Richards SolidWorks Blog

Changes to Come.

What will Happen and When. 

by Richard Williams aka Corporal Willy, Jan, 7th 2011

By now I suppose the news has gotten around to the world and it probably was a big shock to many of us.  Yes, SolidWorks has a new CEO from France.  The man's name is Bertrand Sicotand and he has been working with the SolidWorks Company and crew for many years already.  Our former CEO Jeff Ray, goes to France and will become embedded into the Dassault Systemes Headquarters there.  Wow, as if that were not enough of a bang we also got the news from Mr. Ray, that they will be "killing off SolidWorks."  When I read that news I nearly died inside.  I spent a lot of valuable time away from things I was supposed to be doing to read every blog report, interview and newsletter I could find about this topic.  I was really mixed up inside.  Lost would describe it pretty good.

After having some time to think about things I was able to scoop up what was left of my brains on the floor.  I was still up in the air about this "Cloud Computing" thingy and the "killing off of SolidWorks" as a way to serve it's user base.  It seems like only a year or so ago I was asking more informed people than myself what the hell is this "Cloud Computing" idea.  After having it explained to me I was still scratching my bald head and I had more questions than answers.  What will this mean to all of us?  How will it affect us?  How do we teach it in schools?  What are we buying when we purchase a license and will it be a virtual one or a real one?  How do we connect to something so mysterious and where?  Question after question has come to me without any answers.  Then I really started to think about these things.  A change is going to occur.  I was born way before TV's for the public came out so I have seen lots of changes.

Given enough time to study the news and knowing what little I do about technical issues I began to make some sense out of this.  Change must happen at regular intervals as it does with most things.  I'm a dinosaur and I do resist changes naturally at this age.  However, we all know what happened to the dinosaurs.  I have a partial listing here of ideas that I got from all the news I read yesterday.  

1. Killing off of SolidWorks was perhaps the wrong terminology by Mr. Ray but it definitely was an attention getter.  I would have referred to it as a metamorphosis from an already pretty caterpillar into a really BEAUTIFUL BUTTERFLY.  

2.  Using web based servers that allow SolidWorks users to continue to use their favorite MCAD program has many good points.

        A.  It will be cheaper to buy a license according to Mr. Ray.

        B.  Users won't need a very powerful workstation to do their magic while using SolidWorks.

        C.  Schools that I work with will be able to reach these servers without having those powerful computers to run the program locally or on board.  It has been cost prohibitive for many schools.

        D.  For businesses they will only have to purchase a commercial license for what they need to have without all the other things added to it that you might not need at the time.  This translates into even more savings for a young company starting out because they don'thave to buy those expensive workstations either to handle things.  Everything is done by the web servers.  That includes all those heavy calculations in FEA or CFD analysis or animations you do.  It will come as  part of the service included in your specific license agreement.

       E.  If you have a MAC, Windows, Linux, Red Hat or whatever, it won't matter because as long as you are able to access the web servers you will be able to use SolidWorks.  Pretty cool, I think but now with your I-Pad.  That opens up a much larger possible user base for the company.  They won't need to provide future code that will run on other Operating Systems.  Good points both ways.

3.  The jury is still out as to whether SolidWorks will finally get compatibility with its Catia big brother which would make many industry people and MCAD users ecstatic.  I suppose the SolidWorks internal code would have to be changed to accomplish that and we won't know for sure about that at this time.

        How Will This All be Accomplished

   In my way of thinking there will be large web based server stations positioned strategically around the world to serve the users of the program.  They would be very much like Telephone Switching Stations and maybe Dassault Systemes got the idea from them.  All these stations would be looped and cross connected together so if one part of the country is knocked out due to a storm or something else, you have a circular loop to access it from the other direction, providing if electrical power is available of course.  Even if they were not going to do this Cloud Computing thingy, you would still need electric power to run your computers.  In the electrical industry we used to call such a system a looped radial system, like the spokes on a tire rim.  That would virtually insure a continuity of service.  At least that is the way I would set it up, but I am not an engineer and not on their planning commission or think tank.  I just love the program and promote it in our schools.

 This much is for sure.  It is a bold step to take and if they pull it off correctly without too many problems, then the rest of the industry is sure to follow right behind them.  Two of the best things about it that I can see so far, is that it won’t matter what Operating System you use to access their powerful web based servers and I can get it into a lot more schools without having those more powerful PC based computers.  So anyone with a decent computer will be able to use SolidWorks.  So there really are some great points in this plan as well. 

