Matt Lombard is responsible for my entry into the blog world although he does not know this yet. I have watched and posted a number of times on his blog but never bit the bullet to do my own.
So I found myself yesterday wanting to post a video of how I edit a real part in SE on his blog and one thing leads to another and the culmination of this was a decision to just go ahead and dive in myself.
When it’s your blog you get to do and say things you don’t feel you can say otherwise because being reasonably polite on some one elses turf is just the proper way to behave. And since Solid Edge is my program of choice it behooves me to just start blabbering about it primarily on my own site.
I don’t however intend to limit the topics to just Solid Edge as it is only part of my business life and many of you know I am quite opinionated on other topics like [ughhh!] the Cloud. CAD and CAM in general is of interest to me across the board irrespective of who authors it so there will be comments on other products here too.
I own and run a small job shop and I wear all hats from design to sanitary pipe welding to cnc machining and clean ups on aisle 3 so you just never know what may show up here.
One of the things I would like to do with other SE users is real parts and how they were done and why. I figure to learn in this blog from others who are better than I am or just have a different approach and put this information out there for other users and those just curious about how my tool set compares to theirs. I don’t try to represent myself as a Solid Edge expert because I am not. But it is what I use to make a living and I intend to share what I know with others.
I believe with my own money that SE ST3 is the best MCAD program out there right now enough to desire to help the SE community along with this blog and wellcome whosoever will to join me.
Regards, Dave Ault
Machined Audio Horn Lens 
HA!
So you’ve done it. The world needs another Solid Edge blog. Maybe now that you’ve started writing, I can stop blogging about SE on my SW blog.
Anyway, I am really looking forward to reading what you have to say when you are writing your own stuff rather than commenting on other people’s writing. You’re the perfect guy to write a real world blog on SE, and I will follow it with much interest.
By the way if you need any WordPress advice, I’ll do what I can to help, although I’m no genius.
Welcome to the blogging world, Dave. It will be a more colorful place with you here, and I’m sure we all will learn a few things! Best of luck!
Thanks Matt and I will be taking you up on WordPress advice in the near future.
Dave,
great to see you start this blog. I know it will be an honest resource about what you see in Solid Edge and your business. Although some people are worried about what can be said about the good and bad, I am not. It’s the power of Social Media and only those who don’t listen and strive to improve will lose. Anyway, let us know how we can help provide information for your blog and the Solid Edge user community.
All the best, Karsten
Siemens PLM Solid Edge (and Velocity) Business Manager
p.S.: … Of course we can’t let Matt stop his Solid Edge coverage, good and bad. 😉
Thanks Karsten. You are right and a company that stops listening to valid comments will soon be going backwards. Happy to have you onboard the blog and SE.
Big bold step Dave…..best of luck.
Will be following your progress…and hopeflly can contribute at some point.
Congratulations, Dave, and welcome to the 21st century. Always interested in adding another Solid Edge resource and hearing your opinions. I’ll be sure to update my Solid Edge resource list on my blogs to link here.
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Looking forward to reading more.
Great to see a SolidEdge blog. I’m looking forward to learning more about it. Be sure to add Google Analytics to your blog. In my case it reminds me that people view my blog even though there aren’t many comments on my blog. When I’m getting discouraged, for example, thinking that no one reads my blog. (Although I’ll never get the readership numbers like Matt Lombard)
Good luck,
Devon Sowell
Thanks Devon for the nod and the headsup on Analytics. I have at times wondered if anyone was reading but never thought to look for a tool to tell me the truth here. I don’t know if I would want to ever grow as large as Matt’s blog I just wanted a little corner to call my own.
Thanks Dave, I have been a Solidworks user for years and its a good program but the first time I saw ST3 I was blown away. I have lately been visiting Matts site not only for SW info but to get the latest on SE.
I have a small manufacturing shop where we design and build our own products. We design and build our machines, jigs and fixtures and our products are of steel. I can see where SE will be a big step over SW in design ease and also save a lot of time.
The SE guys appear to have a clear vision and Dan Staples seems to be a good leader.
Solid Edge has put excitement back in CAD as SW is so boring!
I’ll be checking in regularity.
I’m and sure your blog will be as interesting as your existing comments and I look forward to reading what you have say, on what ever you choose.
All the best, PaulW
Dave,
I am happy that you started this SolidEdge blog. Best of luck!
