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Posts Tagged ‘SWW 2009’

OK, so this is one of those really cool things about being a blogger and attending an event such as SolidWorks World as “press”: you get to see all these awesome new gadgets before they’re made available to the public or even announced.  The hard part is that you have to keep it a secret, and you can’t tell a single soul (not even your aunt Gladys if you have one) about all the wonders you’ve witnessed until after the formal announcement has been made. That’s tough!

Fortunately for me, there’s no more need to keep quiet. The secret’s out!  And take a look at it. This is the newest and most powerful 3D mouse that anyone has ever come up with and I got to see it in action (and even play with it a bit) back in February, during a meeting I had with the folks from 3DConnexion, while at SolidWorks World  2009, in Orlando.

Like I said before, I got to try one of these for a bit while at the meeting, but it was for only such a brief moment that I’m literally dying to get my hands on one of these units again to test it more thoroughly… all in the name of CAD and science, of course, and always keeping my readers’ best interest in mind. OK, I confess, I fell in love with it since the moment I laid eyes on it!

Until then, I leave you with the information from the press release and a handsome picture for your enjoyment.  For more information on this and other 3D mice from 3DConnexion, visit their website at www.3Dconnexion.com

 

3Dconnexion Launches Its Most Powerful 3D Mouse Ever: the SpacePilot PRO

 

Integrated Color LCD Workflow Assistant, QuickView Navigation Technology, and Intelligent Function Keys Save Time and Reduce Interruptions

 

FREMONT, Calif. – April 16, 2009 – To meet the rigorous demands of design engineers working in powerful 3D applications, 3Dconnexion today announced the new SpacePilot™ PRO. The company’s flagship 3D mouse is designed to deliver advanced control of 3D models, easier access to the power of professional 3D applications, fewer interruptions in the design workflow, and superior comfort. Specifically, the SpacePilot PRO features a new color LCD Workflow Assistant, second-generation QuickView Navigation technology, Intelligent Function keys, and an improved design for enhanced comfort and control.

 

“3Dconnexion’s 3D mice have rewritten the rules on the way design engineers and professionals interact with 3D environments,” said Dieter Neujahr, president of 3Dconnexion. “Our new SpacePilot PRO builds on our market-leading industry experience, delivering the most powerful 3D mouse we’ve ever made. It enables increased performance that ultimately results in better designs, created in less time.”

 

The SpacePilot PRO 3D mouse provides the highest level of performance features ever available from 3Dconnexion, including:

 

-      LCD Workflow Assistant: The color LCD lists function-key assignments and provides at-a-glance access to Microsoft^® Outlook^® e-mail, calendar and task lists, allowing professionals to access important information for a fully integrated design experience with fewer distractions. Through 3Dconnexion’s open software architecture, the workflow assistant can be further customized to meet the needs of individuals, companies and software vendors.

 

-      Advanced MCAD Navigation: Five new dual-function QuickView Navigation keys
improve error detection, design review, and design presentation by providing one-touch access to the following views: top and bottom, right and left, front and back, two isometric views, and 90-degree view rotation of any view either clockwise or counter-clockwise – for a total of 32 views. A short press activates a key’s primary view command, while pressing and holding a key activates a secondary view command. In addition, new Navigation Setting keys offer simplified and customizable control, allowing professionals to turn pan-and-zoom, rotation and one-axis control on or off, making it easier to define navigation settings for certain work modes.

 

-      Intelligent Function Keys: Five new fully customizable, dual-function keys offer immediate, one-touch access to 10 frequently used commands within any supported 3D application. The SpacePilot PRO automatically detects the active application and assigns appropriate function keys – whether default or customized. The color LCD denotes the function key assignments and application mode so engineers can easily identify commands and design states.

