Motorcycle Mania

Attendees at the recent SolidWorks Users Conference in Orlando got a treat during the opening session. Toward the end of COO Jeff Ray's remarks, there was a rumble off stage right that sounded suspiciously like a motorcycle. It was a motorcycle! Amid the throaty noise and smoke, CEO John McEleney rode onto the stage on a new red sport bike designed and manufactured by Orange County Choppers. The crazy-like-foxes Teutuls, the father and sons team that hosts the hit TV show American Chopper, are new SolidWorks customers, and were there to announce their customer status and show off the new bike. The crowd roared approval. During an exchange with McEleney on the ease of use of the company's FEA package, COSMOSWorks, the senior Teutul said it all boiled down to "blue is good, red is bad," referring to the color plots on FEA results. Red on the plots, of course, indicates undue stress.

Also on the stage later in the event: Aerospace and aviation engineering pioneer Burt Rutan, whose SpaceShipOne recently won the Ansari X-Prize. The crowd applauded as he lambasted NASA for not having concentrated on developing civilian flights to space.