Now a word about the name SolidWorks.  With all my reading yesterday it is not a well defined goal as to their plans to change the brand name SolidWorks.  There was some talk about it evolving into a V6; a correlation I suppose to Catia it's big adopted brother.  Well old dinosaurs like me don't want to see too much change at once but if this does happen it will be many years down the road.  All in all I would have to say that the Dassualt Systemes Company knows what they are doing and although I don't like major changes to occur in my life, I believe this will provide a system that will accomodate many more users, especially our school children and hard pressed school districts.  So now I'm getting a little more excited about this news.  Yup, I just bought myself a heavy duty workstation to handle all the jobs I ask SolidWorks to do for me when I teach it and use it for school science projects.  Have a little faith my friends.  I think it is going to become that Beautiful Butterfly from an already Pretty Caterpillar. 

Why do I do what I do?

Here is the answer to Why do I do what I do.

By Corporal Willy, Dec., 12^th 2010

            To answer that question I have to resort to being maudlin for a minute.  I work with kids, because a million years ago I used to be one and I went through some really hard times at home.  A really good teacher took me aside and bothered to ask me what was wrong and I guess it was really showing on me.  He heard my story and then again took the time and helped me sort it out and put things in perspective from an adult point of view which I could not yet see on my own.  I was only about 14 back then.  What that teacher told me was worth its weight in gold and it solved the serious problems I had back then.  That teachers name was Mr. Jerry Como and yes it was Perry Como’s brother who was my gym teacher back then in Hempstead High School, Long Island, New York.  Thanks Mr. Como.

         I will never forget that advice he gave me and in a similar way I am keeping that advice going today with a new generation of young Americans.  I do this now with my talks to school children from the early grades levels up to the high school years.  I am proud to belong to a really nice bunch of people that are doing this in our “PAYBAC” group, where we talk to the kids in their classrooms.  That acronym stands for Professionals and Youth Building a Commitment and we are a part of the Community Partnership Program here in Las Vegas.  We each take a class that is studying a subject that we would like to focus our talks on.  We are composed of judges, policemen, salespeople, scientists, beauty pageant winners (not me), engineers and retired people (like me).  I worked in the electrical construction industry for many, many years, so I could write a book on what I have seen but I only have forty minutes with the kids.  Somehow in that short time period I have to try and convince them on how important it is to stay in school and learn as much as they can.  This is not an easy thing to tell young people that do not have enough life experience yet to know how important their school years are.  But they are our future.

    I wasn’t very good at this when I first started out because there is a learning curve for sure.  But I soon felt at ease talking about the things I have done and accomplished in my 67 years.  However, that alone is not enough to get the point across to young students.  Then it came to me one day.  I would act out in silence, various jobs until someone in the class could call it out.  I act out jobs like digging ditches, washing windows, emptying garbage cans, mopping and polishing floors and even cleaning toilets in rest rooms.  After they have guessed all those jobs (about 10 of them) I surprise them by saying that I have done all of these jobs to provide for my family.  I ask them if they would like to do those “honest working” types of jobs too.  Their answers are pretty much expected.  Those jobs are dirty, smelly and hard on the back and they normally do not pay well enough to get ahead in life.   I also tell them that they will all be guaranteed those jobs if they do not get a good education NOW.  After I made up my own mind to go back to school and it was kind of late in life (24), I applied for and was accepted into the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers; IBEW and after five long years of apprenticeship training I became a qualified Journeyman Electrician.  Then things changed for my young family and me.  We were so much happier because things were getting so much better financially and we had medical benefits, a retirement pension and a savings plan.  I loved to go to work it was exciting. 

    Then I keep going in my talks by pulling out different hats that I have worn from a tote bag that emphasize different times in my life.  First was my US Marine Corps Cap, then a construction hard hat, after that my SolidWorks hat which is something I like to teach to young people, an Engineering.com hat that I can happily say I write some article blogs for that go around the world and finally a Cheers baseball cap from the TV show.  I could not find another one that could better depict that time in my life when I was a real live entertainer and sang to audiences.  I even made money doing it.  Each hat is a different time in my life and an accomplishment too.  Every hat came with its own set of problems that had to be learned before proficiency was obtained.  “Education is the key and it will get you where you want to be” and I preach that to them.  

   Now many would ask why would you want to do this as a volunteer?  Getting up early, getting dressed, putting out the garbage cans, cleaning up after the pets and running out the door to get to the schools anywhere in the district so you can deliver your talk.  Bye the way this is the 5^th largest school district in the USA, Clark County Nevada.  Sometimes we must drive over long open spans of desert to get to these schools.  Well folks, I really have no answers to that question.  Instead I will just share with you these messages mailed to me from just one class of kids this year.

