- NEWSFLASH - SolidWorks 2009 SP2 Early Visibility is available for download!

- The New SolidWorks:Heard! website layout, feeds, subscriptions and polls

- Updated Twitter page

- What is THE HEaRD!

- What is Laconica (underlying technology)

- Registration and options for THE HEaRD!

- Using desktop clients with The HEaRD!

Over the past month I have been working hard to make some changes to the SolidWorks Heard website and wanted to add a few more offerings to those who visit.  Obviously I started doing the podcast first (3 years ago now!) but added the blog 1.5 years ago to further illustrate tips and topics that may be better said in print and pictures than audio but also because I enjoy blogging. Now I have a few more offerings I want to share with you going into 2009 to!  I hope to see you all in the HEaRD lounge in the coming weeks! ~Lou

- What is SolidJott?
- Where the idea came from?
- How it integrates with SolidMentor.
- How do you use SolidJott (web & add-in)
- What is coming in future releases?
- How is SolidJott supported?

SolidJott is support forum version 2.0! I enjoy community efforts like this and the key to the success to services like this are all dependent on execution. Now that Ben has released the SolidJott add-in, you have a built in SolidWorks user group right inside of SolidWorks!  Visit SolidJott.com to register and become a member of this growing support community! ~Lou

Remember to check out the SolidWorks: Heard! Blog and to follow me on Twitter

In this episode we discover the new updated SolidWorks Labs website as well as a application introduced on the site called Tagger. Topics covered:

- Updated SolidWorks Labs Site
- Silverlight 2 support and undo functionality brought to BluePrint Now
- Introduction
- How tagging is currently done in 2008 & 2009
- Interface
- Feature set
- New Workflow
- Impressions

I am starting to think this is SolidWorks Labs Heard! for all the coverage I have been giving this site over the past year or so but lately it is hard not to pay attention since the activity has completely gone through the roof! I think the redesign of the SolidWorks Labs site is going to direct much more feedback and get SolidWorks R&D what they are looking for.
Tagging is a great technology, in theory, but the key to the success of tagging is workflow and Tagger brings the tagging capability to life for SolidWorks! This is installed on my main machine and I look forward to reaping the benefits of tagging now that it is so easy! ~Lou

Remember to check out the SolidWorks: Heard! Blog and to follow me on Twitter

In this episode I talk about the new handy application introduced on the SolidWorks Labs site called Treehouse. Topics covered:

- Newsflash - SolidWorks Labs also makes Collada Export available!
- Introduction
- Interface
- Options
- Custom Properties
- Limitations

SolidWorks Labs does it again with an innovative 1.0 tool that gets us all thinking about product design planning. I use a few organizational tools in my job which is why Treehouse caught my interest. I think tools that could help in better planning of design structure can be extremely useful. I have not personally used the SolidWorks partner product SolidMap, which is a tool to better understand existing relationships in SolidWorks but Treehouse is the opposite take on this mapping of dependancies.

For another great review, check out Alex Ruiz at The SolidWorks Geek who did a great summary of the application with screenshots! This application is extremely small and works with both SolidWorks 2008 and 2009 so get to planning! ~Lou

Remember to check out the SolidWorks: Heard! Blog and to follow me on Twitter

In this episode I talk about all the details about running SolidWorks on a Mac and more importantly why people are doing it. Topics covered:

- History
- Options for running Windows on a Mac
- Bootcamp vs. Virtualization
- Hardware options
- Video card tuning
- Why anyone would do this

For the past few years I have talked to so many people that have reasons why this solution was a necessity for them and I hope after today's show you have an idea how this is accomplished. When I first did Episode 54 I was scolded by Solidworks since I am a reseller and I didn't place a disclaimer saying it was not supported, which it is not. I have my own reasons for wanting to run a Mac, one of which is producing this show, but I want to be able to extend my expertise to others with the same needs. Remember, if you have no need to run any Mac based applications, then a Mac is not for you but if you do then it is possible but also at your own risk. But I am always willing to help out. Talk to you all next week! ~Lou

Correction: BootCamp is part of Mac OS 10.5 Leopard (I slipped and called it 10.6 ~ Sorry)

Remember to check out the SolidWorks: Heard! Blog and to follow me on Twitter

In this episode I cover all the news that broke in the past couple of weeks. There were a ton of good nuggets of news this month so I thought it was time to get a tech news cast out to you all. Topics covered:

- SolidWorks 2009 SP1 Ships (details)
- 3D Content Central 2009 Beta is live!
- Press Release - G"Reee"n Chair Developed in SolidWorks Uses Recycled Video Game Plastic
- Press Release - Microsoft and DS Solidworks Enhance Robot Simulation
- What's New at the LABS site
- SolidWorks World News and guest speakers revealed!

