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Top Ten Reasons to Attend the 2011 NASWUG Year End Meeting

Ricky Jordan — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 03:27:25 +0000

As we announced last week, NASWUG will hold our 2011 NASWUG Year End Meeting next Tuesday night. (November 1, 2011)

I thought I would have some fun with this and do a Top Ten List. – So here goes!

TOP TEN REASONS TO ATTEND THE 2011 NASWUG YEAR END MEETING

1. You could win a 3Dconnexion SpaceExplorer! Many 3D CAD pros swear by these devices. The retail value for this device is $299.00 (USD). Click the image below to learn more.

2. You could win a 6 month license of SolidProfessor Online SolidWorks Training! This has all the courses that align with the SolidWorks Premium offering. The retail value is $400.00 (USD).

3. Be a part of HISTORY and attend the 50th NASWUG Meeting! I am challenging everyone to attend and help us break our attendance record! There is not a better time to do this!

4. I haven’t met anyone who doesn’t like FREE FOOD! Come join the fun!

5. See first hand why the SolidWorks Community of Users is the strongest CAD user group in the world.

6. Meet the man who helped START the SolidWorks User Group movement: Richard Doyle

7. Be one of the first in Huntsville to see SolidWorks 2012.

8. Meet other Huntsville area CAD professionals who use SolidWorks.

9. Learn Tips and Tricks within the Software that will make you more efficient as a CAD user.

10. If you don’t win one of the Grand Prizes….don’t worry…we have MORE Door Prizes to give away!

SPECIAL PRIZE: I will have a special prize for the user group member who brings the most CAD users from their company to the meeting!

This will truly be a special event and you don’t want to miss it! If you haven’t already sent in your RSVP, now is the time to do it. Here is the link to RSVP Sign Up Form:

http://www.naswug.com/meeting-rsvp/

If you have any questions about the meeting, please don’t hesitate to e-mail me (ricky@naswug.com). I truly hope to see you there!

Best Regards,

Ricky Jordan

NASWUG President

SWUGN Technical Summit – NASHVILLE

Ricky Jordan — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 04:05:01 +0000

The SolidWorks User Group Network (SWUGN) will be holding a SWUGN Technical Summit September 20, 2011 in Nashville, TN. This is a can’t miss event for any SolidWorks User in North Alabama!

This one-day training and networking event is hosted by the SolidWorks User Group Network and features technical presentations by SolidWorks Program Managers and local SolidWorks experts. Two technical tracks include sessions on general SolidWorks functionality and specialty sessions on such topics as PhotoView360, PDMWorks, and Simulation.

The cost is only $40.00 and includes sessions and meals.

Scheduled to appear:

Ricky Jordan – Dynetics

Gary Hall – Stanley Associates

Brian McElyea – Intuitive Research and Technology

Steve Uptain – Central Alabama SolidWorks User Group

Rustin Webster – Intuitive Research and Technology

Jeremy Clark – Intuitive Research and Technology

Nicole Walden – Chattanooga SolidWorks User Group

Lyle Fischer – Capvidia

John Milbery – DS SolidWorks

Richard Doyle – SolidWorks Corporation

Agenda:

7:30am – 8:00am Registration opens/Breakfast

8:00am – 8:45am Opening session, orientation

8:45am – 10:00am Session 1A – Sketching in SolidWorks

Session 1B – SolidWorks Simulation

10:15am – 11:30am Session 2A – Drawing Practices and ASME Y14.5

Session 2B – TBD

11:30am – 12:30pm Lunch

12:30pm – 1:45pm Session 3A – Assembly Tips and Tricks

Session 3B – Multi-Body Modeling in SolidWorks

2:00pm – 3:15pm Session 4A – Advanced Surfacing in SolidWorks

Session 4B – Using the Property Tab Builder

3:30pm – 4:45pm Session 5A – Working with Imported Models

Session 5B – What’s REALLY New/Tips for SolidWorks 2011

CLICK HERE TO GO TO THE SWUGN PAGE TO REGISTER!

Don’t miss out on this chance to experience an event similar to SolidWorks World – but without all the travel!

If you have any questions about the event, feel free to let me know. I hope to see you there!

March 2011 Meeting Presentation and Links Posted

Ricky Jordan — Fri, 01 Apr 2011 13:04:21 +0000

I just posted the March 2011 Meeting Presentation and posted a link to the SolidWorks Proceedings Site on the homepage. Our April 2011 NASWUG-RSA Meeting Announcement will go out to everyone on the e-mail list on Monday. Have a GREAT … Continue reading →

November 2010 NASWUG-RSA Meeting Announcement

Ricky Jordan — Fri, 29 Oct 2010 05:42:39 +0000

The North Alabama SolidWorks Users Group (NASWUG) would like to announce our November 2010 NASWUG-RSA meeting. The meeting will be held on Tuesday November 9, 2010 from 11:00am to 1:00pm on the grounds of the Redstone Arsenal. The meeting will be held at the Redstone Bowling Lanes. This is located just to the right when coming in the Patton Road Gate. Click HERE for a Google Map of the Meeting Location.