 

-      Superior Comfort: The SpacePilot PRO has a new sculpted, soft-coated wrist rest that positions the hand in relation to the controller cap to support a balanced workflow. The micro-precision six-degrees-of-freedom sensor allows for fingertip control with minimal effort from the arm, wrist and hand, while frequently used commands are conveniently positioned at your fingertips. The intuitive and symmetrical layout of the function keys makes the device usable with either hand.

 

About 3Dconnexion 3D Mice

Unlike traditional mice confined to motion on one flat plane, 3Dconnexion 3D mice enable design engineers to move in all three dimensions simultaneously, using six-degrees–of-freedom sensor technology. By gently lifting, pressing and turning the controller cap, design engineers can easily pan, zoom and rotate without stopping to select commands. Using a 3D mouse together with a traditional mouse engages both hands into a balanced and cooperative work style.

 

3Dconnexion provides advanced and affordable 3D mice that are supported by more than 130 of today’s leading and powerful 3D applications, including Autodesk Inventor^TM, SolidWorks^TM, CATIA^TM, Pro/ENGINEER^TM, NX^TM and Solid Edge^TM. For a complete list of applications supported by 3Dconnexion, visit www.3dconnexion.com/solutions.

 

Compatibility, Pricing and Availability

The SpacePilot PRO is backed by a three-year warranty, and is currently available at a suggested retail price of $499. The SpacePilot PRO is supported by Windows XP, Windows Vista^®, Sun Solaris 8 (SPARC), Sun Solaris 10 (x86), and Linux^® (Redhat Enterprise Linux WS 4, SuSE 9.3 or later). Linux and Solaris support workflow assistant function key assignments only.

 

The entire 3Dconnexion product line, including the Professional Series with the SpacePilot™ (MSRP $399) and SpaceExplorer™ (MSRP $299), and the Standard Series with the SpaceNavigator (MSRP $99) and SpaceNavigator for Notebooks (MSRP $129), are available from professional CAD resellers and major online resellers including CDW, Insight, PC Connection, and PC Mall. For a complete list of resellers or to buy directly, visit www.3Dconnexion.com.

 

About 3Dconnexion, a Logitech Company
3Dconnexion, a wholly owned subsidiary of Logitech (SIX: LOGN) (Nasdaq: LOGI), is the leading provider of 3D mice for 3D design and visualization. 3Dconnexion devices support today’s most popular and powerful 3D applications by offering users a more intuitive and natural way to interact with computer-generated 3D content. 3Dconnexion’s award-winning 3D mice serve a wide variety of industries and are used by 3D designers, animators and artists worldwide. 3Dconnexion is headquartered in Fremont, Calif. with European headquarters in Seefeld, Germany and offices worldwide. For more information, visit www.3Dconnexion.com.

Just received the news today that the proceedings from SolidWorks World 2009 are already out and available for all at www.solidworks.com/sww2009proceedings  

Notice that you will need to login to access the materials; simply use your username/email  and password that you use to sign up to the customer portal. If you don’t already have a login for the customer portal, you can create one by clicking on the login at the right top corner of the page, this will take you to the customer portal and there you can create your account.

Once you are logged in, you’ll be able to access the PowerPoint slides for all (or most) presentations,

as well as exclusive videos of the presentations, photos, podcasts, information about the exhibitors, and video of all general sessions.

This is really neat! If you attended SolidWorks World this year, then you’ll have instant access to video of ALL (or most) presentations. If you didn’t attend SolidWorks World, you’ll still have access to the videos, but you’ll be able to see only a few of them in the beginning and then more content will be added every week, over the next following months. At least, that’s I heard. These videos bring to you crystal clear what the presenter was showing on the screen, plus all the audio from the presentation.  It’s like being there!  The slides will be available for everyone, regardless of if they attended or not.

So, hurry up and take a look, download a few presentations, check out the pictures and/or upload any that you may have, and enjoy!

