SolidWorks World 2012: Progressing very properly

Few weeks before SolidWorks World 2011, Betrand Sicot had been appointed executive director of DS SolidWorks. After a year and little in the charge, he was the attendant to open the first general session of the event of this year. It gave a feeling of greater comfort: the year has gone him well, with a figure of sales that has increased in 20%. Surely, this helps to relax a bit. Had opportunity to interview him [1], to discover that, in the short distances, finds still more comfortable that in the stage, in which this year it entered the event beside Nao, an educational robot (and no only this).

There have not been news rompedoras: the master lines were already traced and this year has been, apparently, centred in the execution. There have not been revolutionary announcements, but yes a lot of evolutions. However, in a company of the size of DS SolidWorks, is virtually impossible that do not occur ‘something'. And there has been several ‘algos' that noticed , comments between the assistants and the journalists that covered the event. The first of them: Jon Hirschtick, the founder of the company, was not. It decided the past month of October change his personal course and leave the company. Bertrand Sicot explained us, however, that did not surprise us if in next editions saw again it.

Another ‘something': Jeff Ray was, but no in the stage. The predecessor of Sicot, whose fluidity in front of the public has done him win the charms between a lot of users of SolidWorks, appeared of so much in so much in the conversations between the assistants. As it confessed us, to him the “show” likes him, and this was one of the things that really noticed to be missing.

And a last ‘something': Gian Paolo Bassi, new vice-president of R&D in replacement of Austin Or'Malley, gave to know in presses conference. Italian with American nationality, with a long career in the world of the development CAD, and with experience inside Dassault Systèmes, explained us, in an English with accent clearly Italian, some details with regard to the products that are ‘in the kitchen'. It showed that it has the quite clear things, although it answered frequently with a perfect ambiguity for no desvelar secrets ahead of time.

SolidWorks Was cream like an alternative to the programs of CAD that required of stations of expensive work. The aim was then , popularise the CAD, do it more accessible to more people. We have arrived to the point in that an iPhone has more capacity of process that the quoted stations of work. The hardware no longer is a factor limitante. However, the capacity to access to external knowledges keeps on being difficult for the small companies. But we live in a world where the tools of communication are increasingly sophisticated and is easy to share information and collaborate with third. This was the mantra of this edition of SolidWorks: the world has changed, collaborate is and has to be increasingly easy. There have not been specific presentations of tools of collaboration (further of some characteristics that will add to SolidWorks 2013). However, some of the ‘keynote speakers' of the different general sessions were a clear example. In particular, Ben Kaufman of Quirky.com, went a sample of how from an idea, a bit of win, his help, and little more, today is possible finish with a product [2], using as it bases the decisions and the design colaborativo.

This year SolidWorks World has added some presses conferences summoning to all the present presses in the event to speak of several appearances of the company. Like this, we could know to the new technical director, Gian Paolo Bassi; and also speak of subjects less popular (and that probably SolidWorks wants to popularise) as they are the sustainability and the education. In this last section, surprised us discover that in a lot of places of the world the products of SolidWorks do not use only in schools of engineering or of professional learning advanced, but they use in primary schools, or in the vocational education, that give an education call him “less ruled” or allocated to communities with risk of educational exclusion. This is the case in U.S., for example. Also we discover that in an increasingly technological world, the vocations by the technology are not in declive everywhere: in Ireland there is not fault of people that want to study technical careers. We would have to copy something of his educational system? In any case, seems clear that approach the tools of design more powerful to the more youngsters, of a fun form, as it occurs in Holland, is something that probably would have to consider seriously.

Asheen Phansey, to the one who interview the year happened [3], devoted a session to give to know the vision of the sustainability from the perspective of SolidWorks, and as it is implementing progressively. It is clear that SolidWorks wants to be one of the collaborators in what to keep our surroundings refers .

SolidWorks World Is, first of all, a formative event. It has an extraordinary amplitude, and concentrates in three (more a) days the possibility to attend to a montón of cursillos, workshops and conferences. In him they participate a lot of designers that have or want to obtain a certification to his knowledges. For this, SolidWorks invented ten years ago a “program of professional certification”. This year they announced that the figure of people that have coseguido said recognitions has arrived to 50.000.

In all the events of SolidWorks, the third General session has an important part of his time devoted to the most sued characteristics by the users of the program. Some of the requests are easily comprehensible, others show a level of detail and deep knowledge. This year the ten more requested characteristics were those that show in the box attaches.

