Computer Aided Technology welcomes you to the thirteenth edition of "Technical Edge," a monthly e-newsletter for the 3D design community. This monthly e-newsletter is an exciting opportunity for CATI to stay in contact and provide you with the latest information on the ever-advancing engineering, manufacturing and information technology industries. Not only will this e-newsletter keep you up-to-date with the latest innovations on the "best in class" products we offer, it will also provide up to the minute special CATI events.

We welcome your comments and suggestions on what you would like to see in future e-newsletters. CATI looks forward to offering tools you need to be successful. To Subscribe, Unsubscribe or Add people to the e-mail list, scroll to the bottom of the page for instructions.


Inside this issue

What's New at CATI

  • CATI WebEx Meeting Center
  • CATI 5th Annual User Conference

Training Services

  • CSWP
  • CATI SolidWorks Training
  • CATI Technical Tips

ETS

  • SW Add-in Promo
  • SP10
  • 3D Instant Website
  • Award for 2000
  • Dover Corp.
  • Night School
  • 3D Instant Website Gallery Contest
  • SolidWorks World 2001

CATI Solution Partner Updates

  • CADfix™ v4
  • FloWorks Promo
  • Hot-FIX2 Patch
  • EMbassyWorks 1.1

ITS

  • Smart Multi-site

MTS

  • FREE Virtual Gibbs Night School
  • DWG Translator

Upcoming CATI Events

  • CATI SolidWorks Technology Briefing
  • CATI SolidWorks Test Drives
  • Upcoming Trade Shows

Subscribe or Unsubscribe to the Technical Edge

What's New at CATI

CATI Brings Online Meetings and Collaboration Services to the Midwest Engineering Community
CATI has implemented WebEx Meeting Center, a real-time interactive multimedia communication service, company-wide to expand their services to include internet-based technical support, educational seminars and product demonstrations.  Read full press release here.

CATI's 5th Annual Midwest Spring SolidWorks User Conference
Date: Tuesday, March 6, 2001
Time: 5pm-9pm
Where: Hyatt Regency McCormick Place - Chicago, IL
Agenda: See what's new in SolidWorks 2001 and more! Watch for more information in the mail!  Register here!

Training Services

Certified SolidWorks Professional Program
 As a SolidWorks Certified Testing Center, CATI ensures that SolidWorks users throughout the Midwest will have the opportunity to be recognized for their skill as a Certified SolidWorks Professional.  Here are the current Testing Dates.

  • January 19, 2001 - Madison, WI

  • January 26, 2001 - Indianapolis, IN

  • January 29, 2001 - Buffalo Grove, IL

  • January 30, 2001 - Milwaukee, WI

  • January 31, 2001 - Appleton, WI

Click here to register.

CATI SolidWorks Training

AFD/Applied Freeform Design taps into the world of the freeform design tools that SolidWorks provides. Course includes actual creation of complex parts like automotive body panels, portable electronic devices and bottle generation.

For all other classes available and the latest schedules, click here.

CATI Technical Tips

  • You can look at 2 or more views of the same model simultaneously by using the view splitter bars located at the bottom and side of the window.
  • You can create copies of fillets, chamfers, and holes by CTRL-dragging the icon from the feature manager design tree onto another face or edge.
Engineering Technology Solutions

SolidWorks Add-in Promotion
We are pleased to announce that SolidWorks is offering a time limited Add-in promotion.  This Add-in promotion is valid during Q1 2001, beginning Monday, January 8th.  Based on strong customer interest, the Q1 2001 Add-in Promotion involves a bundle of the following 3 add-ins:

  • PhotoWorks

  • SolidWorks Animator

  • FeatureWorks

The promotion is valid for stand-alone licenses and SolidNetWork Licenses.   However, the bundle can NOT be split up among individual stand-alone licenses.  The combination of PhotoWorks and SolidWorks Animator allows for powerful photo realistic animations. The Q1 2001 Add-in Promotion offering is nearly a 50% discount from the list price.  The Promotion details for are as follows: LIST: $1385; PROMO: $699.  Contact your local CATI representative for more information or call 1-888-308-2284.

SolidWorks 2000 SP10
 SolidWorks 2000 Service Pack 10 is now available.

SolidWorks 3D Instant Website Tool Gains Early Adoption
More than 5,000 Users Install New Collaboration Tool in Just Seven Weeks. Read the full press release here.

SolidWorks Software Receives Excellence In Manufacturing Technology Achievement Award
Readers Name SolidWorks Number One 3D CAD Software Solution.

Dover Corporation Companies Incorporate SolidWorks Software into Engineering and Design Departments

FREE SolidWorks Night School
Our January dates are as follows:

  • Tuesday, January 23rd - Madison, WI
  • Thursday, January 25th - Buffalo Grove, IL
  • Monday, January 29th - Indianapolis, IN
  • Tuesday, January 30th - Appleton, WI
  • Wednesday, January 31st - Milwaukee, WI

January Night School Topic: Open Forum

  • Bring your open issues and questions and we will work on them together
  • Network with other SolidWorks Users
  • Don't forget to bring your problem files with you

Space is limited and pre-registration is required. For more information or to register for this event, click here.

SolidWorks Night School Is Coming To Elkhart, IN on February 6


Check out the SolidWorks Web Tools available from December's SolidWorks Night School Notes in the Project Level Support area.

