state of the SW universe?

I do admit to watching a number of the canned demos by SolidWorks @
MD&M Anaheim, and then going through private demos with the guys on
individual machines. What I saw "drawn" for answering my own questions
and other users who came up with their own requests was created
quickly & done quite well. I did not see SolidWorks freeze or quit in
any of the machines at the booth, nor did I see long saves on
assemblies or other slow operations. Of course the canned demos with
lots of parts were well rehearsed no doubt, and were chosen to be
assemblies that would demo speedily, or you couldn't get through a
demo in 20 minutes.

If I upgrade, what I do know is that I will have to spend a
considerable amount of time learning both the new features and new
interface system.

Given my "legacy drawings", I will probably upgrade, as one of my
toolmakers has already done so, but the question is at which Surface
Pack.

I've mentioned many times, that I think adding features & UI redesigns
is something that is proceeding too fast, but now SolidWorks is a part
of a public company, and the literal demands for quarterly profits
means the bean counters often set the pace, and that not only goes for
features, but how much gets spent on development.

I think Upgrades should wind up coming out every 24 months, and I
would be willing to pay the same maintenance fee. Why? That sounds
crazy. #1 is that I would only have a major new install and learning
session once every two years. Oh, wait, that is already what I'm
doing. Geesh. I suspect the marketing guys (CEO) already know this.

Cost of a CAD Station:

1. Hardware (so-so cost)
2. Basic CAD package upgrades ($2k/yr)
3. Mold Flow & other add-on updates
4. Install, Frustration/Replacement of broken windows (pun &
reality), redoing designs to fix them & Training time/classes (100
hours guess = $10k+)

The first person, in my estimation, who REALLY understood the reason
for user dissatisfaction with PC computing was Steve Jobs. Next &
then at Steves return to Apple resulted in the OS, programming tools,
User Interface, stock free utilities & features, and logical
consistent feature implementation that has tapped into people's minds
as a way to reduce user frustration of spending endless days on fixes
and reinstalls.

Item #4 above is where most of my "cost" goes on yearly upgrades.
I'll bet it is similar for other users. Given that, I see it as
SolidWorks imperitive to do everything possible to cut the cost-time
part of #4 to the bone, by doing better programming & UI design,
whatever it takes.

And for gosh sakes, have "Plan #2" in case Windows continues to go
downhill over the next 2-3 years. Unfortunately, SolidWorks seems to
be joined like Siamese twins to Ballmer (what a horrible thought-
reality).

I do NOT trust Ballmer to pull Microsoft out, and think Gates faded a
long time ago (becoming famous for having become rich and then overly-
famous for predicting the future in glowing terms, which doesn't every
seem to happen, which everyone seems to ignore once the next
prediction of the future comes out of Bills mouth).

Bo

 

Siemens/UGS gives this idiot an option and he makes it clear he still
intends to stick with SolidWorks no matter what. Morons like Bo
deserve what they get.

Jon Banquer
San Diego, CA

 

Au contraire. -- You bring up something outside the context of the
existing discussion which is fixed for a period of time on SWks
whether I like it or not. 7000 solids files means I do not want to
move them all to a new system as there is a BIG COST to doing that.

Hence, if & when I move to another CAD system, I would pick my time &
place to make a major move, so I did it efficiently.

The 5 letter word used to describe me is more a reflection of the
original poster's mind than anything else I could possibly add.

Bo

 

No one said all of Bo's files must be moved to a new system. Bo can
continue to use SolidWorks for his old files. He could also use UG NX
6 or the new SolidEdge and use Synchronous Technology to modify the
dumb solid by directly editing the geometry and have that direct edit
appear in the model history so it can be edited again. Bo could even
use GSSL's product for SolidEdge to extract some of the features and
create a model history. Bo has lots of choices but unfortunately Bo is
a loser who will bitch and whine about SolidWorks but do absolutely
nothing when better technology comes along in another product. What
did Bo do before he used SolidWorks? Bo's most certainly not trapped
and has choices if SolidWorks has no answer to Siemens/UGS Synchronous
Technology in SolidWorks 2009. Instead, Bo just wants to whine and
bitch like the spoiled little brat he really is. Bo has a choices and
he choses to wimp out as per usual. I could easily see where no one at
SolidWorks would take anything Bo said seriously. Bo is all bark, no
bite.

Bo who constantly bitches about Microsoft (most of SolidWorks problems
have nothing to do with Microsoft) could even run UG NX 6 on the Mac
OS that he claims to favor / love.

Jon Banquer
San Diego, CA

 

I use to have an old boss who called what people like Bo suffer from:

Paralysis By Analysis.

Apparently there is no cure for Paralysis By Analysis.

Jon Banquer
San Diego, CA

 

Bo and I are not the only ones left. You will find Ed here from time
to time and of course Paul Salvador still posts quite a bit. Bob Zee
seems to have left the planet, but I could be wrong. There are a lot
of lurkers who I wished posted more. There are two ways to increase
the signal to noise ratio. One is to eliminate the noise and the other
is to increase the signal. Being an old shortwave afficianado, picking
a signal out of noise is a habit I am long used to. But it would be
nice to see more signal come on line as there are still a lot of
people who come here looking for answers. And answers are still to be
found by searching the group.