I used SW, SE and now Inventor. I wish changes were easier to make and I wish I was the only CAD user in my company… Of what I am seeing right now I think that SE got the right direction.
I will be looking forward for your articles and posts!
Best regards,
Adrian (yes, I am Alex too )
Dave, Your email got deleted before I could respond. Please send another, Sorry. George
Estoy de acuerdo con Matt Lombard, el mundo necesita otro blog de Solid Edge.
Soy un seguidor de Matt y he comprado sus libros en Amazon para que me los traigan a España pero ahora estoy empezando con Solid Edge y no hay tanta documentación para aprender, así que ya he marcado este blog en mis favoritos para seguirlo.
For those of us who do not speak Spanish.
Comment:
I agree with Matt Lombard, the world needs another blog of Solid Edge.
I’m a fan of Matt and I bought his books on Amazon for me to bring them to Spain but now I’m starting with Solid Edge and there is much documentation to learn, so I have marked this blog in my favorites to follow.
Inigo,
Wellcome and I hope you enjoy it. In general things will be slow here till the Huntsville Summit in June. We are so close to ST4 here that I am going to hold off a bit on posts.
Dave,
AWESOME!! I know that this blog will be a grand success. You have been with SE since ST1 and have experienced all of the growing pains. And with your passion for getting the job done and your passion for utilizing the best tools to do it, I’m sure will be reflected on your blog.
I will definitely put UR new site on my daily visit list. You have been a help to me in the past giving me a wealth of knowledge on SE-ST, and I greatly appreciate that.
LUCK to U on UR new venture.
Billy
Thanks Billy,
I don’t know about that daily list idea as I am not sure about how prolific a writer I will be but who knows. Wellcome in any case and always open to ideas for topics.
Dave – Please encourage Matt to keep blogging about ST on the SW blog – some of the best “advertising” we have had in the 15 years I’ve been selling SE. Tasked with choosing a 3D solid modeling product for the VAR I was working for then, I gave it due diligence and took almost a year (due to the fact that UGS bought SE from Intergraph) and looked at Eureka Gold, Iron CAD, SW, AutoCAD’s Inventor (in beta at the time) and Pro-E. Both SW and SE were the only 2 that made my short list. Over many objections from fellow employees, we chose SE and for a few years, suffered greatly in sales. We replaced almost all of the Microstation Modeler that had been sold over the first few years, but then the battle against SW got tougher. The 3 best things I have seen about the company since then – Bought by Siemens, Synchronous Technology and Don Cooper (Karsten came along a little later). With Bill McClure and Dan Staples being “solid Fixtures – they have added new marketing and sales associated people that will really help move this technology along. I left a very nice career at the age of 47 to begin learning something about computers – that was in 94 and thanks to the younger folks in the business and the people that are behinnd Solid Edge – I believe our best years are ahead. The next “best thing” for ST is this blog site, thanks for creating it. Prior to this, Matt’s comments on the SW blog was about the only good thing you could find on SE. I’m getting closer tad to retirement now, but displacing a seat of SW or beating them “head to head” – still does my heart good. Thanks again for your commitment to SE and ST.
First about Matt. Matt had an interest in SE because of two things I believe. One is that general interest many cad users have in new or different tools out there irregardless of what they use on their day to day job. The second is a profound disappointment in the perceived and actual direction DSS is taking with SWX. I expect many SWX users including perhaps Matt to may indeed be switching to SE after the release of ST4. His purpose in writing though was not to advertise for SE and I can hardly encourage him to do so on that basis. ST4 will sell itself and I am sure he will have a few things to say after the release.
The very best thing that could have happened to SE in my opinion was the purchase of UGS by Siemens. Along with the new owners came a new mindset that was the complete opposite of the old UGS/Integraph culture of neglect. I can’t for the life of me fathom why UGS would kill the SE user community in 2005. All the windy promises made at the Summit that year about the good things that were to come were followed by reduced advertising for SE to zip and instead talk about this meaningless Velocity thing and then burying the SE community in PLM World where no SE users cared to be. How could anything prosper under that kind of management.
I believe this sad chapter is behind us now and that we are going to witness the rise of SE to take the place over time of SWX. Just as SWX did to ProE.
Thanks for the vote of confidence on the blog and I hope over time it will be of interest.
Great blog postt
A blast from the past. It surprises me how often these old SE posts are read. Still use SE to this day though I let maintenance lapse three years ago.