RockSolid help

Jason Raak from RockSolid Perspective used a small part of a recent blog post to help point out the value of SolidWorks users being able to reach SupplierSource right from their main SolidWorks working screen. Thank you Jason!

Jason has provided a valuable reminder for those of you who have (or are planning to have) your company profile here at SupplierSource.

Your profile on SupplierSource is a free link from the workspace of hundreds of thousands of SolidWorks users – all the time!

Jason reminds SolidWorks users that they have the ability to quickly find new suppliers from within their normal working environment, which can be a great time-saver. By typing in the service that they need, they’ll be taken directly to SupplierSource.

In fact, if you type in “JMS“, you’ll be taken to the SupplierSource listing for Jason’s company – JMS Incorporated:

Thanks again Jason for the knock up the side of the head. Sometimes it’s the obvious things that we need to be reminded about!

 

 

#2 – Good news from YOU!

More good news has arrived! Thank you Volpe Tool & Die  and Surface Solutions for sending in the latest bulletins.

Volpe Tool & Die, specializing in rapid prototype machining, has announced that they just recently purchased a Clausing large capacity CNC bed mill. The new machine’s table size is 15″ x 60″ with a 41.3″ X axis, 19.6″ Y axis. and a 23.62 Z axis. “We are excited about the new machine because of its large capacity.”

      

Volpe Tool & Die’s other services include: design assistance, prototype development, production fabrication, and manufacturing services.

 

Surface Solutions was featured in the June issue of Modern Application News. In an article titled “The Right Software Led to Shop Success”, owner John Graney describes how Mastercam X2 has improved his workflow and his profitability. The combination of John’s ingenuity and X2’s capabilities added up to some great results and quotes that will be used to help promote X3, the next release. Mastercam X3 will have the new ability to generate toolpaths inside SolidWorks.

  

 

This is Surface Solutions’ great video demonstrating high-speed machining.

Now it’s your turn to send in some good news that you want to share. We all like good news!

#1 – Good News from YOU!

As a subscriber to way too many newsletters, RSS feeds and other news sources, I often see SupplierSource members with good news to tell. Since SupplierSource is meant to help you showcase yourselves and to learn more about each other, we’ll start posting good news that you send us as soon as we have two or three good items. This first one will be a trial to see if you think it’s a good idea and we’ll go from there.

Rapid Sheet Metal Now Offers Laser Cut Flat Acrylic Parts

Nashua, NH – July 22, 2008 — Rapid Sheet Metal, Inc., specializing in rapid turnaround of sheet metal and stamped metal prototypes, has announced that it has added a plastic material, acrylic, to its list of available materials. With a standard shipping lead-time of 5 business days or less, product designers can now be assured that flat acrylic prototypes are available in a week or less.

“Acrylic parts in the flat are used by product designers in a number of ways including bezels and face plates. Acrylic is also a good substitute for G10 and can be used to prototype the footprint of a circuit board. In addition, by combining the acrylic prototypes with our 2 day turn, in-house silk screening service, companies are now able to procure finished acrylic products with graphics in well under two weeks.” says James Jacobs, President of Rapid Sheet Metal.

Rapid Sheet Metal offers laser cut acrylic in thicknesses from .060” to .250” and stocks acrylic in thicknesses of .060”, .125” and .250” thicknesses. Other thicknesses are available.

Rob Rodriguez, owner of Axis CAD Soultions is Featured Artist on 3DVIA.com

Axis CAD Solutions’ owner, Rob Rodriguez, is the Featured Artist on 3DVIA.com right now (full disclosure – I’m an online community manager for 3DVIA too, and worked with Rob to create the posting).

It’s a great way for him to promote his company to a broader market and help 3DVIA visitors understand more about the manufacturing and architectural uses of 3D models. Check out the full story.

So, if you have some good news to share, send it to me here at SupplierSource and I’ll collect them, post them and let everyone know about the good news from YOU!

SolidWorks: Heard! – speaks out about SupplierSource

It’s really nice when someone else does your job for you! Especially when they do it so well.

   

Lou Gallo, from SolidWorks: Heard!, recently did a great podcast that dissected SupplierSource, described all of our parts and then put us back together again. He clearly explained so much in a short time that I’m tempted to use it as the audio when I present SupplierSource to SolidWorks Users Group meetings.

Thanks Lou, I couldn’t have said it better myself.