With 42 SPRs addressed in 2009 SP1 and the addition of ribbon cables in Routing, it seems like a strong patch so far. I am also excited to see what the new LABS experiment, the Collada add-in for SolidWorks, an open source 3D format, is going to do. It will be live in early December so sign up and get notified! For those of you who have not attended SolidWorks World Conference, it is time to start selling it to your management now! This is the best 3 days of training and networking you can do as a SolidWorks user so I hope to see you all there! ~Lou

Remember to check out the SolidWorks: Heard! Blog and to follow me on Twitter

In this episode I discuss how to use the new Toolbox Configuration tools to properly setup SolidWorks Toolbox as well as some common approaches to using this tool with groups. Topics covered:

- Brief overview of SolidWorks 2009 SP1.
- Introduction
- 2009 Toolbox Settings Wizard
- Setup options
- Shared Toolbox setup tips
- How to share with outside groups

Toolbox is a feature of SolidWorks that comes with a love/hate relationship for many users, mainly since its usage varies for everyone. Whether you use it alone, with a design group or need to share assemblies with Toolbox parts, setup is key to your success with this tool. I hope many of you have received your DVDs for 2009 by now and can utilize this new settings wizard that is accessible from within SolidWorks' options as well as from the START menu, Programs under SolidWorks Tools. Take the 5 minutes to set it up right and Toolbox will pay you back with productivity! ~Lou

Remember to check out the SolidWorks: Heard! Blog and to follow me on Twitter

In this episode I talk about a new add-in that was put up on the SolidWorks Labs site on Monday October 27th called Presentation Studio. Presentation Studio is a great little add-in that gives a user a simple interface inside of SolidWorks to create a presentation quality 3DPDF. Topics covered:

- Introduction
- Pre-requisites
- Installation
- Interface & Options
- Output uses
- Impressions

This is why I think that Labs sites are a great thing for software developers/manufacturers to have. It allows the people that enjoy tinkering with new technology get their hands dirty and give direct feedback to R&D teams. So far many of the technologies that are shown on the labs site are utilized as part of the typical brainstorming of SolidWorks R&D. A good example of this was the DWG Navigator that was shown back at SolidWorks World 2007 was completely integrated into SolidWorks Explorer. I recommend subscribing to the SolidWorks Labs Blog and staying up to date on these new technologies as they are released! Thanks for listening and talk to you next week! ~Lou

Remember to check out the SolidWorks: Heard! Blog and to follow me on Twitter

In this episode we talk about the administration of SolidWorks Enterprise PDM and what has been introduced in the 2009 version. Topics covered:

- Administration Tool Overview
- Web-based License Activation
- Platform Support
- File Conversion and BOM Features
- Online Help
- Users and Groups
- Data Cards and Templates
- Workflow

We have all heard the horror stories about implementing enterprise software for document management. SolidWorks Enterprise PDM is as "out of the box" as it can get with an enterprise level system. It is what I term a "Play-Doe" solution, allowing flexibility around every corner but having enough vanilla settings to get off the ground. I have performed many implementations and can usually get the system setup and talking within a single day. Customization and getting people to agree on the automation is where most of the time is spent! Once a plan is agreed upon, installing and configuring is pretty simple. If you are part of a growing company that has multiple locations, diverse decision-making process and/or want to integrate into other systems with notifications, Enterprise PDM is worth taking a look at. If you have questions or wonder about a specific capability, send me an email and I would be happy to shine some light on the subject! ~Lou

Remember to check out the SolidWorks: Heard! Blog and to follow me on Twitter

In this episode we talk a bit about SolidWorks Enterprise PDM and where this document management tool addresses common product data management issues. Topics covered:

- Where Enterprise PDM comes from
- What aspects makes this the tool of choice over Workgroup PDM
- What's New in 2009 Enterprise PDM

As I have mentioned in the past, this solution was originally a product called Conisio that made it's debut into the SolidWorks community back in 2001. It was then acquired by SolidWorks Corporation in 2006 and has become a very tightly integrated enterprise level solution for PDM. Many of the enhancements in this release have brought this tool up to the integration standard of it's workgroup counterpart, Workgroup PDM. I am encouraged by the direction that SolidWorks has taken with this product, especially since most enterprise level solutions are cumbersome as well as difficult to implement, both of which Enterprise PDM is not. Next week I will follow up with a bit more technical discussion of the administration side of this product as well as what new features have been introduced in the 2009 version. Thanks again for listening! ~Lou

Remember to check out the SolidWorks: Heard! Blog and to follow me on Twitter

Chapter 13: SolidWorks Premium:
- CircuitWorks
- ScanTo3D
- Routing
- TolAnalyst

This is the final chapter of the 2009 What's New PDF and hopefully you have found a few important updates that will have you take a closer look. Remember, this audio version is meant to help you hear what is new to compel you to dig in and find those enhancements that will help you the most. I hope this series has done just that for you and I will resume the regular shows on a weekly basis soon. Thanks again for joining me and if you are using SolidWorks 2009, send me some feedback on what features are most important to you and why. Thanks for listening! ~Lou

