The SolidWorks Blog

SolidWorks Time-Saving Tips: Command Navigation and Interface Customization

OK, what we have for your viewing pleasure today are entries seven and eight in the time-savers series. These focus on command navigation and interface customization. Get your learnin' right here folks!

Have you got 15min? Network with the SolidWorks community

Our first online conference opened its door last week. We invite you all to come along and learn all you can about 3D design. The exclusive presentations are available at your fingertips 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

New product videos and presentations will be posted every three weeks until June 30th. 

 Some of the topics discussed:

- Design for sustainability, by Jeff Ray, CEO, Dassault Systèmes SolidWorks Corp. 

- The Future of CAD Technology, by Jon Hirschtick, Co-founder and Group Executive, Dassault Systèmes  SolidWorks Corp. 

- SolidWorks R&D focus, by Austin O' Malley, CTO, Dassault Systèmes SolidWorks Corp.

- SolidWorks Technology, by Darren Henry, Director, Product Marketing

- And more...

We look forward to seeing you there.
 

Five Questions Friday with Anna Wood of Auer Precision

Name: Anna Wood

Hometown: Mesa, AZ

Title: Design Engineer

Company: Auer Precision (www.auerprecision.com)
Auer Precision is a leading global provider of engineered process solutions for the life sciences, medical, microfluidics, semiconductor, defense, automotive, and industrial markets. Auer Precision's specialized products and services include engineering support, microfluidics applications lab, precision components, Class A tool and dies, and turn-key automated process solutions.

 

1. Why did you choose to do the work you do?
I am a second generation mechanical CAD designer. My father was an automotive body designer for General Motors and was among the first to use CAD for production Class A sheet metal design back in the 70's. We always had projects of some kind around the house. An antique aircraft restoration project, my own soap box derby car, and various scratch build model airplanes. Mechanical design is a craft I always enjoyed and was pretty good at. Cut my teeth in the business on the drafting board for the first ten years of my career and have been using CAD for the last twenty years. It is in my genes and a craft that I very much enjoy. I am fortunate to be able to have a career that I am passionate about.

2. What is your proudest career moment?
Back in 1986 to 1988, I took two very specialized drafting courses in the automotive product design field. The Philpot School of Automobile Body Drafting and Design was a 9 month course where we learned the essentials of automotive sheet metal design. The DeSmet Course in Surface Design and Planography was a 6 month course where we learned the fundamentals of creating Class A automotive surfaces. These were manual drafting courses and were considered the premier courses of their day. These courses demanded the absolute best out of the students, being very challenging and time consuming to create drawings that were perfect. If you were a Philpot and DeSmet grad you were guaranteed a position in the automotive body design field. Successfully completing these two courses are still, far and away, my two most highly regarded professional achievements.

3. What goal inspires you most?
I guess I do not have any real lofty goals. I lead a pretty simple personal and professional life. I wish for good health and happiness for my family and friends. My hope in my professional life is to be considered a dependable and capable employee. Able to share my experience with our team and help make Auer Precision a successful company.

4. How has SolidWorks made a difference in your life?
What I most like about SolidWorks is the SolidWorks User Community. It is a real pleasure to be associated with a group of CAD users that are so passionate about their work and the software they use daily. It is a true pleasure to participate in the community daily on the SolidWorks forums, at User Group Meetings, at SolidWorks World and even on Twitter and Facebook. They are an awesome group of people and it is a joy to be a member of the community.

5. What do you do for fun?
Besides being a CAD, computer and tech geek, I am also an aviation nut. Aerobatic airplanes, homebuilts, classic steel tube and fabric aircraft. I got the bug from my father, who was a general aviation pilot and flight instructor. Some of my best memories are hanging out at Romeo and the old McKinley Airport in Michigan. After I earned my pilot’s license I took an aerobatic airplane ride and got hooked on competition aerobatics. That is how I met my fiancé, Len, at a local International Aerobatic Club contest in Michigan. He is an RC model pilot, full scale aerobatic pilot, A&P mechanic and aircraft builder. Our house looks like a computer store/hobby shop with a full scale aviation department thrown in. Len is the real builder in the family and the two of us share fun in our aviation projects. Len and I are currently working on designing an aerobatic airplane for Len to build in the future. Of course we are modeling it up in SolidWorks. You can see some of the projects we consider fun on our website at www.acrodesigns.com and my blog www.solidmuse.com.

...

Thanks to Anna for taking the time to talk. If you’d like to be featured, or nominate someone else, leave a comment with your suggestions.

