Brian McElyea tooks some photos at the meeting last week and has posted them for viewing.  Click HERE to view all the photos.  Thanks Brian!

If you missed our September meeting you really missed out. We met in the old Dynetics HQ building and had 42 in attendance. Last minute scheduling permitted Matt Lombard (author of SolidWorks 2007 Bible, SolidWorks Surfacing and Complex Shape Modeling, and soon to hit the bookshelves, SolidWorks 2009 Bible) to join us and share in the SW2009 What’s New presentation with Ricky Jordan. But to digress, the meeting began shortly after everyone filled up on pizza and soft drinks. Among the usual announcements, Ricky pointed out that SW2009 has been officially released. It is available for download now at the SolidWorks Customer Portal for those on subscription service. Word of caution, don’t try this on dialup or even DSL. Ricky pointed out that the installation from download worked perfectly and one advantage to installing from the download … you won’t need the DVD to install later service pack releases.

Next, a show of hands for those planning on attending SolidWorks World 2009 International User Conference and Exposition in Orlando, FL at the Swan & Dolphin Hotel Feb 8-11, 2009. Anyone needing help with justification give Ricky a shout. If you have never been to a SolidWorks World it is truly an adventure with more training presentations in a short 4 days on subjects from everything SolidWorks and then some.

Now to try and give a Reader’s digest summary of the rest of the meeting. Ricky first presented on the new Photoview 360 which is included in all flavors of SolidWorks except SolidWorks standard. As with any new release of SolidWorks there is plenty of material for a What’s New presentation. Ricky and Matt did an outstanding job of cramming as much into the remaining two hours ( after the eating) of our meeting. Actually Matt was kind enough to extend the presentation an extra 30 minutes for those that could stick around. With all the new enhancements in SW2009, there have been some significant terminology changes. Once you get past that it is nice to see that emphasis has really been placed on improving performance, speed and stability. Now just to mention the main highlights. User Interface enhancements includes a movable Command Manager, a Property Tab builder, hyperlink capability with BOM and custom properties, dual dimension display, triad functionality to quickly change model orientation and a magnify tool. Sketching enhancements includes new slot tool (oooh, ahhh!!), numeric sketch input, Instant 3D Resize, stretch entities and move/copy/scale in 3D sketch. Sheet Metal enhancements include convert to sheet metal from solid. cross break, and a combined gauge - bend table. Weldment enhancements include groups, weld gaps within groups and between groups, improved end caps and gussets, trim extend tool. Assembly enhancements include large assembly performance improvement, assembly features propagating to the parts, a new BOM in assembly and speed pack, and Drawing enhancements. Speed pack basically allows you to take an assembly/subassembly and identify faces/features for mating and then use the assembly/subassembly in another assembly with huge performance gain.

Matt took over with his take on Visualization enhancements, the new plastic features, surfacing and spline enhancements and free form As expected, Matt presented his likes and dislikes of the new release but the general consensus is that the new SW2009 is a very impressive release and should prove to be much more stable with better performance.

Thanks again to Ricky and Matt for an outstanding What’s New presentation. We should see the VAR rollout presentations of SW2009 sometime in October.

In addition to the earlier announcement for the September 2008 Meeting.  I would like to add some exciting details for the meeting.

Matt Lombard will be in attendance at the meeting and will be presenting some of the What’s New in SolidWorks 2009 content.  Matt is the author of the SolidWorks 2007 Bible which is the best selling book on SolidWorks.  Towards the end of this year he will be releasing the SolidWorks 2009 Bible which I had a small part in as well.

Due to some scheduling conflicts, there will be a LOCATION CHANGE for this meeting.  The meeting will be held in the Dynetics Systems building which is located next door to the Dynetics CHQ building where we normally have our meetings.  Below is a map of the Dynetics campus showing you how to get to the proper entrance for the meeting.  I will post information on the front doors of the CHQ building in case there is any confusion.

I will be sending out an update via e-mail to everyone tomorrow morning.  See you at the meeting!

As referenced in the September 2008 Meeting announcement, I am looking to our user group members to suggest which enhancements in SolidWorks 2009 you would like to see in the presentation!  To suggest an area of the software or specific function, all you have to do is leave a comment to this post.  Its that simple!

