My main goal for today is to be able to learn to do basic things in SolidWorks. This is a popular CAD package that can be used for mechanical design. I have some visions for some robotic devices, and I think the first step is to be able to get them into some tangible form. The Artisan’s Asylum has a computer lab with SolidWorks installed. And I have a class tonight on Analog Electronics that I have to go there for anyway. So my plan is to buy a day pass, spend the day going through tutorials and creating some very basic physical designs.
At the present time I am on the Amtrak Downeastern to Boston, and I thought it would be good to find a few tutorials that I could work through while I’m there. Here is what I found:
I found this “How to build a Robot” tutorial for Solidworks. It looks to take someone from not knowing anything to doing something fairly practical: www.solidworks.com/sw/education/9959_ENU_HTML.htm
I also found a number of other tutorials and sites to check out:
Lynda.com has some SolidWorks courses: http://www.lynda.com/Solidworks-training-tutorials/1157-0.html I have taken some of their online courses before, and they were all of very high quality.. It is a paid service, but really reasonable. (http://www.lynda.com/SolidWorks-tutorials/SolidWorks-2014-Essential-Training/143606-2.html)
Professional SolidWorks training: http://solidwize.com/
www.solidprofessor.com/training-plans/solidworks/