During the last weeks of October 2015, CADD Edge, Inc. is hosting two Concept2Design (C2D) annual SOLIDWORKS training and user events — the 2-day Foxwoods conference followed by the 1-day New Jersey event.
With its wide array of offerings, industry professionals who use SOLIDWORKS technology eagerly attend CADD Edge’s annual events year after year, each time discovering new ways to optimally use their programs and learn about new tools that can aid in their efficiency.
Stephen Bodwell, design engineering manager for CPS Technologies Corp., Massachusetts, has participated in C2D events five times. He describes his experience attending the 2014 "Dueling Design" session, wherein two of CADD Edge’s application engineers demonstrated their design expertise: "They were given the model to create, but they created it in different ways. Each person presented a different version of it, and it was a practical lesson in versatility and creativity.”
Frank Biolsi, marketing director of Sonnex Industries, expresses a similar sentiment. He previously attended a session on drawing, but was concerned that it might be useless to his marketing department. To the contrary, he ended up with four to five different marketing ideas. Now he attends every session he can and has come to attribute increased productivity and efficiency to learning about SOLIDWORKS' Composer, a rendering and documentation application: "The bottom line is, I knocked three weeks off our production cycle for a new part, because rather than waiting for the part to come in to take a photograph, by the time it arrives, I've already rendered it and I've got my instructions ready. Just tell me, and I enable it on a website."
Both C2D 2015 events feature in-depth training sessions led by SOLIDWORKS' application engineers, peer presentations on applications and designs, a keynote speaker, a Partner Pavilion featuring new technologies and complementary solutions, networking activities, and one-on-one time with C2D's Application Engineers and Support Team. The conferences will also rollout SOLIDWORKS' 2016 software and explore their new enhancements and features.
This year CADD Edge has added yet another benefit by including a 3D Printing Open House on the afternoon prior to the start of both the Foxwoods and New Jersey C2D conferences. They also added a design challenge for attendees to demonstrate their SOLIDWORKS skills.
Marketing Director Kevin Shayne states, “Our CEO has provided me the mandate to add as much value as possible to the engineering community. Any SOLIDWORKS user is welcome to attend. We don’t care if you are in the region that we cover or are even one of our customers. C2D isn’t even a moneymaking event for us. In fact, we work hard to “break even” and that’s due in large part due to the involvement of fantastic sponsors like SOLIDWORKS, Stratasys, and others. It’s really all about giving back, and we really try to pack in as much learning and discovery as we can.”
It is CADD Edge's intention that all participants of Concept2Design will walk away from the experience with expanded knowledge of the SOLIDWORKS suite of software, as well as other tools that enable increased productivity.
Substantiating the value of participation in the event to bosses is a no-brainer. But just in case, CADD Edge has drafted a letter than can be downloaded from its website and addressed to any hesitant manager, detailing the numerous advantages and competitive edges that can be gained by attending.
The Foxwoods event will take place on October 22 and 23, 2015, in Foxwood's Fox Tower, in Ledyard, Connecticut. Register online at http://www.eventbrite.com/e/concept2design-ct-solidworks-conference-registration-15916734381
The New Jersey event will be held on October 28, 2015 at The Teaneck Marriott at Glenpoint in Teaneck, New Jersey. Register online at http://www.caddedge.com/concept2design-new-jersey/3d-printing-open-house-nj