The 10 more requested characteristics by the users

1. Use more cores of the CPU of the computers: the current machines allow the execution in parallel of a lot of operations. The current software does not take out all the party that could to these characteristics.
2. Would have to be easy put a point in the centre of gravity of the objects.
3. “No matt to your children, leave them hanging”: when working with groups and subsets, and decide that something disassembles , try be “the less destructive possible”.
4. Solve the problem of the shadows with blood in the edge.
5. Reduce the pictures delimiters (“bounding boxes”) of the seen of drawing so that they only comprise the visible components.
6. Capacity to control what expensive of a plane considers the frontal.
7. The dimensions would have to remain where draw them: some automatisms move them of place, and to the users does not like them that they carry them the contrary.
8. The key of leakage would have to give back the control immediately to the interface. Said of another form, although the software was in the middle of any calculation (long, probably), pressesing Esc has to can interrupt with immediate answer.
9. Add the possibility to block the rotation to the pieces generated by cylindrical symmetry.
10. Add an assistant for the creation of threads.

The assistants to the SolidWorks World are curious people. Therefore they like them the general sessions of the Wednesdays, that usually devote to give a pincelada of what there will be in the version of SolidWorks for the next year. The presentation is used to to be narrated, besides, in tone of humour. This year it was not less, and to go to the future, did it returning. That is to say, we had a perfect parody of 'Return to the future'. Justin Burton and Ian Hogg were Marty and Doc. Jeremy Regnerus interpreted to the bad (Biff) and Jon Hirschtick did of Jon Hirschtick, rounding the circle and posing the question: it Was to this apparition to which referred Bertrand? We think that no.

Did not see at all of SolidWorks v6 or SolidWorks new platform, such as already it had announced . Until it was not smart and very smart, at all. We know, by what explained us Fielder Hiss (manager of marketing and management of product) in presses conference and Bertrand Sicot, when interviewing it, that there will be two versions of SolidWorks: the heiress of the versions and current platforms, and a new, designated V6.

The most remarkable of what showed on SolidWorks 2013:

• In the pieces multicuerpo: show or hide pieces. Something as well as the option to show or hide components or subsets in the surroundings of management of groups.
• Visualisation of group: order the pieces in function of his “graphic difficulty” (to know which drawings consume resources of the computer)
• Matter the marked of eDrawings to SolidWorks: without going in in too many details, supposes that... It will be possible.
• SectionXpert: An utility with very good paints that it will facilitate substantially the realisation of sections to a model 3D, without need to do previously outlines.
• Bocadillos Of review: A form to mark gráficamente the changes effected during a process of review, a form to facilitate the control of changes/versions.
• Simulations of submodelos: using the conditions of outline and loads definidias, applies them to a subset of the design. If it modifies the group, the loads and restrictions update .
• Cameras of 3dVIA: it adds the capacity to use several cameras, and to adjust his points of view along the time.
• Fast selection of documents by type: Three icons in the menu of files allow to filter pieces, groups and drawings. It can use any combination of the same.
• Improvements in the wrappings: they can use in the data of pieces and groups. The components of the envolutra can reconvert in pieces anytime. With the drawings, the components of wrappings can show with lines ghost. They do not add to the list of materials.
• Insertion of several pieces simultaneously to a group.
• Configuration of several sights exploded.
• Rotar Pieces exploded: in addition to being able to them displace, will be able to rotarse.
• Folder of favourites: that it will be able to add to the tree of FeatureManager.
• Salient for setting: of immediate use by the designers of pieces of plastic.
• Improvements in the cosmetic holes: they can desactivar the lines punteadas without affecting to the texture. Holes of clavijas: they have added to the assistant for holes.
• Intersection of surfaces: can use the surfaces of bodies to add or remove material.
• Extrusion of several thin profiles.
• Gone in of equations in any place: in any dialogue where require a number in the PropertyManager, can use equations in his place.
• Change the dimensions of the patterns: can change the linear and angular dimensions of the same.
• Collaboration with others: in the tools of management of data (EPDM) can see the information of his creators, the information of contact and his on-line state.
• Integration of DraftSight with the tools of control of versions (checkin and checkout) of EPDM.
• Copy outlines of DraftSight in SolidWorks.
• Interoperability with the previous version: the files created in SolidWorks 2013 will be able to open using the version SolidWorks 2012 SP: the presentation of this characteristic deserved an ovation of the public. It is clear that change of version is painful, and any analgesic is welcome.