3 important things to do right now – welcome SolidWorks Manufacturing Network members

Welcome to SupplierSource! Our whole purpose is to help buyers and suppliers find each other fast. For a little history on how SupplierSource has evolved from the SolidWorks Manufacturing Network check out the blog post ‘Just the facts, M’am, just the facts’.

Following these steps is valuable to all new members, but parts of each step are specifically for new members being welcomed to SupplierSource from the SolidWorks Manufacturing Network. Be sure to also check out the ‘3 valuable things to do as soon as you can’ blog post for additional steps to take.

We’ve started a profile for SolidWorks Manufacturing Network members based on our existing database and visits to your web site. Now it’s YOUR profile. You can makes changes and improvement whenever YOU want to using the easy tools provided. The following steps are meant to provide a simple guide to start getting the most out of your profile right now. Additional posts will provide more ways to add to your profile, but these three steps are the most important.

Sign in – Go to www.SupplierSource.com and use the link in the upper right corner. Then use the email address that you provided for the main contact in your SolidWorks Manufacturing Network application and was used to recently contact you. That email also contained a password. You can use the ‘I forgot my password’ link on that page to create a new password any time. If you did not receive an email or are unsure of the email address to use, please use the ‘Get support’ link in the ‘Helpful Resources:’ column (which is lower on the same page) to contact us and get a quick response.

Immediately check all of your contact data for accuracy - We did our best to use your own web site and our database to get the latest data, but only you know what the correct data is. Use the ‘Edit My SupplierProfile’ link over in the left column. Check the ‘Hello World!’ blog post for information about geocoding and your address data. If the address you enter cannot be geocoded, our distance search cannot find you, so please be sure that it works. You will see an error mesage at the bottom of the address area if there is a problem and you’ll see no message if everything is fine.

Add to your ‘Specialties’ and ‘Capabilities’ - These are the top dogs in the search algorithms which determine your position in search results. Right now you have only one ‘Specialty’, but you can have up to 3 and also 8 capabilities. Check FAQ #9 for how to see all of your service choices, FAQ #10 for special tips, and FAQ #  11 for reordering help. (You can also find the FAQ link at the bottom of all web site pages, except on the blog.)

Since you will be making a number of changes and will want to check the results, be sure to read the ‘Why don’t my changes show up?’ blog post to understand why it takes about an hour for your changes to show up in new searches.

Also be sure to read the blog post with three more valuable steps for all members to take to get the most out of their profiles!

Thanks for being a part of SupplierSource and feel free to send comments or suggestions as you find your way around.

3 valuable things to do as soon as you can – welcome SolidWorks Manufacturing Network members

Welcome to SupplierSource! Our whole purpose is to help buyers and suppliers find each other fast. For a little history on how SupplierSource has evolved from the SolidWorks Manufacturing Network check out the blog post ‘Just the facts, M’am, just the facts’.

In the ‘3 important things to do right now’ post we outlined the three most important actions for new SolidWmembers to take immediately. This post will cover three valuable steps for everyone to take as soon as they can and then to do on an ongoing basis to keep their profile fresh and reward the internet bots always looking for new content to scarf up and rank.

Add photos to your portfolio page - Photos are more appealing than text and offer much more information to the potential new customer. They can also have captions, which allow you to point out what is important for the viewer to notice. These photos are cycled through on the SupplierSource home page in the right column. Viewers are drawn to the photos and as they hover over the picture your caption and company name will appear. Clicking on a picture will take the potential customer directly to your profile portfolio page.

Get customer reviews - We all respond best to our trusted friends who give us the benefit of their experience. Share your experiences and help the valuable partners that you work with by adding a simple review to their profile. Check out the ‘Don’t be scared – say something nice!’ blog post. If your suppliers don’t yet have their free SupplierSource listing, then use the ‘Invite a supplier’ link in the ‘Things to do” list. While you’re at it, use the ‘Tell a friend’ link to easily let them know about SupplierSource.

Add facility info - On your ‘Facilities’ page you can call out the manufacturing, testing and inspection equipment that make your operations unique. You can even use the space (the content you enter appears on your profile front page) to embed YouTube videos (like Surface Solutions did) by following some simple steps outlined in the ‘Liven up your profile with YouTube’ blog post. 

