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solidThinking: CONVERGE 2017
What if we invited you to spend a day learning about the latest 3D technologies and sharing the experience with like minded people in the world of Design? Chad Zamler, from solidThinking, is going to tell us all about CONVERGE 2017 and how you can join the party for free!
Novedge: Tell us a little bit about yourself and about your role at solidThinking. Chad Zamler: I am the Marketing Director for solidThinking. It is a fairly broad role with responsibilities ranging from brand strategy, planning, and budget, all the way down to tactical activities like advertising, trade shows, and other events. This year, I was given the exciting role or heading up a team of incredibly talented individuals to plan our annual Converge conference in Los Angeles.
Novedge: Can you give me a condensed history of your products and their position on the 3D design market.
Chad Zamler: Wow, good question, solidThinking actually has quite a long history……how much time do you have? I will try to keep my answer brief: solidThinking (company and product) actually started in Italy in the early ‘90s and was originally developed for the NEXT platform. Soon after that it was ported over to both Window and Mac. Around 2008, our parent company, Altair learned about the software and our CEO was so impressed with the technology, he decided to acquire the company and technology. At that time, the company kept the name solidThinking, but for the sake of future growth, its main product was renamed solidThinking Evolve. Evolve is our hybrid modeling and rendering tool used by designers throughout the world. Soon after the name change, another product, solidThinking Inspire was added into the mix. Inspire is an optimization and analysis tool that now leads in its class of simulation driven design. We existed as a two-product company for some time, however, in the past 3 years we have seen some exponential growth. Recently additional lines of products have been added to our toolset including our manufacturing simulation products (Click2Cast, Click2Form, and Click2Extrude), as well as our model based development products (Compose, Activate, and Embed). Even more recently, we acquired a company out of Greece called SolidIris. This company creates and distributes an awesome software for photorealistic rendering called Thea Render. We are working now to fully integrate this product into our offerings. It is a really exciting time here and we are thrilled to be offering a number of amazing products to the market.
Novedge: This coming September solidThinking will be organizing their own conference: CONVERGE 2017in L.A.. What exactly is CONVERGE ?
Chad Zamler: Converge is our attempt to energize the Engineering, Design, and Architecture worlds. We want to help these individuals to learn about the latest innovations and technology that are shaping their world now, and into the future. The conference will include expert keynote speakers, plenty of time to network, amazing food, drinks, entertainment, and our innovation gallery consisting of a number of the latest parts and products that have been designed and/or manufactured using new and unique methods.
Novedge: We are talking about a series of global events. What are the other location for the conference around the world?Chad Zamler: This year we will have five different events: two smaller highly specialized events in China and Korea, and three main events. We will kick off the first of these three events in Los Angeles on September 13th, the next one will take place in Essen, Germany on October 17th, and the last one will be in Tokyo, Japan on November 22nd .
Novedge: Who should attend this conference?
Chad Zamler: Just like last year, we are hoping for a very broad range of attendees spanning different roles, as well as industries. Anyone who is involved in product or experience creation, specifically Product Design, Engineering, Architecture, but not exclusively! We welcome anyone interested in learning about the latest technologies and how these technologies influence Design.
Novedge: What should attendees expect to get out of CONVERGE 2017?
Chad Zamler: On top of all the fun, food, live-entertainment, and drinks, attendees should expect to learn a ton! They will be able to learn about cutting edge technology and how it is changing the world of Design as we know it. Our keynotes speakers will be a great source of information and the networking with peers is often priceless. Attendees will leave the conference with new ideas, inspiration, and energy! Novedge: You have a great line up of speakers, can you drop some names and tell us what made you chose them?
Chad Zamler: Cultivating our speaker lineup this year was a ton of fun! We wanted to invite a broad range of experts, representing different roles and industries. Personally, I am thrilled to have Jason Lopes back this year. Last year he discussed his role as a concept artist working in Hollywood and in the entertainment industry. He shared his experience using 3D printing to create amazing props, costumes and more. He even showed some behind the scenes photos and video from the latest blockbuster movies that he had worked on. I am also incredibly excited to see Tim Morton’s presentation this year as I am sure he will have some amazing innovations to share. Tim Morton is the Director of Industrial Design at Newell Brands. Our line up also includes personalities from the Engineering world, Architecture, and Robotics. A great mix! Jason Lopes at Converge 2016.
Novedge: CONVERGE is at its second year. What did you learn from the previous edition?
Chad Zamler: We learned a ton from last year's conference, especially about running a large scale event efficiently. The thing that stuck with us the most though, and that provides extra motivation this year, was the level of involvement and passion of the attendees. Keeping up with the latest advancements and ideas is our passion too.
Novedge: What are your hopes and dreams for the future of CONVERGE ?
Chad Zamler: I would love for CONVERGE to become a household name. It would be amazing if it became a massive global event that would draw participants year after year.
Novedge: And now back down to earth…..how much does it cost to participate?
Chad Zamler: This year, Converge will run $300 per attendee, however, our friends at Novedge have talked us into letting their contacts in for free! For a very limited time, if you use the coupon code ‘Novedge’ when you register, we will waive your registration fee.
What are you waiting for? Join the event and full day of learning, networking and inspiration.
Find complete details about CONVERGE 2017, including how to register, here. Now go and tell your boss about it!
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