was totally new for me. I must confess that I had seen the Design checker among the add-ins, but I had never actually used it before. It turns out it’s a powerful tool for verification of drawings, parts and assemblies, that compares sketches, fonts, materials, etc. against a standard that we specify in advance. This presentation will soon be made available online, and there may even be a video out there pretty soon.

My third and last technical session was on How to Use SolidWorks to Develop and Deliver Computer Based Training for Products, with Joe Craig and Frank Reiss, from Brand Hydraulics.

These guys came to talk to us about the solution they came up with for a problem they were experimenting. Not so long ago, due to the lack of experience and training of their assemblers, they were getting a great amount of cut O-rings during the process of assembly of their valves. To solve this problem in an easy and affordable way, they developed computer based training that uses PhotoWorks, SolidWorks Animator and a bit of coding in Perl. It’s really neat! The assembler in training gets a realistic image of his/her work environment, with all the pieces and tools that would be available during the process of assembly. From these tools, the trainee gets to choose the ones that will be needed during each step. If the choice is correct, an animation of that particular step in the assembly process will play and positive feedback will be given. If the choice is incorrect, however, the trainee will be prompted to try again, so in a way this is also a test for certification.

They made all this information AND the code needed to create this sort of training available to all that were present during the session. They said it was non-proprietary and we were free to share it, so, if you want it, send me an email or leave a comment and I’ll share with you.

In the afternoon, I headed over to the 10^th Annual SWUGN Summit. Why? Well, mainly because I knew that during this particular meeting our dear Richard Doyle would be presented with a very sincere and very well deserved token of our appreciation for all his hard work and dedication to the SolidWorks Community.   I don’t think Richard was expecting any of this. He was certainly moved! Same as many of you out there that have met him, I consider Richard a very good friend and I’m certainly glad he’s getting the recognition he deserves.  Congratulations, Richard! Keep up the excellent work!

Right after the summit, we were whisked away in a bus and driven to the Great Hall of China in Epcot for the press dinner event. I had never been to Epcot before and all I can say is that the place is absolutely beautiful. Here are a few pictures I took.

After seeking Nancy Buchino’s approval, the other bloggers and I left the dinner early to attend at least part of the CSWP event back at the hotel. She even helped us get transportation! Thank you, Nancy for treating us so well! It was amazing!  We arrived when the event was in full swing. I had no idea there were so many CSWP’s out there!  The contest had already begun, and everybody was busy having a bite to eat, something to drink, having a great time and, yes, building their rollercoaster. At some point during the night we managed to get a hold of a table and a bunch of pieces and we put together our own rollercoaster. Unfortunately, it didn’t quite work the way it was supposed to, and I think we were even made fun of on Twitter, but nevertheless it was lots of fun.

By the way, if you ever wonder who are the guys responsible for your suffering with the certification test… here you got them!