 

 

Maybe this one young man down below here will be an engineer someday because I might have helped to inspired him.  I can bet my last dollar that donating my time is worth it.  It is the most valuable thing I have to share with them.  I always leave them with this one aphorism that I tell them their teacher will explain to them after I leave.   “Never put a wishbone where your backbone ought to be.”   Have a wonderful Holiday Season.

 

High Tech and Hands On

  High Tech and Hands On

By Richard Williams aka Corporal Willy

     Education today doesn’t have to be dull, boring, monotonous, unchallenging and just a mental holiday for our students.  It can be a time for inspiration, perspiration and ambitious projects that are done right there in the classroom.  I’ve seen both extremes in education in a few states now and I have to say that for those youngsters fortunate enough to be in a class full of hands on and challenging projects learn better.  Dry studies in the classroom without some wetness to put into motion those things that are being learned will not have the reinforcement of learning the subject matter well.  It’s kind of like a dry barren desert without much vegetation. 

    I have to point out something that might not want to be talked about, but the momentum for educational change is right on the horizon today.  Students live in the world of 2010.  We have been on the moon already and we have plans being worked on to colonize are closest livable sister planet Mars.  Are we going to prepare our students properly and use modern methods to do it with?  I sure hope so.

     Dateline:  Las Vegas Convention Center December 2^nd and 3^rd. The ACTE Career Tech Expo.   http://www.careertechexpo.com 

 
After finding a parking place way in the back of just one of the huge parking lots you get a feeling of being very small after walking through the doors.  It is huge inside and that is not even a good enough descriptor of what I mean.  There is ample room for even the biggest of shows.  I am not writing this to promote the Convention Center, but to let you know that with so many High Tech Education Companies out there, they were able to bring in and set up some very elaborate displays. 

 

 

 

 

Yes that is a youngster learning how to weld on a virtual welding machine.  Incredible don’t you think so and there is no potential hazard of getting burned or having to set up a real shop for welding operations.  A real shop should be done to get the full effect of learning how to weld but believe me this is cool to get the feel and preliminary experience needed.  Check it out at:

                                             http://www.lincolnelectric.com/green

We all know that Robotics seems to be sweeping the tech education today and this was just one elaborate display of what some schools are using to teach those youngsters that will be creating those amazing machines in the future. 

High Tech and Hands On is an educational method that just cannot be beat in my opinion.  If this was available back when I was in school, I most likely would still be in school still trying to figure these things out.  Try going to:   http://www.amatrol.com

Not all Educational Aids were just in hardware alone.  I found the Dassault Systèmes; SolidWorks Company and MasterCAM also there demonstrating ways of teaching our young future work force how to design and then build it.  Down below here is Christine Morse from the SolidWorks Company; Public Relations.

 
 

Another lady from the SolidWorks Company is Mrs. Marie Planchard talking to an interested passerby.  These two ladies mentioned in these last two pictures are instrumental to getting a wonderful program into the hands of children to learn.  It is a real engineering tool.  Mrs. Planchard is the Director of Worldwide Education Markets for SolidWorks.  She is also an engineer and a former School Teacher.

You know as well as I do that the education of our young people takes a very special kind of person that we call a TEACHER.  I did not really understand this until I was out of high school a couple of years and I think it came to me one night when I was in a foxhole someplace on a very lonely  watch, that teachers were indeed very special. 

But with hands on projects like this one being done down below at one of our six high school academies, young people get involved in their education like you would not believe.  The teacher of this class Mr. Angelo Pappano, told me that he starts the class and supervises things, but at a distance.  The youngsters have a yearning to learn and even study on their own at home.  Isn’t that odd to hear about today?  They take the initiative and run with the ball to the graduation gold posts.  I want to congratulate the students for their accomplishments and Mr. Pappano the teacher / engineer that motivated these young people to this level of competence.  Here is my sincerest congratulations for a job well done! 

No, they aren’t toilet seats and they will be for sale I am told.  They also aren’t the Taylor acoustical guitars, but they are a very prominent part of any modern band today; the electronic guitar.

 

Now while we are at it, I want to proudly show you something that I was not only amazed to see myself but something that I really want to boast about (some of the kids who are artists in this school district).  We all know everyone is not going to be a Scientist, a Technologist, an Engineer or a Mathematician and we sure need a lot of youngsters that are gifted with talents to do that.  They will do very well in life because they can do what many of us wish we could. 

Then we have those that are gifted in other ways to be graphic artists and they will have careers in many different industries because they can make ideas come to life.  Walt Disney would be proud of them and so am I.  Let’s give them all the tools they need to keep us entertained and remember this is Las Vegas, Nevada, where shows come to life everyday of the year to entertain the world that comes here. 

Here we have Miss Victoria Pecor working on painting another one of her characters that she has developed.  Victoria is using a Wacom Cintiq Monitor along with Corel Painter which allows the student the ability to paint directly on the screen.

