Seeing as I have some free time on my hands I have finally gotten around to building my Lumber library for SolidWorks Weldments.  I have done some projects using 2x4's, but as every cynical designer knows, a 2x4 actually measures 1.75 x 3.75 inches. 

While most of my sensativities are offended by that nomenclture, it's apparently not a battle I'm going to win.  Naturally, I turned to the source of all things moderately true, and looked up the true dimensions on Wikipedia. 

I embarked on this little project to test my profiles, and I came up with a few things.  First, I need to add points at the virtual sharp in my profiles for optimal profile placement.  I also need to add a custom property that is the profile name in order for it to populate the Cut List.  (Too bad profiles aren't configurable, because now I need to do it 20 times.) 

Yes, I do have some free time on my hands, but I figured Y'all would enjoy the lumber library.  I will post it here as soon as I go through it again.

Yes, that’s right, I said “Wicked-cheap” for you guys up in Concord MA.  

I don’t consider myself a sentimental person.  I just don’t get attached to things, but for some reason computers are completely different.  I still have my laptop from college, and I would rather use my 6 year old Dell M60 than someone else’s machine just because it’s mine.  I think the saying is “the devil you know is better than the devil you don’t”. 

It is the little things that makes me think Statler’s days as a “working machine” are numbered, and it’s time to look towards putting him out to pasture as a web surfing machine for looking up recipes in the kitchen.  I also still have Camilla, my PII from college, and Waldorf, my archaic but rock solid file server.  I give Kudos to anyone who can guess my naming convention ;)  For one thing, when I wake him up from hibernation the screen is a bit yellow for about 10 minutes.  My SolidWorks crashing has increased dramatically, and my video card has fallen way off the tested list.  It seems like about once an hour that my windows background creeps over my SolidWorks work space, and as much as I love pictures of my kids, I think they need to stay out of my SolidWorks session.   In the mean time I am hitting “Alt+f”, “s” so often that I’m getting a cramp in my left hand.  

My first place to start is with my VAR’s Hardware recommendations.  Hey, if they have to support it I might as well pick something from their suggested list.  My VAR doesn’t sell hardware, so they have no vested interest in steering me in one direction or another.  I had great success with my Dell, so that’s a high contender but I also want to give the other guys a chance. 

http://trimechsolutions.com/techresources/hardware-recom.pdf

Basically that leaves me with:
•    HPCompaq 8710w
•    Dell Precision M4400 or M6300
•    Lenovo ThinkPad W700

It looks like I can get a refurbished model of each for about $1,400.   Now it’s time to get shopping.  I wonder, do any of them come in pink? 

So, after talking about SolidWorks for the last 10 years, is there really anything left to say?

I admit that I feel secretly smug whenever someone asks how long I have used SolidWorks, and I can say it’s actually been 10 years. In reality I may have just bet on a winning horse out of sheer, dumb luck.

My being in the right place at the right time started as a junior at the UMD.  I was sick of school, and decided I was up for an internship.  After a few interviews with someuninspiring manufacturing shops I came across an ad at the career center for a local CAD company.  I replied to the ad, and I was shocked when the President called me back to set up an interview.  I don’t know what I was expecting, but it certainly wasn’t two twenty four year old guys in a virtually empty office suite with an “Idiots guide to interviewing” hastily swept under a pile of papers.  I hardly remember what happened next, but it involved my short experience with Pro-E and my only previous job as a bartender.  I think it was a gamble on both of our parts, but we agreed to a short partnership. 

On one hand, this was the best career experience I could ask for.  I learned a tremendous amount about manufacturing, CAD, and business.  I had a plant tour almost every day on the road, and by the end of the summer I flew to Boston and got certified as a SolidWorks Trainer and Support Technician.   (Much to their credit, they didn’t ACTUALLY let me teach.) On the other hand, it was probably one of the worst things I could have done.  It instilled a sort of “technical wander-lust” that is hard to satisfy.

As that year wrapped up I had a few more credits to take, and a summer to kill.   I wondered how I was going to pass the time after my wildly successful internship the year before.  I submitted an application to SolidWorks in Concord MA, and was accepted as an intern for that short summer.  To this day I’m certain my most important job was fetching pizza on Fridays, and my biggest accomplishment was using the word “wicked” as an adjective in a sentence without one of the native Bostonians cringing.  

The following year, I was forced to choose between my interest in cars, and my interest in SolidWorks.  I was recruited by a major automotive manufacturer as a Hybrid Power train engineer, and I just had to go.  I learned several things living in the Detroit area.  For example, CAD is often a union job, and can take MUCH longer than you think it should.  I learned a lot about quality, supply chain, and lean manufacturing.  I also learned that I fit better with a smaller company, and I HATE the cold.  There came a point when I wasn’t going to take another winter, and the VAR I worked for previously was accommodating enough to take me back as a SolidWorks Support technician remotely from my new home in South Carolina.   I worked part time and had two beautiful babies. 

Apparently there is more to selling something than believing you have the best product, the best company, and a great market base, because after a year as a SolidWorks Rep it was obvious that I wasn’t cut out for it.  Fortunately, my “year on the road” introduced me to a lot of great companies and I landed a sweet gig as a contract design engineer.  It satisfies my wander-lust, lets me share what I have learned, and lets me keep learning in one fell swoop.  Yes, that’s right that means I AM available to work on YOUR project!  There’s nothing wrong with shameless self promotion, right? 

I guess there is still a lot to say about SolidWorks. In fact, next week I hope to share my experience with the CSWP exam, my search for a new computer, and Jon Hirschtick’s visit to the GSWUG!