SOLIDWORKS World 2016: Day 2 General Session Recap

Today is Groundhog Day, but it’s not the same old thing at SOLIDWORKS World. Day two is all about the community, and with a group of dedicated users as large and creative as this one, you never hear the same story twice.

Today, we saw updates to MySolidWorks, SOLIDWORKS EDU, and the SOLIDWORKS Entrepreneur program, along with new releases, which included SOLIDWORKS Make and SOLIDWORKS Apps for Kids. In addition, we heard from several amazing customers on how they are creating breakthrough products in the very different worlds of brewing, aerospace and lingerie—all with SOLIDWORKS.

Suchit Jain, SOLIDWORKS Vice President of Strategy and Community, began the day by introducing MySolidWorks as a must-use tool for SOLIDWORKS users. With more than 700 training sessions, integration with the SOLIDWORKS forums, and online product trials, MySolidWorks is the place to go for all things SOLIDWORKS. Learn more about today’s updates in this blog post. http://blogs.solidworks.com/solidworksblog/2016/02/mysolidworks-its-all-about-you-and-solidworks.html

Director of the SOLIDWORKS User Group Network, Richard Doyle, introduced two significant milestones for the network: the 20th anniversaries of the San Diego and Seattle user group chapters. Richard then announced the winners of the annual SWUGN awards:

User group of the year: New Mexico, William Radigan
User group leader of the year: Nicole Walden, Chattanooga
Michelle Pillers community award: Jeff Holliday, Mid-Atlantic

Going back to day one’s discussion of the consumer trend toward experience and personalization, Richard Friedfelt, CEO of ClearVision Optical, an eyewear maker, discussed his company’s efforts for meeting this demand with SOLIDWORKS Make. Joining Friedfelt on stage was Igal Kapstan, VP of Product Management for SOLIDWORKS Make, discussed how this technology bridges a gap between 3D printers and consumer demands. Essentially, 3D printers can create something unique, but need to be fed with 3D data. Retailers using SOLIDWORKS Make can enable their customers to personalize products within a set of parameters.

ClearVision customers use SOLIDWORKS Make to personalize their glasses and share their designs on Facebook (it’s always good to get a second opinion) before ordering. By allowing customers to become part of the design process, retailers have the opportunity to provide both memorable and personalized experiences. Learn more about SOLIDWORKS Make and ClearVision in this blog post.

Marie Planchard, Director of SOLIDWORK Education, announced that 2.4 million students and educators use SOLIDWORKS in classrooms, research facilities and Fab Labs across the world. In hopes of getting even more students and children interested in engineering, SOLIDWORKS Apps for Kids were introduced by ‎Senior User Experience Design Engineer Chin-Loo Lama. Geared toward kids aged 4-14, SOLIDWORKS Apps for Kids teach concepts from four stages of engineering: ideation, creation, enhancement and production. Learn more about the apps in this blog post.

Suchit returned to the stage with Frederic Ramouille of Tethys Engineering, a company created to connect students with businesses. The idea behind Tethys is moving toward creating a workforce full of certified SOLIDWORKS users. Tethys finds smart student engineers who are looking for real-world engineering experiences and matches them with businesses seeking enthusiastic minds. It’s a win-win opportunity that you can read about in detail here.

Coming out of its 2015 launch, Suchit provided a 6-month update for the SOLIDWORKS Entrepreneur program. Thus far, more than 100 startups have joined the program. If you’d like to learn more, visit: solidworks.com/entrepreneurs

SOLIDWORK users come in all shapes and sizes – and they innovate in very diverse industries. Yahoo Tech Founder David Pogue took on the job of interviewing three customers: the Japanese Space Elevator Association, Brewbot, and Trusst Lingerie.

Space Elevator

Space Elevator is researching the next generation of space transport. Instead of rocketing through the atmosphere, Space Elevator is experimenting with the concept of a 100,000-kilometer lift into space. The idea is that cargo and passengers can be lifted to space quickly and without the cost and dangers of rockets. Although the concept is potentially 100 years from delivery, it’s an important step toward the future our relationship with space.

Brewbot
One downside of the craft beer revolution is that you cannot always find your favorite beer at a local retailer. If you’ve been on vacation and found a beer you love, there’s a good chance that you may not have access to the same beverage at home. Brewbot is solving that problem through digital distribution. The company has created an automated brewing solution that you can use to craft your own beer or follow recipes from 40 breweries. You select the beer you want to make in Brewbot, the company sends you the ingredients, and then you complete brewing in about 4.5 hours. In addition to home brewing, the machine is also being used by bars, restaurants and breweries to lower the barrier to brewing.

Trusst Lingerie

Some of the greatest ideas are new ways of thinking around an old way of doing things. This was the inspiration for engineers Sophia Berman and Laura West when they conceived Trusst Lingerie. The duo realized that the 100-year-old design of the bra really wasn’t providing the support women, especially those with a larger bust, need. The two did what any other engineer would: fix the design. By inserting a truss in the bra design, women actually get proper support from their lingerie. For this reason, David Pogue described the founders as “the Steve Jobs of lingerie.” Truly it’s this kind of problem solving that makes SOLIDWORKS users unique.