Miss Sarah Darasouk is working on a painting using a Cintiq Monitor.  She is using the clone option in Corel Painter for the activity she is working on.  What fantastic young artists.

 

 

Since getting involved here in my school district and giving up my retirement in the process, I have seen room for improvement in some schools and at the same time I have seen so much improvement in many others that I cannot imagine what else can be done.  Yes I know I am bragging, but I have the children to brag about and the teachers deserve so much of that credit for bringing out their talents.    

Sometimes when I reflect upon how busy I am during this time in my life, I get satisfaction from knowing that there are many more that fight to get different technologies into our classrooms much harder than I do.  One of them is Mr. David McElwain, our Clark County School District Technology Director.  Because of what he and others do we have some great success stories to tell here.  The teachers also deserve a lot of the credit because they train themselves in these new technologies in order to teach students and just look at what they can do.

Here we have Mr. Tyler Horne (Graphic Design II Student, Concept Art and Character development for his Video Game Character SYLAAR.  His concept was created in 3dsMax by a 3D Animation student in another class and printed on a Dimension printer) and Maureen Clark (instructor: Foothill High School)

 

Using Rapid Prototyping technologies these results were obtained from the creations of artists like young Mr. Tyler and we have a bunch of them here.  This is teaching and learning at its very best levels.  It deserves our full support no matter what school district we are talking about.   The 3D Models of characters were developed by various students in the Computer Graphics and Animation classes at Foothill High School using a 3D Dimensions Printer.

 

This is Tyler Horne's SYLAAR and Miss Victoria Pecor's  SARAH Concept Boards for Character Development.  It is amazing to see what was once done in college or industy come down into the high school level.

 

Artistic creativity comes in all kinds of styles.  Yes these young men did these creative works of art and I for one think they are very professionally done.  Had I not been told they did them I would have thought it was done by professionals. 

These Promotional Banners were made to promote the CTE course at our school.  Designed, printed and assembled by our Graphics Design II students.  The students took their own photos of students in the various programs and used Adobe Photoshop to develop their design.  

The three young artists that made the Promotional Banners used to promote the various CTE courses offered at the Foothills high school are from left to right Johan Ramerez, Michael Kim, and “Jyrone”  Aguinaldo Baraoidan.  Really nice art work young men.

A well run machine with regions set up and overseen by people like Mr. Jason Cloyd, the Western Regional Manager, of Americas Education.  He is dedicated to the users of the SolidWorks program in the schools.

 

Here Mr. Chris Miller from the Paton Group; Operations and he is talking to Mr. Steve Rebensdorf of dimension / Stratasys.  Now I know that even our young graphic artists use the 3D Printers to build their prototypes; from their creative minds to real physical objects.

Most of what moves today does so with gears and linkages.  Down below we have Mr. Roger Perry (left side) and Mr. Mark Newby in front of their companies educational display.  http://www.gearseds.com  take a look at their animations page as it is very nicely done and could be very useful in as added information for a classroom setting:     http://www.gearseds.com/flash_lessons.html

 

I was introduced to the CEO of the Inspirtech Company, Mr. Al Whatmough, who makes video tutorials for the SolidWorks MCAD program.  Yes, he brought his father Niel along too.

 

Robotics was well represented there at the show.  It can really grab the attention of young people everywhere and educational success stories are many.   Take a closer look at:  http://www.fanucrobotics.com    Some really amazing technologies for classroom labs.  Want to go back to school?

CNC machining is always a popular item at these shows.  I tried cutting out gears with a scroll saw once and made such a mess out of it that it was embarrassing.  Now students learn how to setup a part for machine operations such as the cutting out of gears and they can be proud of their results.  I hid mine.   Here Mr. Simon Moorhouse walked me through some operations.   http://www.denford.co.uk   I wish I had one of these to make my gears.

 

Not to be playing second fiddle to other categories at the show, the Green technologies were well represented here by others and by the Progressive Educational Systems with all their various displays.  Shown were Wind and Photovoltaic Energy Systems.  Down below here we have the husband and wife team of Mr. and Mrs. Paul and Katie Riddell.

 

What a wonderful Career Tech Expo it was this year.  Many people made a lot of contacts and gathered a lot of information into their tote bags.  I’m still sorting through mine.  In fact I am looking forward to going the next time they are here.  Great dedicated people + great exhibits and demonstrations = a terrific show.  See and some people said I couldn’t do any kind of math.  This is Corporal Willy asking you to get involved in your schools.  Work to make them better.  Work to make students better.  Is there anything more important than our young people who will replace us?  Happy Holidays to Everyone, Everywhere.