Remember to check out the SolidWorks: Heard! Blog and to follow me on Twitter

Chapter 12: SolidWorks Professional:
- FeatureWorks
- PhotoWorks
- Design Checker
- SolidWorks Tools
- SolidWorks Utilities
- Toolbox

This chapter sums up all the enhancements in the Professional bundle and like every other chapter is packed with some good new nuggets as well as some updated functionality. Winding down to the last chapter next week covering all tools in Premium. Talk to you then! ~Lou

Remember to check out the SolidWorks: Heard! Blog and to follow me on Twitter

Chapter 11: Other Functionality:
- SolidWorks Flow Simulation
- Installation
- Application Programming Interface
- DWGeditor
- PhotoView 360
- SolidWorks eDrawings
- SolidWorks Rx

This chapter covers all the odds and ends that have also been updated in SolidWorks 2009. In previous years this chapter also covered the updates to COSMOSFloWorks but this year it was not here so I looked in the 2009 Flow Simulation help and included in the podcast. For those of you that use Flow and administer the installation of SolidWorks, this is the release for you! Great enhancements have been made to deploying SolidWorks to a group of users. Improvements in both simplicity and flexibility was a big theme in this release! ~Lou

Remember to check out the SolidWorks: Heard! Blog and to follow me on Twitter

Chapter 10: SolidWorks Simulation:
- Assemblies
- Connectors
- Mesh
- Contact and Bonding
- Result Viewing

So this is the second part of the enhancements to SolidWorks Simulation 2009. I wanted to get this show out on Wednesday but with our rollouts starting I had our Tucson Rollout on Tuesday and our Phoenix Rollout on Thursday so time was not there. I am going to try to record a few of these shows ahead of time so we can get the remainder of shows for the What's New over the next couple of weeks. ~Lou

Remember to check out the SolidWorks: Heard! Blog and to follow me on Twitter

Chapter 10: SolidWorks Simulation:
- Product Name Changes
- Simulation Workflow
- Simulation Studies

SolidWorks Simulation is a huge update for those of you currently using COSMOS! This is the most functionality enhancements that I have seen in a single release of Simulation. As a long time user of COSMOS I love the new enhancements from both the performance and functionality point of view. This is a big chapter so I have broken it into two parts to keep the show under 30 minutes! I will try to get part 2 out to you this Wednesday and it is just as packed with new features! ~Lou

Remember to check out the SolidWorks: Heard! Blog and to follow me on Twitter.

Chapter 9: Tolerancing:
- Intersect Line Features
- ISO Standards Support
- Orientation Constraints
- Redundant Dimensions
- Tangency Constraints

This chapter gets into improvements to the DimXpert and the improvements to tolerances that are added to the solid model. As you may know, this is the content that is used with using TolAnalyst so these improvements make the first step of using DimXpert much more intuitive and simple. We will get into the enhancements of TolAnalyst when we cover the last chapter for SolidWorks Premium. This topic is not one of the most exciting but the enhancements are very welcomed! ~Lou

Remember to check out the SolidWorks: Heard! Blog and to follow me on Twitter.

Chapter 8: Drawings & Detailing:
- Customized Drafting Standards
- Bills of Materials (BOMs)
- Detail Positioning
- Print Options for Drawings
- Title Blocks in Drawings Sheets
- Favorites are Renamed to Style
- Format Painter
- Detailing for Sketch Slots
- General

If there is an area that people expect major updates every release, it has to be drawings. Many times I hear enhancement request from users and hopefully some of these enhancements deliver. Drawings are usually the most influential part of the design process and people get emotional about their importance and detail. I am always curious to hear from those of you that need certain features in drawings and detailing so shoot me an email! ~Lou

Remember to check out the SolidWorks: Heard! Blog and to follow me on Twitter.

Chapter 7: Motion Studies:
- General
- Design Library for Motion Elements
- Redundant Constraint Force Results
- Motion for Layout Sketches
- Mates

For those of you that have used COSMOSMotion in the past, now it is referred to as SolidWorks Motion. I have been using COSMOS products since very early on (ver 3-4) and now am struggling to refer to them as "Simulation" so if I slip, please be nice! These are good enhancements from an ease of use standpoint as well as a streamlining enhancement to fit better with SolidWorks. Next show is all about drawings and detailing enhancements so stay tuned! ~Lou

Remember to check out the SolidWorks: Heard! Blog and to follow me on Twitter.

Chapter 6: Assemblies:
- General
- Large Assemblies
- Assembly Features in Parts
- Bills of Materials in Assembly Documents
- Clearance Verification
- Hinge Mates
- Sensors
- SpeedPak

SolidWorks 2009 assemblies carry a majority of the performance enhancements and SpeedPak is the shining star! If you build large assemblies then this is the release to check out. Performance gains of 65% are going to make noticeable time savings in your current assembly workflow. Next week we will get into all that is new with motion studies. ~Lou

Remember to check out the SolidWorks: Heard! Blog and to follow me on Twitter.