TOP

 

There are two ways to increase

My attention was drawn to this group after a Google Alets let me know
that my name appeared here. I have been watching this group for a few
days now and competely agree with TOP that the signal to noise ratio
is way too low.

I also agree that adding signal is one way of increasing the ratio.
But I think a concsoius effort to not add to noise will help as well.

Deelip Menezes
www.deelip.com

 

Deelip,

I think SWW should be held in Goa some time. Of course you would never
get everyone off the beach.

You have some interesting addins for SW.

I liked your blog on pirated software. You have some guts to go into a
back alley with a stranger in Bombay.

TOP

 

re: signal to noise

Folks need to stop repeating the noise.

 

We have switched and I really like SW2008. I like the interface and the new
features. I know the chatter is that the interface sucks - how do I make it
look like the old one. I disagree.

Now, that being said, let me elaborate.

1. I encourage people here to leave the menus not pinned out. By pinning
them, it's too easy to fall into the same old habits of clicking there
rather than the faster methods. The combination of the flyouts and the S
hotkey bar makes going to the menus a thing of only a few times per day.
The new interface saves mouse travel & clicks. Yes, there are some changes
I would like to see, but overall it has made me faster.

2. Features I REALLY like are Copy with Mates, Balloons in drawing notes,
Hole alignment check, FeatureTree filter, Center sketch rectangle,
PropertyManager inside a part file, Configure dimension, Typing info into
the BOM and having it write back into the file without having to open the
file.

My opinion is that the biggest resistence to SW2008 is that it's different,
and to be successful with the new interface, you have to decide that you are
going to learn it to realize the benefits. Do the new features improve our
workflow? Yes. Does the new interface make me faster? Yes. Is it as
stable as past versions? For us and how we use it, I have to say yes it is.
So overall it's a winner here.

WT

 

have they fixed the mirrored subassemblies function yet?
back in about sw2000 or so, this assembly feature seemed to be able to
produce a mirrored subassy with mating (never worked at all).

Bill

 

My opinion is that the biggest resistence to SW2008 is that it's

A similar thing happened in '04. There was a lot of very vocal resistance
to the interface changes, even though they were in fact helpful. 08 isn't
perfect, but the changes are positive overall. The negative opinions are
easy to find because these people are upset. Not that there aren't
legitimate complaints, it's just that contented users have little to say.

We're stuck on 07 because of pressure from a customer who only seems to
upgrade semi-annually. Very frustrating to use the less effective tool for
a customer who really doesn't need more than a parasolid model, and accepts
them from other vendors. But this is just yet another possible cause of
slow uptake, including critical add-ons that aren't compatible yet. Over on
SW hosted forums, 08 seems to have pretty good traction.

 

I liked your blog on pirated software. You have some guts to go into a

It's one of those things you do first and think afterwards.

Deelip Menezes
www.deelip.com

 

In my opinion, do not upgrade to 2008. Wait for 2009 SP1 or SP2 to
come out. At that time, it will be worth it. There's a lot of new
features and capabilities being added to 2009 that will make the
transition worth it. There's a lot of "Why didn't they do that years
ago" stuff in 2009.

Matt Lorono
http://sw.fcsuper.com
http://www.fcsuper.com/swblog
http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/solidworks

 

If you mean mirror a sub and some other parts that are mated to it and check
the box to carry those mates through, no, apparently not on SP4.0EV.

WT

 

...The noise Jon creates is much like riding in a car with the muffler
dragging
the ground. You can't carry on a conversation without talking over
the noise.
You kinda get used to the noise, but every once in a while you pull
over, stop,
and give that muffler a few kicks for good measures. Then your back on
you way
until the next time.
That's Jon, and sometimes he'll squeak like a loose power steering
belt...
all he wants you to do is notice him....


...WE SEE YOU JON....NOW PUT THE BAG BACK OVER YOUR HEAD AND BREATH
DEEP
...and keep saying.....I think I cam, I think I cam.


CC

CC

 

Sort of like allowing clueless banquer to post (under any of
his myriad fake names) or "interviewing" him.

 

I myself would love to be able to contribute, but I'm still a learner. Have
SW 2007 Student version loaded at home and took a junior college class in
it. Since I'm an SW lightweight, I'm in the lurker class.


Mark
2007 SW Student version
(I don't laugh at your car, don't laugh at my software.....)

 

Something I can relate to, having made many trips to Bangkok. There, they
even sell the software in the major shopping malls. Nothing like looking at
AutoCAD for $4(US) in the air conditioned mall......

 

I've just started using 2008. I haven't spent the time to try and tweak in
the user interface, so I spend a fair amount of time trying to figure out
where stuff is. Other than that, it seems to be OK. I haven't done any
serious surfacing yet, but the improved surfacing was one of the reasons we
planned to make the move when we started the next big project.

We still have crashes. For a few weeks, as the other two of us got started
using it seriously, they didn't seem to have nearly as many as in previous
releases. As we get more beef into the models, the crashes are coming back,
so I think it was just that we weren't stressing it enough to bring it down.

I can't tell about the speed yet. It feels like it may be a little faster
than 2007, but that may be because I haven't built anything complex enough
to slow it down.

Jerry Steiger