Little league baseball season has already started and once again I’ve found myself stuck for hours on the bleachers of some school baseball field. This year I have two baseball players, now that Master Andrew has decided he’s got game and joined the Shetland division. That’s a long time on the bleachers!  To try and do something useful with all that time, rather than listening on the latest gossip of the coach’s extra-marital affair, I took with me some of the notes and papers I collected during SolidWorks World. There was this very interesting session I attended, and I don’t think I have even mentioned it here yet. This is one of those that felt way beyond my reach for now, but interesting and inspiring, just the same. It was about the redesign of a land speed vehicle using CFD with Simulation Flow, or as it was previously known, COSMOS FloWorks. The presenter was David C. Woodruff, from Design Dreams, LLC.  This vehicle was also known as the Project BUB, but, as far as I understand, should not be confused with this  other BUB that was featured at the Partner Pavilion; the BUB Seven, which is actually a motorcycle. Yeah, well, the first motorcycle to break 350 mph, anyway.

 

Same as BUB Seven, this other BUB was a vehicle designed for speed, and its final performance was to be put to the test at the Utah Salt Flats, only its not a motorcycle.

 

 

 I’m not exactly familiar with this place. I’ve never been to the Salt Flats, but according to a selected group of enthusiasts that have devoted a great deal of their time and money designing vehicles for this venue,  a very low Drag co-efficient (Cd) is required, as well as enough down force for traction and stability.  These two requisites are not easy to accomplish; small changes in the structure of the car can have a big impact. In the past, optimizing a design for such a vehicle required repeated trial and error running multiple experimental prototypes and making changes based on the result of these run tests. Nowadays, CFD is the way to go.

With the aid of 3DVision and using SolidWorks Simulation Flow, the vehicle was redesigned from what it was originally in 2007 ( a vehicle that resembled the JCB diesel LSR ) to a much more aerodynamic vehicle that is just being finished and should be ready for its first run at the Bonneville Salt Flats in August 2009. According to David Woodruff, who is the team’s aero guy, Simulation Flow was not only easy to learn, but provided accurate results when compared to both, experimental tests and results obtained with high end systems. He also praised its meshing capabilities, because they allowed him multiple possibilities for tweaking the mesh and achieving the desired mesh density in just the right areas.

Using Simulation Flow, David was able to create a virtual wind tunnel, and track important data such as lift, down force, drag, torque, surface pressures and surface velocities.  Doing this allowed David to obtain information that he wouldn’t normally obtain from a real-life wind tunnel.

The following images show the changes in the vehicle from 2007 to 2009. In 2007, the Cd was 0.208 with a down force of 289 lb, and a total horsepower required of 1420 HP.  In the image you can also observe the large turbulences underneath the vehicle, which makes placing a parachute unsafe.

 

 

The new re-designed vehicle included an inverted aerofoil, and it shows in this image a smoother plot in the rear and less turbulence, which permits safer deployment of the parachutes.  In the current vehicle (2009) Cd is 0.134, with a down force of 106 lbs and horsepower of 1233 HP.

 

Like I mentioned before, this vehicle is currently being prepared and should be running at the Salt Flats in August this year. If you have some time and you are into speed, perhaps you should consider dropping by to watch the races at the Bonneville Speed Week.  Not your average car or motorcycle race, that’s for sure!

 

 

 

If you’ve seen this blog kind of empty lately is because I’ve spent the last few days “putting my house in order” after the trip to SolidWorks World. I had my laptop with me the whole time, but a lot of email went unanswered just the same, so I came back to dealing with that, plus taking care of a few local appointments I had set up before leaving, hunting for a new babysitter for my boys, and, literally, putting my house in order… Oh, this place was so messy when I came back!  To his credit, my husband did a great job with the kids, even when he didn’t really cook a single time, but I know he’s not used to juggling this responsibility, so I fear he was beginning to resent it.

Anyway, SolidWorks World was an awesome experience for me.  It’s impressive to see all those people gathering together for this kind of event. I think the only other time I’ve seen so many people together in one single place was the time I attended the Women of Faith conference in San Jose a few years ago. Imagine the HP Pavilion packed with hundreds, maybe thousands of people… and they are all women!