Join is for TWO SolidWorks World 2011 Presentations! Rustin Webster will be presenting “IAW ASME Y14.5M – Use Only if You Know It” and Jeremy Clark will be presenting “SolidWorks Mates: Tips, Tricks, and Common Sense” Both gentlemen will be giving these presentations at SolidWorks World 2011 in January and have agreed to give us all a sneak peek.

Lunch will be provided along with Door Prizes to be given away at the end of the meeting.

RSVP for the event today by following the link below to sign up on our online registration form.

http://www.naswug.com/meeting-rsvp/

Don’t miss your opportunity to network with fellow SolidWorks users, gain valuable information, get free food, and pick up some cool prizes!

Ricky Jordan

President

NASWUG

ricky@naswug.com

Gary Hall

President

NASWUG-RSA

gary.hall@cgifederal.com

Slight Location Change for TONIGHT’S Meeting

Ricky Jordan — Thu, 28 Oct 2010 13:31:09 +0000

We have a slight change in our meeting location for tonight’s NASWUG meeting. We will be meeting in the Dynetics Systems Building which is located directly behind/beside the Dynetics CHQ building where we normally meet. Below is a campus map showing the new meeting location.

THERE WILL ALSO BE SIGNS OUT FRONT TO POINT YOU IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION.

We hope to see you tonight!

BEST Robotics Training Class – This Saturday – Looking for Volunteers

Ricky Jordan — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 05:56:16 +0000

The North Alabama SolidWorks Users Group (NASWUG), Dynetics, & Trobotics Inc. will be sponsoring a BEST Robotics SolidWorks Training Class this Saturday August 21, 2010 at the Calhoun Community College Campus in Decatur, Alabama. We will be providing hands-on SolidWorks training for North Alabama Schools participating in the BEST Robotics competition this year. The training will take place at the Noble Russell Building, Room 115.

Class instruction is already covered, but we are looking for volunteers to help guide the students as they follow along in the class. If you are interested in volunteering your time to help in the training sessions, please send me an e-mail (ricky@naswug.com) There will be a morning session (9:00am -11:30am) and afternoon session (12:30pm – 3:00pm). Any time you have is greatly appreciated, even if you only have time to stay for one of the sessions.

For more details, including directions to the campus and building, click HERE to view the event flyer.

NASWUG April 2010 Meeting Agenda

Ricky Jordan — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 04:35:35 +0000

We are a little over two days away from the next NASWUG meeting! Below is the agenda for those interested. 5:00pm – 5:20pm Food/Networking 5:20pm – 5:30pm Announcements 5:30pm – 7:20pm SolidWorks Tips and Tricks – Ricky Jordan & Brian … Continue reading →

Wrap-up for NASWUG-RSA March (April) Meeting

Ricky Jordan — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 04:17:55 +0000

We had a great turnout of around 30 people at the NASWUG-RSA March Meeting! Thanks to all who were able to attend. For those that couldn’t attend…we missed you and hope you can make it out for our next meeting. We had a bit of a last minute schedule change and had to move the meeting to Thursday April 1st. That certainly wasn’t the first time and probably won’t be the last time we have to do this. Thanks to Gary Hall for helping get the word out on the meeting date change.

Speaking of Gary, he was our presenter for the meeting. Gary did a GREAT job showing off the many different types of Mates SolidWorks Users can access in Assemblies. It certainly has come a long way in the last several years. I can’t think of any mate types that aren’t covered in the software now. Gary also gave a quick overview on the SolidWorks Certification Program which includes the new Certified SolidWorks Expert program.

We briefly discussed the upcoming April 22nd NASWUG meeting which will feature Tips and Tricks presented by a combination of NASWUG members from across the SolidWorks Software Suite. I was looking for some suggestions on areas of the software that folks would like to see tips and tricks on and the crowd certainly did not disappoint. I got some GREAT ideas. Many of which will be featured in the April 22nd meeting.

We look forward to the next NASWUG-RSA Meeting which we hope to get scheduled soon for May. If anyone has any suggestions on meeting topics, please send them out to Gary Hall or myself. You can also leave a comment on this post with suggestions if you like.

Thanks again for a great meeting.

