If SolidWorks is disappearing, why am I writing new material?

You see rumors and conjecture a lot. And obviously, everything you read on the internet is true, especially the SolidWorks forum ;o) But regardless of the rumors, SolidWorks as a program and as technology goes is growing long in the tooth, as they say, and people are noticing other types of technology. Dassault seems interested in promoting newer products, which is natural and to be expected.

So based on the idea that SolidWorks may have a limited future, why am I going to all the trouble to develop new material for old software?

Well, there are a lot of reasons, not the least of which is that SolidWorks probably has more users now than they’ve had at any other time when I wrote a new book. New users = more possible customers. Plus, the last time I wrote a surfacing book was over a decade ago, and that one never got updated. So a new surfacing book could have a lot of new customers.

And then on top of that, I know a lot of these customers are going to remain customers for a long time. Look at how long it took to get AutoCAD users off of AutoCAD. I suspect legacy SolidWorks users will a thorn in the flesh to CAD sellers for a long time.

And beyond all of that, I plan to keep writing on topics that haven’t been written about before. Stuff like reverse engineering, plastics design tools and techniques, maybe another Admin book. There’s a lot that can still be done, and a lot of customers that still exist.

Plus, it’s hard to develop too many new things at once, if you’re doing it for the most part alone. I’m developing a subscription site that allows me to do things books can’t do with content, delivery, etc. And trying to fill in the cracks that I missed in the original Surfacing Bible and adding everything that has been developed over the course of the last 11 years (which is more than you think).

There were several ways the subscription site could go:

• subscription access
• patreon
• volume driven advertisement with free access for all
• asking for donations with free access

And honestly, I’m still looking at the options, but for now we’re going the subscription route. If you have comments on that other than “you should give away your work for the last 6 months for free”, I’m open to ideas.

Also, it’s not out of the question that in the future I could develop additional materials or offer the new site for other people who wanted to develop their own material.

Most of all, though, I still believe doing good work is it’s own reward. I like doing the research and testing, and hopefully adding the knowledge base, helping people understand how stuff works. When the time comes to do something else, I’ll do something else, but for now I think I’m doing something worthwhile.