I have included a reference list below of a few of the areas of SolidWorks 2009 where there are multiple enhancements. Please feel free to use this list or suggest OTHER areas that might not be on this list!

• User Interface
• Materials & Appearances
• Features
• Parts
• Weldments
• Sheet Metal
• Assemblies
• Drawings & Detailing
• SolidWorks Professional Add-ins
• SolidWorks Premium Add-ins

Below I have included some specific enhancements to areas of the software which might impact users the most.  Again, if there is something specific that is not on this list, please feel free to suggest it.

• Custom Properties
• PhotoView 360 (New Rendering Solution)
• Automatic Dimensioning of Sketches
• Title Block Wizard
• Sketch Slot
• Appearances

Ok…It’s all up to you!  Please leave your comments below and help shape this presentation!

The North Alabama SolidWorks Users Group (NASWUG) is proud to announce our September 2008 meeting! The meeting will be held on Tuesday September 30, 2008 from 5:00pm to 7:30pm at the Dynetics Corporate Headquarters Building.

Come join us for a What’s New in SolidWorks 2009 presentation. The presentation will be given by NASWUG president Ricky Jordan. New this year is the chance for group members to help shape the What’s New presentation topics!  Click the HERE and leave a comment on what topics you are most interested in seeing in the SolidWorks 2009 What’s New Presentation!

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

RSVP for the event today visiting our online registration form.

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

Hi everyone.  I regret to inform you that we will not have a NASWUG-RSA meeting for the month of August.  We have run into some scheduling conflicts with the meeting facilities and won’t be able to get the meeting in this month.  NASWUG-RSA WILL be meeting (FOR SURE) in October.  We should have a date and location announced soon.  Stay tuned for a meeting announcement soon for the September 2008 NASWUG meeting.  I can guarantee you it will be sometime after September 22nd because I don’t get back from Disney World until then! 

Starting tonight I have begun the changeover process to switch server providers for this site.  Over the next 72 hours you may experience disruptions in accessing this site as the new name servers propagate across the internet.   IF YOU ARE SEEING THIS POST, then you are looking at the site on the new host.

E-mails to anyone with an @naswug address could be limited for the next couple of days as well.

Don’t worry!  Everything including the Forum will be kept in the changeover.  I’ll let you know when everything is fully back online.

Summer vacation is almost over and school is just around the corner, actually since these notes are a little late, school has actually started. Our July 31, 2008 NASWUG meeting showed a slight increase with 33 in attendance at Dynetics HQ. Ricky Jordan began the meeting with the usual announcements. SW009 Beta is in full swing and Ricky mentioned that the NDA (Non-Disclosure Agreement) would be removed soon, so watch Ricky’s blog (http://www.rickyjordan.com/ for lots of good stuff on the upcoming SW2009 release. Speaking of SW2009, emails have gone out to subscribers announcing SW world 2009 early bird registration. You can save some bucks if you can plan this far ahead and get in on the early registration process. And finally, here is another reminder that SP4 for SW2008 is now out for subscribers.

Ricky Jordan gave a presentation outlining Tips and Tricks in SolidWorks Sketching.  The first part of the presentation outlined some uncommon options in various Sketch tools in SolidWorks that can often be overlooked.  Details for Rectangles, Ellipse, Polygons, and Sketch Text were highlighted along with the Fully Define Sketch command.  The next part of the presentation included a list of recommended sketching methods.  Those items included customizing the CommandManager, working with relations visually, offsetting geometry, trimming geometry, dynamic mirroring and leveraging Sketch Blocks for large 2D data sets.  The last portion of the presentation outlined some Sketch Troubleshooting techniques which included the usage of Display/Delete Relations and SketchXpert.

Richard Hall was next presenting on the topic, Using Design Tables. Design tables can be used to control several different items.  Richard demonstrated a set of models touching on some of items controllable with Design Tables.  For a full set of details pertaining to Design Tables, be sure to check the SW help file under the search heading “design tables”.

A design table can be used to control dimensional changes by configuration in a part file.  A Mil spec bulkhead connector example showed that several dimensions in different features can be controlled by name with a configuration.  This allows each “shell” size of the connector to be controlled by the Mil spec value.  As many or as few variables as needed or required can be controlled.