Chapter 5: Parts:
- Dual Dimensions for Measurement Results
- Dimensions in Mirrored and Derived Parts
- Changing Parts Display Characteristics
- Reattach Derived Parts (Split part enhancements)
- Custom Properties Assigned to Parts
- Sensors
- Mold Design
- Sheet Metal
- Weldments

This is a great chapter of enhancements especially to sheet metal and weldments. If you use either of these features even just a little, this is the chapter for you! Join me next week when we tackle all the assembly enhancements! ~Lou

Remember to check out the SolidWorks: Heard! Blog and to follow me on Twitter.

Chapter 4: Features:
- General
- Boundary Features
- Extrudes and Slots
- Fastening Features
- Freeform Features
- Instant3D
- Lip and Groove Fastening Features
- Ribs
- Solid Sweep Cuts

There are a great number of enhancements and updates to existing features in this chapter and a couple of nice new features as well. I have decided to put 2 shows out a week to try to hit my goal of early October so look for a show in the feed around Wednesday or so when I cover what's new in parts! ~Lou

Remember to check out the SolidWorks: Heard! Blog and to follow me on Twitter.

Chapter 2: Materials:
- Unified materials database and user interface
- Displaying the materials dialog box
- Working with materials

Chapter 2: Appearances:
- Appearances include colors and textures
- Pop-up toolbar
- Rough draft appearance

Chapter 3: Sketching
- Move, copy, and rotate in 3D sketches
- Improved functionality for splines
- Creating equation driven curves
- Ghost images of missing sketch entities
- Numeric sketch imput
- Offsetting infinite lines
- Repair sketch enhancements
- Resizing sketches in Instant3D
- Slot sketch entity
- Stretching sketch geometry
- Using blocks in sketches
- Sketch dimensions of zero and negative values

Well PR-2 came out this week and there was an update to the What's New PDF so I will wait one more week for the next show but may pick up the pace over the coming weeks. Next week I will get into the new features added to SolidWorks 2009 so stayed tuned. ~Lou

Remember to check out the SolidWorks: Heard! Blog and to follow me on Twitter.

Introduction:
- Using the What's New PDF
- Converting files to SolidWorks 2009
- Product name changes

Chapter 1: Fundamentals:
- Callout Improvements
- Converting files to the current version of SolidWorks
- Custom Properties
- View orientation enhancements
- Zoom enhancements
- Using the magnifying glass
- Moving the CommandManger and PropertyManager
- Improved user interface consistency

As I mentioned in the podcast, I will be releasing one show per week till FCS (first customer ship) posts on the customer portal just in case I need to do a revision show to cover any changes from the current PR-1 release. There is still another pre-release version due (overdue) but after that there will be the official release. Once FCS posts, I will try to release 2 - 3 shows a week to cover all the 2009 What's New PDF before launch week, which is slated for early October. ~Lou

Remember to check out the SolidWorks: Heard! Blog and to follow me on Twitter.

- Updates to the SolidWorks Labs site
- Tech Alerts
- PhotoView 360
- Twitter SolidWorks Community
- Updates to the Knowledge Base site
- Updates to the Graphics Card site
- Design Library tip

It has been a busy couple of months with Beta rounding out and coming to a close. Before we know it 2009 will be here and again and I will dive into all the features in order to help you figure out what is going to help you out most. I hope you enjoyed the past couple of interview shows and I am ready to get back into the regular programming. For those of you who didn't know, I was out the month of August having our second child, a boy, so I had planned to have programming for you while I was out. Get your ears ready for next week as I kick off the audio version of the What's New enhanced, I hope, with my two cents! ~Lou

Remember to check out the SolidWorks: Heard! Blog and to follow me on Twitter.

- Overall thoughts about SolidWorks 2009 Beta Program
- Amount of Beta hours spent in the program
- Biggest improvements/fixes with SW 2009
- Most impressive features debuted in SW 2009
- Recommendations for upgrade
- Improvements/issues with installation process

This was a really fun show to do and I hope you found the content helpful in your decision to upgrade or not. on't forget to download the What's New PDF from the SW website and look at everything 2009 is going to bring. I want to thank Josh, Ricky and Jason for joining me and also wanted to mention a few bloggers that couldn't make the roundtable today due to scheduling: Mike Puckett, Alex Ruiz and Ben Eadie. Stay tuned for the What's New in 2009 series when we dig through the new features in detail in the weeks to come. ~Lou

Remember to check out the SolidWorks: Heard! Blog and to follow me on Twitter.

- What is SolidProfessor and how long have they been in business?
- What differentiates SolidProfessor from other offerings and the SolidWorks online tutorials?
- What is the user experience of SolidProfessor?
- What are the currently course offerings?
- What other offerings are on the horizon for the coming year?
- What other services does SolidProfessor provide?

For more information about SolidProfessor visit their website or you can contact your local reseller. In my experience, many resellers are offering SolidProfessor as a part of their classroom offerings so check for training bundles. I want to thank Pedro again for coming on the show. He and I used to work together at DDi before joining SolidProfessor a few years back and it is always a pleasure to talk with him. ~Lou

Remember to check out the SolidWorks: Heard! Blog and to follow me on Twitter.

