The main focus of this blog will be on the administration and support of SolidWorks software, as that is part of what I do at my job along with design.  I plan to post about the software and design issues that come up where I work and how we go about resolving them.  My hope is that this blog will become a repository of information that others may find useful.

Of course, other topics relating to SolidWorks and CAD in general that pique my interest will also be covered.  So, check back soon!

Ok, so maybe you’re asking yourself, “Who is this guy, and what qualifications does he have?”  Well, I’m nobody special, just a regular user like yourself.

My name is Brian McElyea and I am a Design Engineer and CAD Manager/Support for Miltec Corporation.  I am a Certified SolidWorks Professional (CSWP), and a founding member of the North Alabama SolidWorks User Group (NASWUG). I began this blog because I wanted to be more involved with the SolidWorks Community and have a little input.

My first exposure to CAD software was AutoCAD™ 10 in my college drafting class.  The bulk of the class was still on drawing boards at that time, but we did spend the last 2 weeks on the computers!

After I graduated college, I went to work as a manufacturing engineer building Carrier HVAC units, tanning beds, and USPS drop-boxes (the big blue ones you see on street corners).  While I was there, I played around on AutoCAD™ 12 at that time helping to develop sheet metal flats.  From there, I went on to more of a quality engineering-type position using AutoCAD™ 13 (ack!) and a third-party software that worked vaguely similar to Mechanical Desktop™.

I had another brief manufacturing stint at another contractor before coming to Miltec.  I started at Miltec in January 1999 using AutoCAD™ 14, and we quickly moved on to Autodesk® Inventor™ as soon as it was released and ran with it until R8.  (We still have a few current seats for legacy’s sake so I still play around on it some, but my skills have become rather rusty.)

I have used SolidWorks software since October 2003 (starting with SolidWorks 2004), and was instrumental in the conversion from Autodesk® Inventor™.  I currently support 10 seats of SolidWorks, and we plan on adding several more very soon!

I’m very excited and pleased with the direction SolidWorks is moving in, and anticipate each new release with bated breath.  I also like to keep abreast of the CAD industry in general and all the new technology and capabilities being introduced (hence the name CADFanatic – nifty, huh? ;).

You can usually find me hanging out on mCADForums, so I hope to see you around!

Brian McElyea
Mechanical Design Engineer
CAD Manager/Support
Certified SolidWorks Professional (CSWP)