The Assembly file example showed another use for design tables.  In this example of the connector, the o-ring seal and the attachment nut are added in normal fashion.  The difference is that each configuration by “shell” size is controlled by changing the part configuration in the design table configuration.  This allows you to set up multiple “read that infinite” variations for both connector size and material thickness.

Drawings can also take advantage of models using design tables.  A general table can be created and linked to a variable dimensional variable such as length that is driven by a design table.  This will take some practice to get the syntax correct but it is fun and frustrating to try.  Try your hand at this and let Richard know how it turns out.

For any questions concerning design tables or the models used as examples you can contact Richard at: rich@naswug.com

Brian McElyea presented on Using Equations.  The presentation focused on how equations can be used in Solidworks, including conveying design intent and creating animations.  Brian covered the different types of variables that could be used in SolidWorks equations and how to use comments to document what the equations do.  The supported operators, constants, and functions were shown, as well as a few undocumented functions to help with more advanced equations and adding logic.  The presentation was wrapped up with a SolidWorks demonstration showing how to enter and edit equations, and some basic functions.  Brian also showed a couple of animations of parts (a spring and a hydraulic cylinder) driven by equations.

Ricky wrapped up the meeting thanking everyone for coming. The next meeting should be the NASWUG RSA meeting some time in August.

The North Alabama SolidWorks Users Group (NASWUG) is proud to announce our July 2008 meeting!  The meeting will be held on Thursday July 31, 2008 from 5:00pm to 7:30pm at the Dynetics Corporate Headquarters Building.  

Come join us for a Tips and Tricks presentation featuring Sketching, Design Tables, & Equations in SolidWorks.  The presentations will be given by NASWUG members Ricky Jordan, Rich Hall, & Brian McElyea.

Dinner will be provided along with LOTS of 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/index.php/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!

Our NASWUG RSA meeting took place at the Redstone Arsenal on June 24, 2008 with 17 in attendance. Looks like summer has kicked in fully with schools out now. A few minor hiccups were weathered while waiting for the food to arrive. Pizzas were a little late … something about an oven breaking down, and a cable issue required some scrambling to get Gary Hall’s laptop to display via the projector. Nothing that everyone couldn’t handle though. After the food arrived Ricky Jordan began the meeting with the announcements and general questions. A few people raised their hands in response to “who is participating in the SW2009 Beta test?” SW2009 Beta1 is available to anyone on a current SolidWorks subscription. Someone asked about running SolidWorks on Vista. It turns out that Microsoft has begun to phase out the Windows XP operating system, BUT they have also said they will continue to provide support until 2014. And SW2008 SP4.0 is available at the SolidWorks Customer Portal. Ricky mentioned the newly integrated CircuitWorks which is included for anyone with an Office Premium seat. If you upgrade to SW2008 SP4 (Office Premium seats) you will automatically have CircuitWorks. It is not a separate download. We still need one NASWUG member to complete the NASWUG Advisory Board. AS mentioned at the last meeting, the Advisory board will meet once every two months independently of the NASWUG meetings to discuss meeting topics and ways to improve the User Group.

Gary Hall presented on the subject Templates. The presentation touched on several aspects of Solidworks templates (Dwg, Part, Assy). Templates defaults were covered along with where the files were and could be stored. Answering questions about templates was part of the presentation such as, “Can a design table be stored inside of a SW template”. Doing a multi-sheet drawing template was presented. The difference between a drawing format and a template was covered. Other templates were discussed such as BOM, Hole Table, Rev Table, etc… Lastly, a quick demo of 3Dawn.com’s Template Wizard was discussed. This is a relatively inexpensive tool (discovered at SolidWorks World 2008) that can make creating templates a less painful process. Thanks for a great presentation, Gary.

Concluding the meeting the names of Bhisham Lall, Ledwin Mercury, Drew Riley, Patrick Nickel and Gerald Tuck were drawn for door prizes (to be picked up at next meeting). Again, due to a minor hiccup, the usual enough door prizes for everyone did not arrive on time. The next meeting topic has not been confirmed yet but there were several expressions of interest in a presentation on CircuitWorks. If you have any ideas or requests for topics be sure and forward them to ricky@naswug.com