![The crowd surges into the general session at SWW 2018 [Image: SOLIDWORKS]](https://fabbaloo.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/swwgeneralsession2018_img_5eb09d6bba9b5.jpg)
We’re getting ready for SOLIDWORKS World next week in Dallas.
Each year this event draws crowds of thousands, as SOLIDWORKS is a popular software tool with a dedicated — and enthusiastic — user base. It’s a tech show, sure, but nowhere else do attendees tend to run with arms in the air to the general sessions each morning.
There’s always a touch of spectacle in these sessions; last year I seem to recall execs riding in on a dinner table on wheels (“Moveable Feast”), and the year before a Robo Rumble was a bit of fun. Such presentations — including a dynamite magic trick in which Dassault Systèmes’ CEO put his head on a table saw, answering the question he posed: “Would you trust your life to something made with SOLIDWORKS?” — are made possible through the magic of CAD. Clever design is shown to great effect at each annual SWW.
It’s a show to look forward to, and this year it’s coming to the Lone Star state.
Kerry and I will both be there this year, and we’re looking forward to another great edition of SWW.
Beyond the attention-grabbing general sessions, which are always backed by strong software, some great conversations always take place in the partner pavilion.
More and more, SWW features 3D printing alongside more traditional CAD users. And each year we hear more about developments announced for the first time at SWW.
Last year, SOLIDWORKS introduced several intriguing new features, while exhibiting companies had interesting introductions of their own. We first encountered Desktop Metal’s Live Parts at last year’s event, for example. SOLIDWORKS integrates more functionality for 3D printing with each release, and the 2019 version was no exception.
In 2019, we’re looking forward to some interesting conversations — and we hope to see you there!
SOLIDWORKS World offers a lot for users: this year, there will be more than 250 technical sessions. The partner pavilion — where we’ll be spending a lot of time — will have more than 100 exhibitors present (with about a dozen dedicated to additive manufacturing, and many more that use the technology). Of course the networking is always a highlight, as user groups get together and celebrate their love of everything from CAD to bacon to running. The special event is always something to look forward to, as well.
The Dallas location also provides a bit of February reprieve for those of us based in more wintry locales…and possibly explains the aardvark racing available at the special event night. (I saw the also-Texan-specialty of armadillo racing for the first time at last year’s RAPID, also in Texas, and there’s nothing quite like watching colleagues encourage their armadillos.)
SWW is one of the more ‘fun’ events on our annual calendar, and it’s just a week away!
See you in Texas?
Connect via email or Twitter to meet up!
Stay tuned as well for a bit of a preview later this week from one of our great partners on what to look forward to at this year’s SWW.
The fate of major 3D printing conferences in 2020 is unclear with the ongoing virus outbreak. We have thoughts on what it could mean.