NASWUG April 14 Meeting Notes

Michael Langley — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 15:38:05 +0000

Our April 14th meeting has come and also has April 15th We had 29 in attendance at the Dynetics HQ building with Ricky Jordan our president presiding. And thanks to Richard Hall for trying out a new food choice (pizza does get a little old doesn’t it!) Ricky talked briefly about the upcoming SWUGN Summit event near us, this time taking place in Doraville GA(NE side of Atlanta) at the Holiday Inn NE Atlanta on Tuesday, May 19th. For those unfamiliar, this is a great event hosted by SolidWorks and led by Richard Doyle. Registration is only $40 and includes breakfast and lunch plus a full day of technical training. It is very much like a full day of breakout sessions at a SolidWorks World event. Follow the links on the SWUGN website (http://www.swugn.org/) to register online.
ModernTechMechanical (http://www.moderntechmech.com/)has created an “Engineering Stimulus Package” in conjunction with the SolidWorks Engineering Stimulus Package that is available to help currently unemployed engineers. This basically provides displaced engineers and designers with FREE SolidWorks 3D CAD software, training, Certified SolidWorks Associate (CSWA) certification opportunities, and job placement services.
Richard Hall talked briefly about the new look at 3D Content Central and how useful this great CAD source is. If you haven’t visited this site before it is well worth a look see. http://www.3dcontentcentral.com/default.aspx
Brian McElyea then presented on SolidWorks Workgroup PDM. Basically don’t think of this as something for more than one computer/engineer. It is a fantastic tool for file management, and product data management even on a single computer. The sytem keys on meta data and using notes you can build design history tracking that makes it very simple to retrieve previous versions. So you can think of it as a versioning system (i.e. unlimited configuration system) that allows you to go back to any previous design stage. PDM is not restricted to just CAD file/design. You can use it with any type file that you want to manage and control versions and version history. By using the PDM system you don’t have to manually create and store multiple folders and multiple models. The PDM system manages this for you. SolidWorks Workgroup PDM is included in SolidWorks Professional and Premium. If you have a need for PDM for a large group or for multiple site locations and want the ability to control all aspects of your file/design managment then the separate Enterprise PDM version is what you need.
Next up was our NASWUG RSA president Gary Hall presenting on DimXpert. Gary did a warm up of this at the previous RSA meeting so he was fine tuned for this one. Just to reitierate from that meeting, DimXpert differs from Autodimension in that it recognizes patterns and countersink holes and it produces predictable results. For example with Autodimension you typically get unwanted dimensions that have to be selectively deleted. Whereas with DimXpert when you select an edge only the feature represented by the edge is dimensioned. A word of caution with patterns: if a hole pattern was not created as a pattern of Hole Wizard holes then any changes made to the model do not update the hole callout. DimXpert is not just for native SolidWorks parts. Gary walked through this example using an imported model, selecting specific datums and then applying DimXpert. This is a great tool for those that have a need to produce manufacturing drawings.
Thanks to Brian and Gary for outstanding presentations. And just a note to all members. Anyone interested in presenting on a topic should contact Ricky Jordan. We always get outstanding presenters from the SolidWorks community and sometimes don’t realize the wealth of experience within our own group.

NASWUG January 27 Meeting Notes

Michael Langley — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 22:03:03 +0000

We started the new year with 34 in attendance at our January meeting at the Dynetics HQ building. As I write this, I am making last minute preparations to attend SolidWorks World 2009 in Orlando. We welcomed 6 new members in attendance. Ricky Jordan, NASWUG president, began the meeting with announcements and comments about the upcoming SWW2009 and also about SolidWorks Labs new additions. Some of the new additions include Tagger, Treehouse, Collada Export, and Presentation Studio. For more details visit the SolidWorks Labs site, http://labs.solidworks.com

Ricky presented on Custom PCB Design. This was a warm-up for his upcoming presentation at SWW. The presentation highlighted concepts and processes, and specific SolidWorks features useful in PCB Design and collaboration as well as some “gotchas” of which to be aware.. And that folks is the key …“collaboration” You have to closely collaborate with the electrical design folks in a back and forth iterative process. For the mechanical aspects it is important to specify only those requirements to make the interfaces work, leaving as much leeway as possible for the electrical design and layout. For those with SolidWorks Premium, you know you have CircuitWorks and other subscribers have CircuitWorks Lite. At the conclusion, Ricky asked for feedback positive and negative. Good job, Ricky!

Gary Hall mentioned that the NASWUG RSA group is looking forward to starting up their meetings again at RSA, probably near the end of February. That’s all folks … see you in Orlando and if not there at the next NASWUG meeting.