- What has been going on with NextEngine since SolidWorks World's launch 2 years ago.
- Discussion of their growing product line including RapidWorks and QA Scan.
- Most common and unique applications for NextEngine's technology.
- Other scan technologies they are working on for future products.

If you do any type of reverse engineering or need to build products that interface with anything you don't have prints for, NextEngine has many products for you. They have continued to innovate and they are worth a visit! ~Lou

Remember to check out the SolidWorks: Heard! Blog and to follow me on Twitter.

- Who Matt is and what his main focus will be with SolidWorks
- What seems to be the most influential social services on the Web today
- How SolidWorks will be utilizing these services to help user and the SW community.
- Who else within SolidWorks will have a Web presence (CEO, Managers, Support, R&D?)

SolidWorks has many sites for users, check them out below:
- SoildWorks Forum
- SolidWorks RSS feeds
- SolidWorks Labs
- SolidWorks CADJunky
- 3D Content Central

I wanted to thank Matt again for coming on the show and sharing his vision for SolidWorks' future on the Web ~Lou

***UPDATE*** I accidentally linked to the DriveWorks interview but it is now corrected. Late nights have caused me to lose my mind every once in a while! ~Lou

Remember to check out the SolidWorks: Heard! Blog and to follow me on Twitter.

- How DriveWorks was started.
- What year their first release was
- How the DriveWorks product line developed.
- Online offerings (tutorials, forums and blogs)
- Interesting/unique implementations

DriveWorks Limited has a great breath of online presence and you can visit many of their sites below:
- Main Website
- DriveWorksXpress Community
- DriveWorks Blogs

I want to thank Maria for taking the time to come on the show and I look forward to seeing what is in store for future builds of DriveWorks! ~Lou

Remember to check out the SolidWorks: Heard! Blog and to follow me on Twitter.

- Background on Josh and SolidSmack
- Future direction of CAD and 3D services
- Up and coming technologies and how they impact CAD
- New media impact (blogs, podcasts, social networking)
- Impressions of the SolidWorks Labs site

This was a fun conversation and hopefully it gives you an idea of who Josh is and what type of content that is on SolidSmack. You can also follow Josh on Twitter which he is also very active on.

Remember to check out the SolidWorks: Heard! Blog and to follow me on Twitter.

- Box & cross selection
- Face, edge, and sketch selection options
- Selection toolbar options
- Power select (Utilities)
- Assembly selection options.
- Shortcut options

Hopefully there will be a few selection options to pick up in this show. As I often say, we all tend to use SolidWorks the same way every release so being aware of the options available can impact your workflow with SolidWorks for the better. Many of these options are often overlooked and underutilized so I hope to make you all masters of selection in SolidWorks.

Remember to check out the SolidWorks: Heard! Blog and to follow me on Twitter.

- XP vs. Vista (the real answers)
- Multi-core CPU benefits
- 32-bit vs. 64-bit (reasons for 64-bit technology)
- Memory impact (RAM, HDD, and virtual memory settings)
- Video card choices (why to stay clear of gamer cards)

3D CAD really utilizes much of the hardware that you throw at it so it is important to understand what selections have what benefits in order to make an informed decision. SolidWorks has some great information in their KB and I encourage you to check it out frequently to find solutions. If you have any unique hardware setups you would like share, send me an email to lou@solidworkheard.com.

Remember to check out the SolidWorks: Heard! Blog and to follow me on Twitter.

- Where to find the rest of the weldment profiles!
- Creating custom weldment profiles
- Design Library setup tip for weldment profiles
- Custom properties for weldments
- Customizing weldment drawings
- Customizing weldment cut lists
- Creating sub-weldments

I hope this show gives you some ideas how to make the weldment functionality a powerful toolset in your design process. I am always finding interesting ways to use weldments to allow me to take advantage of the cutlist functionality. If you use weldments and have an interesting application you would like to share, send it into me at Lou@solidworksheard.com

Remember to check out the SolidWorks: Heard! Blog and Twitter Feed.

- Beta home page
- Beta FAQ's
- 2009 beta prizes
- How to submit issues
- Tips for submitting bugs
- First rule of beta...Don't talk about beta!

Whether you have a ton of spare time or only can spare an hour a week, download beta today! SolidWorks beta is only 8 weeks long this year so get your chance to help shape the next version of SolidWorks. This year the prizes are for the top 20 so you have a much better chance of getting your hands on some free stuff. I hope to see you all in the beta forums in the coming weeks! As a closing note, Happy Father's day to all the Dads in the audience! Enjoy your day! I know I will.. ~Lou

Remember to check out the SolidWorks: Heard! Blog and Twitter Feed.