But back to SolidWorks World. Being this my first one, I must say I think I “survived” it pretty well, although if I could go back in time, I would probably have done a few things differently.  One thing that I regret is not allowing myself enough time at the Partners Pavilion. I checked out on a few of the exhibitors during the welcoming reception and then I went back a couple more times to visit HSMWorks booth and to have the folks from SolidThinking demo their product for me.  I’ll be writing some more about both HSMWorks and SolidThinking, as I find my way through an evaluation version of both products.   Everything I saw at the partners pavilion was very exciting, but I know there was still a lot that I missed. 

I guess I should’ve also tried my hand at the Model Mania contest, just for fun.  And, if I could do it all over again, I would also try to mingle more, even though I don’t drink, just to meet people and make new friends, I guess.  I would also take a bigger suitcase with me, so I wouldn’t have to sit on it in order to make it close when it’s time to come back home. Provided that I had taken a bigger suitcase with me, I would’ve probably taken home one of those boxes, the ones with the icoasters that had been used during the contest at the CSWP event, like most people seemed to be doing.  I also would remember to take my orchid (the one from the salad) with me before I exit the Great Hall of China to board the bus that would take me to the CSWP event, and I would definitely offer Jeff Ray a sincere apology for leaving that way, and to Nancy Buchino a heartfelt “Thank you!” for being so understanding. Truth is I wished I could’ve been at both places at the same time. That restaurant was so beautiful and fancy!  One of those places you don’t really get to go to everyday.

And I think I would’ve changed my choice of technical sessions to attend, at least a bit. Some of them were excellent, like Wayne Tiffany’s, Gerald Davis’ and Lenny Kikstra’s. Others, like Richard Doyle’s,  were also really good and felt a bit like going to college for a class; I came out with new knowledge that I was able to apply right away. Some sessions, like Joe Craig’s and Frank Reiss’, both from Brand Hydraulics, even had an extra bonus for us to take home. And no, I’m not talking about the USB thumb drive they gave us, but about the code they shared with all of us in attendance and that we can use to create our own computer based training experiment using PhotoWorks and SW Animator. Yet, there were two or so sessions that I wished I hadn’t chosen, not so much because they were really bad or something, but because they were not really what I thought they would be about or the topics of discussion were too high above my level of understanding for me to actually take something useful from all that was said.  It was inspiring, though…  At the very least it reminded me there was more room to grow and more for me to learn. Anyway, all of the training sessions I attended, plus the ones I didn’t attend will be made available by SolidWorks soon, and there may even be video for many of them, so stay tuned.

One thing I would not change is the people. I had so much fun hanging out with my fellow bloggers and meeting all those people that read this blog and that write the blogs that I read, as well as those folks that I’ve met through Twitter or through some other means related to the SolidWorks community.  I even met quite a few people that had never visited this or any other SolidWorks blog, but wanted to know what it was all about. I even met some Spanish speaking gentlemen from Boston Scientific, and later that day I reunited with an old ex-classmate from college that was not really attending SolidWorks World but was there to meet with someone that was.  It’s a small world indeed!

But that last reunion was bittersweet, to tell you the truth.  While catching up on the latest of our lives and adventures, I often wished I had more to say about myself, and certainly something better to show for than this.  I’m not comparing myself to anyone… Well, maybe I am, just a bit… It’s kind of hard not to in such circumstances, you know?  But I know that everyone’s road is a different one; I just hope mine takes me somewhere good real soon.

And so, it’s back to business as usual around here…

 Quick Edit:

I just saw this on Twitter. Mike Pucket has posted a picture of the piece of wall that was signed by all CSWPs this year. My name is in there, somewhere!

Bruce Holway, Manager of Product Definition for DS SolidWorks showed up to let us know what the top ten enhancements for 2010 will be, as voted for by the community through Brainstorm. 

