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Our Annual Value Added Technical Event for the DriveWorks Community

DriveWorks World 2017 saw over 120 delegates join us at the Twelve Atlantic Station in Atlanta for a week of learning, sharing ideas and seeing what’s new in DriveWorks 15.

Watch the highlights from our week in Atlanta:

The week began with 3 days of DriveWorks training. With so much functionality and so many ways to use DriveWorks, the training was split into two tracks.

Track 1 was dedicated to DriveWorks Pro Essentials Training & Certification, giving attendees the chance to become a Certified DriveWorks Professional (CDWP).

Track 2 focused on DriveWorks Pro Advanced Training, focusing on topics such as Advanced SOLIDWORKS Automation, Integration, External Data, Templates and more.

On Tuesday, an additional track was also added, a roundtable session with DriveWorks CEO, Glen Smith, Senior Developer, Colin and Application Specialist, Matt along with DriveWorks experts from resellers, customers and partners. Track 3 was all about CPQ and how we have added tons of new functionality focused on making online 3D CPQ even easier.

Attendees in all tracks got a first look at DriveWorks 15 and were really excited by the new features and customer inspired enhancements that we’ve packed into this latest release. DriveWorks 15 will be released very soon and available for all DriveWorks resellers, partners and customers with an active subscription support contract to download from the DriveWorks Community. Once the software is released, we’ll be hosting a number of What’s New in DriveWorks 15 webinars, details of these will be posted on our events page.

Thursday was the main DriveWorks World event where every new feature was revealed and explained during the What’s New in DriveWorks 15 presentations. We’re really excited by the feedback we’ve had from attendees about DriveWorks 15, it’s a great way for us to see the impact of being committed to meeting customer needs and adding innovative new features.

Thursday also saw several DriveWorks users take to the stage to present how they use DriveWorks. It’s always inspiring to see the different ways companies use DriveWorks in so many different ways to create really impressive solutions that meet their own business needs. The user presentations allow attendees to learn from each other and pick up ideas for their own DriveWorks configurators.

A huge thank you to everyone who joined us to make the week such a success, see you at DriveWorks World 2018!

Thank you to our sponsors:

In this great article, Kashyap Vyas of DriveWorks partner Hi-Tech CADD Services, discusses how stairway manufacturing companies can utilise the power of SOLIDWORKS & DriveWorks to help streamline their processes.

The most prominent challenge for stairway manufacturing companies is to meet the fast-changing expectations of the customer. The customers today, not only expect greater value and speed in delivery, but also expect more choices and customization. Expanding the built-to-order or engineered-to-order staircases is a necessity for manufacturers to offer customers extensive options in style and detail configuration. Such customer-centric manufacturing requires manufacturers to bring transition in their design, manufacturing and sales processes through right technology tools, in order to maintain a valuable competitive edge rather than spiralling towards the doom.

Design tools like SOLIDWORKS can enable engineering teams to quickly develop innovative, complex stairway design without having to redraw the components completely. Further the parametric, feature-based nature of SOLIDWORKS software facilitates automating design of custom stairs using DriveWorks, freeing up the time for engineers to focus on what matters the most – new innovation. Let’s discuss the benefits of utilizing these tools in detail:

Increase Innovation and Quality of Stairs

Unlike traditional 2D packages, SOLIDWORKS offers a complete 3D modelling interface with easy to use built-in features that can help the design engineer to experiment different variations in the stair design. The 3D visualization further communicates the design intent clearly, leaving few roadblocks to innovation. 2D environment further makes it difficult for manufacturers to get accurate drawings for curved stairs, in order to maintain correct length when folded together.

The 3D CAD software like SOLIDWORKS however provides the unfolding capability, which can be used to generate drawings for curved elements with accurate lengths. Apart from drawings, the software also has the capability to BOMs, cut lists and related manufacturing and installation documentation through easy-to-use tools within the 3D environment. 3D models further provide engineers the ability to test the designs through virtual simulation or use it for generating high-quality 3D renderings for marketing collateral.

Automate Ordering, Configuring and Design of Prefabricated Stairs

The major benefit of working with SOLIDWORKS is the ability to automate repetitive tasks using DriveWorks automation tool. Installed free with every seat of SOLIDWORKS, the DriveWorksXpress can actually bring down non-productive activities by automating the development of 3D models and drawings for each new configuration of prefabricated stairs.

The Solo and Pro version however open more possibilities to automate other business processes such as ordering and online configuring. Once the order is confirmed, the tool automatically generates SOLIDWORKS models, Bill of Materials (BOMs) and CNC-ready data required to manufacture the custom stairs. Integrating automation in these business processes can enable manufacturer to close the order in hours and ship the stair assembly well within the deadlines. The time and cost saved with this integration can be invested in research and innovation.

Expand Market Reach

SOLIDWORKS and DriveWorks together are the enablers for stairway manufacturers to reach out to new markets and expand existing ones. The tools provide greater flexibility and speed to develop complex stairway designs with minimal wastage and change orders.

With a strong design, production and sales capabilities, manufacturers can focus on developing high-end, luxury stair cases to tap opportunities in new market while remaining competitive in existing mass market stair designs.

Highlights from day two at DriveWorks World 2017

The second day of DriveWorks World in Atlanta was just as busy as the first. Attendees continued with their training, learning even more about DriveWorks 15 and the brand new features and enhancements.