- 3DXML Format
- 3DVIA Shape ~Beta
- 3DVIA Printscreen
- 3DVIA.com ~Beta
- Other applications that work with 3DXML
- 3DVIA Labs - 3Dcollage on Facebook

The 3DVIA group seems to be into the content creation scene and I will definitely be keeping an eye on new technologies they come out with in the future. This "cloud" support is becoming a very powerful combination to many desktop applications but I am very excited to see a future of much more web-based applications in the 3D landscape. ~Lou

Remember to check out the SolidWorks: Heard! Blog and Twitter Feed.

- Activation info capture
- Activation Manager info
- Activation Tips
- New SolidWorks Network License Manger (SNL) capabilities
- SNL hosting both SolidWorks and COSMOS
- Example licensing configurations now supported

I hope in the end it will be clear how to manage your licenses and a few tips to make licensing worries a thing of the past. SolidWorks is aware of the issues with SolidWorks Installation Manager (SWIM) and hopefully it will be make the rest of the install and licensing process seamless! ~Lou

Remember to check out the SolidWorks: Heard! Blog and Twitter Feed.

- Drawings Now
- COSMOSXpress Now
- BluePrint Now

With all the major software companies starting to build robust applications that run solely on the web, it really makes you wonder what the future of CAD will be. SolidWorks R&D has obviously started to realize this possibility and has built some great 1.0 products to try out. Remember it is important for everyone to try these apps out in order to show that these efforts are of interest. The SolidWorks Labs site has brought some new technologies such as the carousel (Coverflow) browsing experience in SolidWorks Explorer and now Supplier Source, so get those web browsers ready and start clicking! ~Lou

Remember to check out the SolidWorks: Heard! Blog and Twitter Feed.

- SolidWorks updates their knowledge base (KB).
- PDM Feedback for the future (Survey)
- Supplier Source launches
- Help shape your SolidWorks community (Survey)
- What's your awareness of SolidWorks Corporations Offierings (Survey)
- SolidWorks 2008 SP4 Release notes
- Twitter and its uses

As you may have noticed, SolidWorks is reaching out to get feedback from their users in order to really understand their position in the market and the products they offer. It is always surprising when talking with users how much they are not aware of, offering wise, from SolidWorks, which is why I started this show. If you have a second, check out the latest news area and take those surveys! They will only take a few minutes and will help SW really get better info to help shape their direction for future products. ~Lou

Remember to check out the SolidWorks: Heard! Blog and Twitter Feed.

- Supplier Source website layout
- Signup process for users
- Process to become a supplier
- How to review and save suppliers
- Overall impressions

Whether your an engineering design company looking for manufacturing resources or a manufacturing facility wanting to market your services, Supplier Source is a great resource for you. Finding suppliers has never been easier and the addition of user reviews allows for feedback that can assist others in the community. So get going. Get logged in, create a profile and start searching today...for free! ~Lou

Remember to check out the SolidWorks: Heard! Blog and Twitter Feed.

- Design Binder
- Hyperlinks
- Embedded content into SolidWorks (OLE objects)
- Embedding SolidWorks into Office
- Differences in embedding in Powerpoint vs. Word/Excel.
- Changes to embedding control objects in Office 2007 from 2003 and previous.
- Practical uses of embedding.

Embedding can be an extremely powerful tool for referencing or creating links to associated content. Solidworks allows many ways to embed content into itself but also can be very complimentary to other documents like Powerpoint or Word. So embed some SolidWorks files in your next Presentation and wow your audience. Have a good week! ~Lou

Remember to check out the SolidWorks: Heard! Blog, Forums and Twitter Feed.

- Hole Series options
- Smart Fastener insertion in and out of a hole series
- Flipping fastener stacks
- Splitting and combining fastener stacks
- Discovery of new "intelligence" in Smart Fasteners

Hopefully by using Hole Series in your assemblies you can extend the intelligence of Smart Fasteners in order to minimize the post processing of your fastener insertion. If you have not used Smart Fasteners in a while I encourage you to try them out again. Since a vast majority of the part counts in our assemblies are fasteners any any automation is welcome!

Remember to check out the SolidWorks: Heard! Blog, Forums and Twitter Feed.

- Creation of envelopes
- Unique benefits of envelopes
- Applying envelopes - selection and hide/show
- Applications both common and unique

Envelopes can prove to be a very useful utility when doing assembly design. Whether you need to have a ghost reference or to verify your assembly is functioning inside a working environment, envelopes can help without compromising mass, BOM or interference.

Remember to check out the SolidWorks: Heard! Blog, Forums and Twitter Feed.

- Approach and layout
- Software options
- Hardware options
- Operating System changes

Just remember, good large assembly performance relies on good planning. Taking simple approach precautions can usually bring a fair amount of performance in the end.

Remember to check out the SolidWorks: Heard! Blog, Forums and Twitter Feed.

- History of SolidWorks Animator, Physical Simulation, and COSMOSMotion
- Interface features
- Assembly Motion studies
- Physical Simulation studies
- COSMOSMotion studies

This interface update was another major enhancement for SolidWorks 2008 and seemed to keep with the "tabbed" theme they used to change the CommandManager. This interface finally allows COMSOSMotion users to create the "what if" scenarios that all the other COMOS products take advantage of by allowing multiple studies in a single assembly!