And these are the ten that made the list this year:

1. Increase program stability

2. Clear memory when a file is closed

3. SolidWorks backwards compatibility

4. Rename configurations that are in use.

5. Faster rebuild in complex models

6. On the fly equation editing

7. Dual Monitor Support

8. Add lock point for model rebuilds

9. Abort any running command by pressing ESC

10. Excel behavior in tables

These ten top enhancements weren’t really a mystery, though, since those users under subscription program were able to submit, vote and take a look at what people favored long in advance through Brainstorm.

Then, Richard Doyle announced the awards for SWUG and SWUG leader of the year, as well as the Lifetime Achievement award. 

The 2008 SWUG of the year award went to Tom Cote’s Central MA/ Northern CT Solidworks User Group. The award for User Group Leader of the Year went to Rob Jensen, leader of the Southern Minnesota SolidWorks User Group. And finally, the Lifetime Achievement award went to Gerald Davis, from the Colorado SolidWorks User Group, and to Dan Bertschi, from the Northeast Ohio SolidWorks User Group.

The winners of this year’s Model Mania contest were also announced by Mark Schneider, Product Manager for DS SolidWorks.

And if this wasn’t enough for one general session, Ian Hogg, Product Marketing Manager for DS SolidWorks showed up to give us a sneak peek of what’s new in SW2010.

For this purpose, he did something slightly different this year from what I understand was the done in previews years. This year he called a few customers up to the stage with him and showed to them how the new functionality in SW2010 will make their work easier.

These guys from Terrafugia are developing a foldable mini aircraft, called Transition, and using SolidWorks in very creative ways.

The vehicle is no bigger than a car in size and the wings fold, so it can be safely and legally driven around, like any other car.

For Terrafugia, the experts from SolidWorks recommended the new features View Mates and Mirror Components, which will be available in SW2010.

As well as the new functionality that will aid them in the optimization and simulation of their designs.

Multibodies in Sheet Metal design was also among the new functionality that will be available in SW2010. According to what I remember, it seems that each of the bodies in the sheet metal part will be able to flatten individually and a preview of the flat pattern will be available and visible while working on the part.

As an addition to all this, there will be new ways to create reference planes, like, for instance, selecting to circular faces, will create a plane tangent to both of them. Selecting two faces would create a new reference plane normal to  

Right after this, Jeremy Regnerus, and Neil Cook, Product Marketing Managers for DS SolidWorks, called Matthew Wilkins, from Maggen, to the stage.  

Maggen is working on an extremely innovative kind of wind turbines, and use SolidWorks in their process design, to go from the concept to simulation. SolidWorks also allows them to have a better communication between all the different members of their team.

To them, the folks from SolidWorks suggested the following functionality that will be available in SW2010: The Assembly Visibility tool, which will allow them to sort components in an assembly according to their properties and even output this information to Excel.

The property manager builder for configurations and a series of enhancements to annotations, tables, BOM and balloons that are likely to increase the productivity with drawings.

Direct editing tools were also announced among the new functionality. This is very smart direct editing, that can recognize features even in parts that have been imported and have no history available.

Project SAGE, in partnership with PE International is one more of the new things we’ll see in SW2010.This functionality will allow SolidWorks users to evaluate the environmental impact of manufacturing their design, and, hopefully, make changes to it to make it “greener”.

But we won’t have to wait until the release of SolidWorks 2010 or even the Beta, because SolidWorks Labs will be giving some previews of these new functionalities during the summer, so stay tuned.

Also during this last session Jeff Ray announced a plan for what Solid Works calls “Engineering Stimulus Package”, by providing a free seat of the software, plus training through a VAR and help to obtain CSWA certification (at least) to those engineers that have lost their job by no fault of their own, so they can get a better job and back on their feet.

 

The relevance of Solid Works in colleges around the world was emphasized during this session. Here in this picture you have the mini-Baja racer built by the students from the University of Florida.