Engineering Design with SolidWorks 2005 & MultiMedia CD

For those who are serious about learning SolidWorks or for CAD professionals using this software who would like to have a book for reference, this is the one to choose. Very well written and outstandingly organized! Two thumbs up for the Planchards!

I had the pleasure to meet both authors at the Eastern Regional User Conference in MA this week. I was very impressed with their working knowledge of SolidWorks and their commitment for developing learning materials for the masses. The book, "Engineering Design with SolidWorks 2005" does an excellent job in providing a foundation to address Part Modeling, Assembly Modeling and Drawings. There is even a Sheet metal section in the book. The book is well laid out with excellent step by step procedures and pictures to enforce the learning process. I would recommend this book to all levels of SW users.

I purchased this book three weeks ago. I took a one week course with my VAR and was overwhelmed with the amount of materials presented in the short time frame. I needed a book that I could use to learn and reference various commands of SW and to reinforce the areas that I learned in my one week class. This is the first book that I have seen where the author spends the time to insure that you are correctly following the procedure with wonderful pictures of the screen for the parts, assemblies, drawings, etc. This book saved me numerous hours of searching and asking questions on using SW. Thank you.

This is the second of two books, the first being, "Assembly Modeling with SolidWorks 2004 / 2005" that I purchased from these authors. Both books are well written and provide clear and succinct instructions. If you are looking for a good SW book to learn how to use the software and to learn about design intent, this is the book. There is also a great deal of emphasis on creating and modifying parts and thinking about the manufacturer's process. This is an area that was not taught to me in school. I had to learn it in industry, the hard way! There are plenty of pictures in the book, all black and white. I would recommend this book

My company moved from SW 2004 to 2005 last fall. There are no major differences between 2004 and 2005 but the minor ones can get you very aggravated. Our design group purchased their 2003 and 2004 books in the past. All of them have been very good. The 2005 is no exception. The book provides good examples and procedures with a simple layout for most users, but it is somewhat weak for the advance user. This is the first time that I used the CD which is incorporated in the book. I was very surprised with its content and how useful it was. The CD contained numerous movies that can assist you through each chapter. Cool!! This is a great tool for the new user. Another good book. A question to the authors, will you be developing an Advanced book for the SW user of 4 or more years?