Remember to check out the SolidWorks: Heard! Blog, Forums and Twitter Feed.

- SolidWorks Acquires Priware, makers of CircuitWorks
- How the acquisition affects existing Premium and CircuitWorks customers.
- Step by Step books for 2008 ship.
- SolidWorks SP3.1 brings support for Windows Vista 64-Bit.
- SolidWorks RSS Feeds page.
- SolidWorks Tech Tips page
- Shared Tech Tip "How using RAID arrays can improve system performance" - courtesy of SolidWorks Tech Support.

March was great month for news! Remember if you are a SolidWorks Office Premium user or already own Circuitworks, you have a free gift waiting for you. Solidworks is constantly trying to build a comprehensive product and this aquisition is proof of that.

Remember to check out the SolidWorks: Heard! Blog, Forums and Twitter Feed.

- Background pictures
- Sketch pictures
- NEW Autotrace tool
- Importing in Adobe Illustrator
- NEW import/export options for Adobe Photoshop

As companies are pushed to utilize concept data which in many cases is in 2D vector format, the ability to have a clean transition to 3D CAD is key. Spending time trying to mimic a creative design in 3D CAD is not our forte as engineers but software tools are. Bringing in everything from logos to ergonomic design is where much of the challenge lies and tools like this can really help getting the flair into the design while being able to focus on what we love, FUNCTION!! So if you are a product designer and get concept data, these are the tools for you!

Remember to check out the SolidWorks: Heard! Blog, Forums and Twitter Feed.

- Design Library recap
- Using Design Clipart
- Settings for disection
- Integration of SolidWorks Search
- Recommendations for SolidWorks Search setup

Our needs as 3D modelers have changed so much over the past 10 years and we are not into redoing our work. With the growing database of 3D content in our grasp we want to know we can reuse anything we have modeled in the past. Hopefully you will start using these powerful tools and save yourself some time!

Remember to check out the SolidWorks: Heard! Blog, Forums and Twitter Feed.

- SolidWorks Document Management Solutions
- Main differences between PDMW and PDMWE
- Questions to ask
- Main features
- Automation options

I hope in covering this topic you will better understand how this product works and what problems it solves in the event you are thinking of evaluating this product to manage your document flow. If you have further questions about this product you can call your reseller or send me your questions.

*Update* - It has been brought to my attention that the product that is now PDMWorks Enterprise no longer supports the binary difference file way of managing versions inside the vault. This means that it does keep all versions of files in the vault instead of keeping the difference which brought a benefit when it came to file footprint on the HDD. This change was made to bring reliablity to the product especially when replication is being utilized. I encourage this feedback on future shows in order to make sure all my information is correct! Thank you! ~Lou

Remember to check out the SolidWorks: Heard! Blog, Forums and Twitter Feed.

- Overview of SolidWorks 2008 SP3.0
- Graphics card testing site updates on www.solidworks.com.
- Types of content in the SolidWorks Labs Blog site.
- Information about BattleBotsIQ

I just wanted to thank the bloggers over at 3DMojo for promoting the show I did on 3DVIA Composer. I have received some great feedback from listeners that had not listened to the show prior to listening from 3DMojo.

If you are interested in viewing pictures of the BattleBotsIQ event I attended here in Arizona, here is a link to my pictures on Flickr. As a side note, I wanted to apologize for some of the jumps in the audio this week. I had some weird things going on with my mixer so before pulling out my hair I just let some of the blips go through! Thanks again for listening!

Remember to check out the SolidWorks: Heard! Blog, Forums and Twitter Feed.

- Introduction to 3DVIA Composer
- How 3DVC differs from SolidWorks, Animator and PhotoWorks
- Output types from 3DVC, both 2D and 3D
- 3DVIA Player
- 3DVIA Safe
- 3DVIA Sync and 3DVIA Sync Integration
- 3DVIA Check and 3DVIA Path Planning

As I have explained, this tool is not a replacement but a compliment to the SolidWorks products that you already have and allow a non-CAD person to also be able to create 2D and 3D content without bothering Engineering! Imagine that! 3DVIA Composer has a podcast that you can find in iTunes by searching for "3DVIA" or you can visit their blog site at 3D Mojo.

Remember to check out the SolidWorks: Heard! Blog, Forums and Twitter Feed.

- Common needs for this type of communication
- IDF import inside of SolidWorks (free "CircuitWorks Lite")
- How IDF is constructed (file formats)
- Import Options
- CircuitWorks (SW Gold Partner)
- Differences between CircuitWorks and CircuitWorks Lite

I talk mainly about CircuitWorks since that is the tool I have used most however I always encourage people to check the partners page on the SolidWorks website for more options.

Remember to check out the SolidWorks: Heard! Blog, Forums and Twitter Feed.

