As a member of the Technical Support Team at Symmetry Solutions, each year we are required to be recertified by SolidWorks.  Part of the recertification test is focused on new functionality and features for the latest release of SolidWorks.  As you may or may not know, there is a “What’s New” file for every new release of the software that documents these changes.  You can access this file from your help menu in SolidWorks.  Like many, I am one of those people that scan the document for some highlights when I install each new release.  However, since my recertification test was approaching, I thought I would give it a more thorough read.  You know what I discovered (again)?  There is a lot of good information in that document.  I won’t try and summarize the entire thing, but here is one tip that I think may be useful if you are in the process of updating hardware:

“You can transfer a license from a computer even if SolidWorks is no longer installed on that computer. You can download and run SolidWorks Activation Wizard from the SolidWorks customer portal to transfer the license.”

So now when you get that annoying message about “Activation Count Exceeded” because you forgot to transfer the license off of your old computer, you no longer need to call technical support to resolve the problem.

Note, the tool is new and currently only applies to SW2011 installations.

Take some time and read through the “What’s New” document (again).  It may not be the most fun reading material available, but I recommend it for all SolidWorks users, as it can help you get the most from your software.

P.S.  You will be happy to know that all the members of your SolidWorks Technical Support Team here at Symmetry Solutions passed their recertification test.

A rubber band stretches over a can.  Simple, right?  But when the rubber band is half the size of the can, simulating that sort of expansion over a large body becomes an enormously complex task.   It was day one of Advanced Non- linear Simulation Training in Chicago.  By the dumb expressions on our faces, Jandra Novak, our Czechoslovakian instructor, knew that we were stumped.  “Try this.” He said.    

We watched as he proceeded to silently work.  We all leaned forward and closed our laptops.  He entered values into the software.  No words, just numerical values.  It’s a language we all speak.  

Without getting into too much detail, simulating the rubber band going over the can was not possible.  The size difference was too great for any simulation software to handle.  What Jandra did, was simple.  He shrank the can and placed it in the center of the rubber band.  Then, he made the can grow.  The rubber band expanded as it came into contact with the can.

To any non-super-nerd it was all just numbers.  But to us, it was physics.  Glorious physics.  (It’s as close to reading the code from The Matrix as I’ll ever get.)  

He clicked “Run” and we waited.  

As we reviewed the result, I leaned back in my chair and had only one simple thought:  I understood everything that just happened. 

I’m smart.

As I walked into O’Hare,  I grabbed my ticket and looked down.  C33.  Gate C33, I thought.  For those of you who have never been, O’Hare is one of the largest airports in the country.  Getting to gate C33 was no small chore.  It took 3 miles of walking to get to.  As I reached the end of the terminal, I read C30, C31, C32.  No C33.  Confused, to say the least, I asked, “Excuse me miss, where is gate C33?”  

“Let me see your ticket,”  she replied.

I passed it across the counter.  I watched her type for what felt like an eternity.  

“C33 is your seat number.  You’re 5 miles away from your gate.”   

Defeated, I plopped down in gate 32.  I leaned back and had only one simple thought:  I’ve got a lot to learn.

-Nick Luyster, Applications Engineer (Simulation)

Wow!! This year’s SolidWorks World was packed with sessions, events, meetings and great fun! Our team had a great time with customers and partners and we learned a lot as always. If you couldn’t make it this year, please try and get to SolidWorks World 2012 in San Diego! You won’t be sorry.

The buzz is still loud in the blogosphere regarding the conference. You can get started at the SolidWorks blog. A few new products were announced: SolidWorks n!Fuze, Post3D, and SolidWorks Live Buildings for the AEC market. We were reacquainted with New SolidWorks CEO Bertrand Sicot. Bertrand has been with the company 15 years in various roles and we’ve enjoyed working with him on many occassions.

We especially want to thank our customers for their business in 2010. Symmetry Solutions received the “Elite 190 Club” award for the fourth year in a row. The award recognizes the top subscription service resellers worldwide. We were one of only four VAR’s in North America to receive the award.

Permasteelisa, a long-time customer of Symmetry Solutions, and world leader in curtain wall design, production, and installation,  played a large part in engineering the design of Beekman Tower, New York’s tallest residential high-rise.  The 76-story lower-Manhattan tower, designed by Frank Gehry, is 867 feet high. It includes highly-shaped curved steel surfaces that create a unique ripple effect. Permasteelisa’s virtual construction and precise 3D-models created using SolidWorks played an integral part in the successful completion of this impressive building. For more details on how this project came together, you can view a video here.

Beekman Tower, New York

Please take a minute to vote and let us know what you’d like us to cover in the upcoming SolidWorks “What’s New For 2011″ Webinar.

Thanks!