3D Instant Website Gallery Contest
 The Grand Prize is a Silicon Graphics 230 visual workstation. In addition, 10 first prizes (SGI Bomber Jackets) will be awarded in 10 categories. For more information or to enter, click here.

  SolidWorks World 2001
 Join SolidWorks and CATI in Orlando February 11-14, 2001 for the International SolidWorks Reseller and User Conference.
CATI Solution Partner Updates
CADfix™ v4
CADfix™ v4, is quicker, handles bigger file sizes, works with native CATIA data, and that's just the beginning. CADfix has evolved from eighteen years of research. It analyzes 3D CAD models, detects and corrects hidden geometry errors that prohibit the effective use of the models in downstream applications. CADfix v4 will ship to customers at the first of the year.

CADfix received special recognition at the recent CIM Show by being named one of the Best Products for Engineering, Development, and Management. The CIM Show Product Awards were established to recognize products that demonstrate a clear business advantage for end users throughout manufacturing. For more information contact your local CATI office.

FloWorks Promotion
Buy a seat of FloWorks 2000 including subscription service and get a seat of FloWorks Explorer (including subscription service) for free. This promotion is valid thru March 31, 2001 and offers a 29% savings or $4375.00 in cold, hard cash. Please note that this promotion is available with the purchase of any new FloWorks 2000 and subscription service sales.  Contact your local CATI representative for more information or call 1-888-308-2284.

Hot-FIX2 Patch for FloWorks 2000/326
The HOT-FIX (NikaLM SP1 Hot-FIX2) patch is available at www.floworks.de.  This patch will correct the 2001 FloWorks licensing problem and will work with the following operating systems: Windows NT 4.0 SP6, Windows 2000, and Windows 98.

Note: Before using the Hot-FIX2 patch you must be using FloWorks 2000/326 (SP1). The Hot-FIX patch will not work with FloWorks 2000/298 (SP0).

EMbassyWorks 1.1
EMbassyWorks 1.1 has been verified for SolidWorks 2000 SP9 & SP10.

SUPPORT INFORMATION:
Attention EMbassyWorks Windows 2000 Users. A new utility is available for importing the tutorial database. This executable replaces the Tutorial Start.exe located in the Tutorial directory which was not fully operational in the Windows 2000 environment. Extract the contents of the zip file to the Tutorial directory. Usage instructions are also contained in the zip file.
Click here to download a zip file.
Information Technology Solutions
Smart Multi-site
Smart Solutions is currently rolling out its innovative ‘distributed solution,’ known as Smart Multi-site, which facilitates product development collaboration across dispersed enterprises. It is very common for successful enterprises to expand beyond the confines of a single physical site, requiring distributed users to access and work with the same information and resources. Some users will only need to view certain documents, while others will need to modify existing objects, or create new ones. In response to typically slow WAN connections between remote sites, and the profound complexity of administering permissions and security, SmarTeam has designed Smart Multi-site. 

Smart Multi-site can be used for any SmarTeam database, regardless of the data model structure. If an enterprise is planning or already has more than one physical site requiring access to the same database or working on the same projects, Smart Multi-site is the solution of choice.

Manufacturing Technology Solutions

FREE Virtual Gibbs Night School
Our January dates are as follows:

  • Tuesday, January 4th - Appleton, WI
  • Tuesday, January 9th - Buffalo Grove, IL
  • Tuesday, January 16th - Milwaukee, WI

Night School Topic: Hands On Geometry Creation Exercises

Space is limited and pre-registration is required. For more information or to register for this event, click here.

DWG Translator available for Gibbs 5.55
DWG Plug-In Specifications:

  • Open or Import .DWG files from AutoCAD 13, 14 or 2000i.
  • Import geometry (points, lines, arcs, etc.) or Surfaces.
  • Automatically connect geometry and set connect range.
  • Control layers (Gibbs Work Groups) and coordinate systems.

Virtual Gibbs Version 5.55 or greater is required to run the DWG import Plug-In from BA Solutions, Inc.  Contact your local CATI representative for more information or call 1-888-308-2284.
Upcoming CATI Events

FREE COSMOS/Works 6.0 Seminar
Attend this FREE educational seminar on February 8th at CATI - Buffalo Grove, IL.  COSMOS/Works is a Finite Element & Motion Analysis for parts and assemblies, fully integrated inside SolidWorks.  To register and for more information, click here.

CATI SolidWorks Technology Briefing
This workshop is an overview of the advanced functionality within SolidWorks 2000 software and selected Solution Partners such as FEA, CAM, PDM and Visualization.  Click on the location closest to you for the latest schedule: Appleton, Buffalo Grove, Indianapolis, Madison, or Milwaukee.

CATI SolidWorks Hands-On Test Drive Seminars
During this session our instructors take you through the steps to model, assemble, and fully detail a sample design. This allows you to get your hands on SolidWorks and experience for yourself just how powerful and easy it is to use.  Click on the location closest to you for the latest schedule: Appleton, Buffalo Grove, Indianapolis, Madison, or Milwaukee.

Join CATI at these Upcoming Trade Shows
 For more information call Christine at 877.509.2284.

SolidWorks World Conference February 11-14, 2001 Orlando, FL
NATIONAL MANUFACTURING WEEK March 5-8, 2001 McCormick Place Complex, Chicago, IL

Subscribe or Unsubscribe to CATI’s Technical Edge