Here’s what we packed into day two at DriveWorks World 2017:

Track One
Breakfast & Networking in The Exchange
DriveWorks 15 NEW Essentials Training Continued
DriveWorks 15 Certification Task Briefing
DriveWorks Pro Certification

By the end of the day there were a total of 31 brand new Certified DriveWorks Professionals, well done everyone!

Track Two
Breakfast & Networking in The Exchange
Deploying DriveWorks, including:
– DriveWorks Pro Server
– DriveWorks Autopilot:
Connectors, Emails and Settings
– DriveWorks Live:
IIS, Active Directory, Customization
– External Data:
SQL, XML, ODBC & API

As well as the two tracks above, Tuesday also saw 12 DriveWorks experts join Glen Smith, CEO of DriveWorks, as well as Senior Developer, Colin and Application Specialist, Matt for a round table session discussing CPQ.

They discussed the following topics:
– Live & ISS and a CPQ Skin
– Users and Teams for CPQ
– DriveWorks PowerPacks
– Create a Configurator
– Spec Host Control
– Making Your Online Configurator Responsive
– Creating a Sales Entry Point
– Creating an Admin Entry Point
– Creating New Views of Other Data
– List Management
– Data Table Control
– Button Addition
– Add/Edit/Delete on a List
– Re-skin – Logo and Fonts/Colours
– Connectors and Web Services

All 3 tracks joined together again for break and lunch times and the excitement about DriveWorks 15 was still obvious throughout the day.

Thank you to our sponsors:

Highlights from day one at DriveWorks World 2017

Yesterday over 120 attendees joined us at the Twelve Atlantic Station hotel for the first day of DriveWorks training.

There was a lot of excitement as attendees got their first glimpse of DriveWorks 15 and used some of the many great new features and enhancements.

Here’s what we packed into day one of DriveWorks World 2017:

Track One

Breakfast & Networking in The Exchange

Welcome & What to Expect this Week

Software Installation & Licensing of DriveWorks 15

DriveWorks 15 New Essentials Training

Track Two

Breakfast & Networking in The Exchange

Welcome & What to Expect this Week

Software Installation & Licensing of DriveWorks 15

Taking Design Automation to the Next Level, including:

– Advanced SOLIDWORKS Automation

– Model Insight, Generation Tasks & Conditions, Plugins & API

– Tagging, Mass Generation, Deferred Drawings

– Templates, Drive Packages

– SOLIDWORKS PDM

Both tracks joined together at break and lunch times to share ideas and talk excitedly about DriveWorks 15, there was a real buzz throughout the day.

And of course, following a busy day of training, we all met in the bar for a beer afterwards!

Thank you to our sponsors:

DriveWorks World is just around the corner! Some members of the DriveWorks team have already left for Atlanta and the rest will join them tomorrow ready to greet you when the event kicks off on Monday morning.

Recently, two DriveWorks World attendees got in touch with us to let us know about some really cool events that are taking place on Sunday 5th March…

Nascar at the Atlanta Motor Speedway

Fresh off the season-opening races at Daytona, all three NASCAR Series will head to the Atlanta Motor Speedway from Friday 3rd March – Sunday 5th March 2017.

There are plenty of races taking place over the weekend and some DriveWorks World attendees are planning to attend on Sunday to watch the following race:

– 2:30 p.m.: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Folds of Honor QuikTrip  500 (325 laps, 500.05 miles).

Stone Mountain Park

On Sunday 5th March, a DriveWorks World attendee is planning to visit Stone Mountain Park. Located on 3,200 acres of natural beauty, Stone Mountain Park features a wide variety of fun activities and things to do in the Atlanta area.

Take a skyride to the top of Stone Mountain; ride a scenic train around the mountain; or tour the Historic Square and explore a collection of original buildings, built between 1793 and 1875.

We know many of you will be travelling over the weekend and arriving into Atlanta on Saturday or Sunday. If you’d like us to connect you with other attendees who are taking part in these activities please get in touch!

SOLIDWORKS World 2017 brought together more than 5,000 engineers and designers from across the globe.  The event provided the ideal opportunity to discover the latest in SOLIDWORKS 3D applications and engineering technologies that help millions of SOLIDWORKS users create compelling customer experiences.

Jeff Rowe interviews Glen Smith, CEO of DriveWorks, SOLIDWORKS Gold Partner, at SOLIDWORKS World 2017 for MCADCafe.

Watch the video to hear what Glen has to say about DriveWorks Design Automation and Configurator software.

Interview with Glen Smith DriveWorks CEO

Glen Smith, CEO and Co Founder of DriveWorks Ltd, is a graduate Mechanical Engineer with a passion for automation. In this interview he champions the case for engineers involved in ‘same but different’ designs to be able to automate repetitive tasks and streamline their design to manufacturing processes.

He explains that since writing that very first line of code, DriveWorks  has grown significantly to reflect market trends. Today it is used both inside manufacturing companies by engineering teams as well as outside, as a valuable sales tool.

Companies of all sizes and from many industries, are using configurators that they have built using DriveWorks to configure custom products on desktop, mobile and tablet devices.

DriveWorks Ltd have developed 3 SOLIDWORKS Certified Gold Partner Products, one of which, DriveWorksXpress, has been embedded by DS SOLIDWORKS in to every version of SOLIDWORKS.

Anyone with SOLIDWORKS 3D CAD can automate with DriveWorksXpress, just follow these simple steps to Activate to Automate.

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