You’ve probably noticed that this blog thing is a valuable source of tips, information on what’s new, and even a chuckle or two now and then. So please subscribe to the RSS feeds that easily keep you informed when changes are made (yet another post ‘RSS – better than a fire hose’) and let us help you liven up your profile and your day all around.

1 important question and answer – welcome SolidWorks Manufacturing Network members

Welcome to SupplierSource! Our whole purpose is to help buyers and suppliers find each other fast. For a little history on how SupplierSource has evolved from the SolidWorks Manufacturing Network check out the blog post ‘Just the facts, M’am, just the facts’.

How are people going to find me if they use SolidWorks and want to use a supplier who does too? 

By using the ‘Refine your results’ choices in the left column.

 

Once a user starts a search, the first set of results also includes the ‘Refine your results’ column, which then allows them to make additional choices to further reduce the set of possibilities.

You can see (in the image to the left) that in the ‘Certifications’ choices, the user can select SolidWorks Manufacturing Network as one criteria.  This means that only network members will be considered as they make other choices; such as service, industries or materials.

The main goal is to help the user define what they want in steps that reduce the number of possible suppliers to a manageable number. The choices that you make on your supplier profile are what determine where you appear on the various lists of choices.

Since searching at SupplierSource can be done in many ways (see FAQ #3 for several different approaches), the ‘Refine your results’ column (also sometimes referred to as guided navigation) is a powerful tool to make any search easier.

 It’s also an easy way for SolidWorks users to find you!

Be sure to check out the blog posts ‘3 important things to do right now’ and ‘3 valuable things to do as soon as you can’ for more help in making the most out of your SupplierSource profile.

“Just the facts, M’am, just the facts.”

Where did SupplierSource come from? No, it did not arrive by stork and it was not found under a rock, but it has had a journey with a few twists and turns. In the spirit of Jack Webb and Dragnet, here are “Just the facts, M’am.”:

Step 1 – The SolidWorks Manufacturing Network

Started by SolidWorks more than five years ago to match designers and engineers using SolidWorks with contract manufacturers also using SolidWorks. Free membership required owning a license of SolidWorks or a qualified CAM package. Website located within the SolidWorks main website. All updates required interacting with support.

Step 2 – Sliderule

  

Developed by SolidWorks to replace the SolidWorks Manufacturing Network with a more robust set of user tools. Introduced in early 2007. Anyone could join as a buyer or a supplier. Supplier membership was by annual subscription, either Basic or Premium. Premium listing contained much more information than a Basic listing. Website was on its own. Listing updates still required working with support.

Step 3 – SupplierSource

Sliderule became SupplierSource and is now being developed as part of the 3DVIA brand from Dassault Systèmes, SolidWorks’ parent company. Major relaunch of the site in September, 2007. SolidWorks Manufacturing Network members will have their memberships transferred to SupplierSource by around the end of March, 2008. Visitors will still be able to find qualified SolidWorks partners by using the “Certifications” search attribute. User and buyer profiles are free and both can edit their extensive profiles themselves after an initial approval. Photos, videos and testimonials are encouraged. Website continues on its own. New features and tools added regularly.

Users don’t know what to expect next…

Thinking about hardware

SupplierSource is an internet application. My hands never get dirty and I never get a blood blister or new scar on my hands as I do my job. Even though I’m in San Diego to attend a celebration of software – SolidWorks World 2008, (full disclosure: SupplierSource is part of Dassault Systemes, which is also a parent of SolidWorks) it was a “hardware moment” that made me feel at home.

 The unmistakeable warning horns of an approaching train drew me to the window to watch as four massive diesel electric locomotives pulled a mile long (maybe more, maybe less) train of freight cars right through the middle of this high tech, tourist-driven setting.

As I watched its steady, unstoppable (and loud) progress between the attractive convention center and the elegant Gaslight District of downtown I was reminded of the massive amount of hard work and hardware that helped make San Diego what it is. The aircraft industry and the naval base were once the throbbing heart of this town.

A boat tour of the harbor is a stunning reminder of the amount of hard work and hardware required to build and maintain aircraft carriers, nuclear submarines and all the support vessels that allow them to work together as a fleet.

A brief chat with a retired aircraft industry worker amongst the displays at the Air & Space Museum in Balboa Park can quickly remind a careful listener that hard work and hardware are the muscle and backbone of the world, whatever the end product is.

It was good and it was satisfying to be reminded of these things as I prepare to be immersed in the world of software.