- Collaboration options inside SolidWorks
- SolidWorks 3D Meeting
- eDrawings, 3D Instant Website, 3D XML, and 3D PDF
- WebEx, Microsoft LiveMeeting (placeware), GoToMeeting
- Online project management with BasecampHQ

All these topics are ways to bring some of the features that 3D TeamWorks used to have. I wish they would bring back 3DTW because it was way ahead of it's time and today it would fit right in! I hope you are listening SolidWorks!!!

Remember to check out the SolidWorks: Heard! Blog, Forums and Twitter Feed.

- My story of the long week.
- Interview with Z-Corporation
- Interview with 3DVia Composer
- Plans for more interviews and product reviews.

Remember to check out the SolidWorks: Heard! Blog, Forums and Twitter Feed.

- Introduction
- The preview scene
- Top 10 enhancements submitted at SWWC
- 2009 previewed features (in order of reveal)
- SolidWorks 2009 themes for development
- Conclusion

I hope the week of coverage was helpful and I will be posting some interviews I did with SolidMentor with Z-Corporation and 3D Via Composer, the new product for presentation content creation from your CAD data. So stay tuned!

Remember to check out the SolidWorks: Heard! Blog, Forums and Twitter Feed.

- General Session layout
- Speaker Dean Camen from FIRST an organization to inspire kids early in technology
- Top 10 Enhancement Requests from SWWC 2008
- Top 10 Product designs submitted
- Joe and I chat about 2009
- Where SolidWorks World will be next year.

I will follow this podcast up with my notes of the features that were released for 2009. I am shooting for the Sunday but there were a few of us that took notes so we will get them all in sync and I will get it in the feed. I did some interviews with SolidMentor and will try to get the audio out for that as well. Thanks again for listening this week!

Remember to check out the SolidWorks: Heard! Blog, Forums and Twitter Feed.

- General Session layout
- Betrand Sicot talks to Jeremy Luchini about CSWP program
- Speaker Dr. Don Norman - Former Apple employee who was WOZ's boss and a great thinker of our time.
- Speaker Dr. Robert Ballard - Oceanic Explorer and Earth Scientist talking about planet. Great perspective.
- New SolidWorks website launched: SolidWorks/Ipod
- SolidWorks gave away free 4GB iPod Nanos to all full conference attendees!!!
- SolidWorks on a stick? Must listen!!!
- Interviews with Bill and Quinton
- And yes details on the "Stump the Chump" session...

Well I recovered from my "Mondays" and was able to get this interview out with two of the guys from our support crew talking about their breakout sessions. It was another great day so stay tuned for tomorrow when we get all the good details on what's to come in SolidWorks 2009!!! Thanks for listening!

Remember to check out the SolidWorks: Heard! Blog, Forums and Twitter Feed.

- General Session layout
- Jeff Ray talked to R & D about 2009
- New product 3D Via Composer
- What the themes will be for SolildWorks 2009
- Speaker Danny Forster from Discovery's "Build it Bigger"
- Speaker Theo Jansen - Kinetics Engineer/Artist - Absolutely Amazing!!!

I recorded this with Quinton Rocke but I was having "a case of the Mondays" and accidentally deleted his recording with me so I had to rerecord alone. I hope to get more of the tech staff to talk about the User breakouts they attended to give you an idea of the topics covered. Stay tuned for tomorrow when we come back with all the details of Day 2! Thanks for listening!

Remember to check out the SolidWorks: Heard! Blog, Forums and Twitter Feed.

- SolidWorks 2008 SP 2.0 release notes
- SolidWorks Labs updates
- 3D Content Central
- SolidWorks World attractions and costs
- What content to expect for SWWC coverage

SolidWorks World is here! If you still want to attend you can sign up onsite at the San Diego Convention Center and watch me take the heat when I sit on the panel of chumps in the breakout session "Stump the Chumps"!

Remember to check out the SolidWorks: Heard! Blog, Forums and Twitter Feed.

- Introduction
- Interface
- Step 1: Measurement
- Step 2: Assembly Sequence
- Step 3: Assembly Constraints
- Step 4: Analyzing the Results
- Making adjustments on the fly
- Graphical Feedback

SolidWorks World is only one week away so don't forget to register and watch me take the heat when I sit on the panel of chumps in the breakout session "Stump the Chumps"!

SolidWorks World Conference will be in San Diego, California on January 20 - 23 and has over 150 breakouts including hands-on and seminar style sessions. For more information about SolidWorks World click here!

Remember to check out the SolidWorks: Heard! Blog and Forums.

- How to purchase
- Online experience
- Certifications available
- FAQs
- Overall impressions

Happy New Year and welcome to 2008! Don't forget to register for SolidWorks World and watch me take the heat when I sit on the panel of chumps in the breakout session "Stump the Chumps"!

SolidWorks World Conference will be in San Diego, California on January 20 - 23 and has over 150 breakouts including hands-on and seminar style sessions. For more information about SolidWorks World click here!

Remember to check out the SolidWorks: Heard! Blog and Forums.