SolidWorks World 2011: Final day with many products and good taste

SolidWorks has used the today event to promote their certification program. It's the tests to be approved to be a "Certified SolidWorks Professional" (CSWP) the so-called CSWA and the recently opened CSWE. The E is expert. And the first expert (or one of the first) has been Matt Perez, who, besides getting your rating, has made available all over the world a collection of tutorials on how to use SolidWorks in www.solidworkslessons.info

Jeremy Luchini was playing "six degrees of separation", that game where you get to be connected to any person in the world, with six intermediaries. It was connecting to the members of the Apollo 13 when Kevin Bacon appears on stage to tell him that "it is not how it is played". We have heard many cries. I would say that majority of female voices. Kevin Bacon as Jack Swiggert, the pilot of the module of lunar excursion of the Apollo 13, in the film of the same name. If the day before yesterday we know two of the protagonists of the real story, today we have known one of which was that he met zero gravity by parabolic flights (approximately 600).

Last year came James Cameron. This year, Kevin Bacon. Conclusion: in SolidWorks there is someone who loves movies.

Kevin, taking advantage of the occasion, has made us know of sixdegrees.org, a website dedicated to donations to NGOs.

It is assumed that design tools have led to increasing productivity in almost all industrial sectors. The sector whose productivity has not grown is construction. And Dassault Systèmes SolidWorks (and here, it's worth writing the full designation) wants to take the opportunity. We have presented today (after some news aparecidas some months ago, without the name SolidWorks) a product aimed at the entire construction sector: SolidWorks Live Buildings.

The goal: use the 3D fully in the design of buildings and facilities, and enable collaboration between urban planners, architects, builders, one billion of subcontractors accompanying and installers, decorators and others who have just "fill" the buildings. Live Buildings is based on V6 platform (Dassault Systèmes). Two concepts to emphasize: 3D and collaboration. Or, what is the same, several access, manage and introduce data and 3D models. All this with the help of internet, of course, although I would say that 'the cloud' will be only the repository of data, not the engine. The product will be available this year, an undated.

Seems that the tools of collaboration via the Internet (partly via web browser, not) are taking shape. By the way, it seems that they are changing the name and is easy to end up somewhat busy. What was presented today is called (rá) SolidWorks n!Fuze, a tool which until recently was renamed SolidWorks Data Sharing. The concept: a perfectly integrated tool in SolidWorks interface allowing to share models, plans and files in general, via the Internet. The files do live somewhere in 'the cloud'. In other words is to put an end to the sending of files by e-mail, or via FTP, and there will be a specific collaboration for CAD tool. It will minimize the risk that someone has 'version that does not touch' of a file, without the complexity and the computing requirements of a tool type PDM. Let's say that this was the 'social feature' of the day. It will be available in beta in this quarter.

The policemen of the CAD (parodying the TV series 'Cops', very famous around here), have taught us a large collection of 'magic', which I will attempt to summarize without wanting to be exhaustive:

• New possibilities for the design of works of boilers from sheet developments to design constrained 'bearing in mind that' parts conform bending sheet metal.
• Parametric work and with equations simplified.
• The 'exploited' highly automated, with a highly facilitated labelling of parts, and 'magnetic guides' to place them.
• Tools for calculation of cost of the piece that is being designed (and, above all, allowing rapid analysis of the type 'and if I do this as well, will be more expensive or cheaper'). In principle, there will be some 'standard' costs in order to work from the first day. For who require accuracy, can change and be detailed after the event.
• Some other characteristics of parametric work allowing to bypass ' Excel' (they, very correctly, have talked about all the time 'spreadsheet')
• Tools for viewing and quick review of large groups.
• Tools for work and marking with mm and easily interchangeable inches.

The meeting, of very high density, was approaching its end in the hands of Jeff Ray (director of SolidWorks until 1 January of this year) speaking SolidWorks in the world of education, one of its avowedly favourite themes. He has reminded us that little more than a month ago had reached one million (1,000,000) educational licenses. We talked about experiences between Brazilian students of Minas Gerais. And has provided us with Riley Lewis, a kid we had seen around here since the first day, and that we were intrigued to everyone. She is thirteen years old, and dominates SolidWorks in the same way that many of his contemporaries dominate the Playstation, or more. I must confess that I felt envious. I would have loved these things had existed when I was thirteen years old. And I am not referring to the Play.

Bertrand Sicot, current director of SolidWorks, has concluded the event announcing us that SolidWorks World 2012 will take place in San Diego, California, between 12 and 15 February. I have heard complaints because "it will take more than a year". Insatiable in regards 'magic' people.