The SolidWorks Engineering Stimulus Package ends in one week

Just a quick update. If you've been thinking about taking part in the Engineering Stimulus Package (ESP) but are putting it off, don't wait too much longer. The program will no longer be available for download after March 31, so you have a full week to take advantage.

Click here to visit the ESP page.

How To Remove A Battery, Using 3DVIA Composer

Last week I had the chance to attend the 4-day 3DVIA Composer training course here in Concord.  Two of those days were the introduction class, and the second two were the advanced class.  So did I get anything out of it?  Of course I did.  There was a lot to learn, and having never used 3DVIA Composer before, it was nice to learn a new tool fresh from the beginning.  The area that I really enjoyed the most was the animation portion.  Here is an animation I created in 3DVIA Composer in about 15 minutes:

 

 

If your company is using SolidWorks, and you produce any sort of documentation for your customers, 3DVIA Composer is a tool that is sure to save you time!

SolidWorks Time-Saving Tips: Assembly Techniques and Feature-Driven Patterns

Here are the next two videos in the series. If you find these helpful, let us know, and leave a comment with your ideas for more videos.

SolidWorks Innovation Day

 

Register today to access:

• Must-see presentations by SolidWorks executives about sustainable design and the future of 3D CAD technology;
• Product demonstrations from SolidWorks experts;
• Countless SolidWorks Tips & Tricks;

Discover firsthand what SolidWorks 3D design tools can do for your designs, your career, and your organization. To know more about the event, please visit www.solidworks.com/InnovationDay

Five Questions Friday with George DuBois of Island Sky

Name: George Dubois

Title: Vice President of Engineering

Company: Island Sky, based in Hollywood, Fla., USA

Web site address: http://www.islandsky.com/

Company description: Island Sky has developed patented technology for transforming water vapor from the atmosphere into potable water. More than one billion human beings lack access to clean water, according to the United Nations. The rest arguably pay too much for water infrastructure, transportation, and packaging.

1. Why did you choose to do the work you do?
It was due to a lifelong interest in mechanical and sculptural exploration beginning with the biography of Eiffel, and continuing into the arts and technology. I had ample opportunities in aerospace and medical industry robotics, and electronics. 

2. What is your proudest career moment?
Amongst the countless moments, having obtained multiple UL certifications in Air to Water Technology tops my list. I look forward to more.

3. What goal inspires you most?
The application of innovative technologies in artistic and humanitarian projects.

4. How has SolidWorks made a difference in your life?
SolidWorks, with it's fabulous and friendly platform, has taken me light years away from the tediousness and frustration of the old CAD software, into an era were much more creativity can manifest in a single day. 

5. What do you do for fun?
I write to blend human understanding of science into the art of self-exploration. Sculptural design of illuminated structures also provides a great outlet, and I like to dream up fabulous structures geared for a new era in architecture.

Thanks to George for taking the time to talk. If you’d like to be featured, or nominate someone else, leave a comment with your suggestions.

How long is the flow?

I was asked yesterday if it was possible to calculate how long the flow lasts inside the domain during a flow simulation? Think of this another way and it is easy to solve; how long does it take a particle to pass through the domain when it enters the flow inlet.

To do this, we therefore start off by performing a particle study:

1. Insert a new Particle Study
2. Define an injection of particles from the inlet
3. Run the Particle Study

Then, to find the time of a particle in the domain, simply RMB on the Particle Study created and View Results.

Hit the Summary button,

and you will get a table of results for each particle injected into the inlet.

 

The thing you are interested in here is the Residence Time, which is the “life time” of the particle, or how long it exists in the calculated domain.

However there are some other interesting details here too.

The Length is the physical distance travelled by the particle whilst in the domain. You will notice that each particle has a different length and residence time, and this is simply due to the fact that each particle will take different paths depending on their starting position in the flowstream.

The picture below shows this clearly as some of the inlet particles travel all around the circumference of the external pipe, whereas others travel more directly from inlet to outlet.

This means that you should consider if you need to know the min, max, or average of the residence times for your particular application.

You will also notice that the Summary table gives you the Fate of each particle and this leads us to another interesting option in Particle Studies.

If you go to the Boundary Conditions tab in the Particle Study setup and edit the default setup, you will see three options for the boundary conditions.

This determines what happens when the particles meet the walls of the domain, and the options are:

• Absorption - The particles are absorbed by the walls. This is typical for liquid particles.

• Ideal reflection - The particles are reflected from the walls. This is typical for solid particles.

• Reflection - Specify the normal and tangential restitution coefficients which are ratios of the absolute value of the normal and tangential velocity components correspondingly after and before the collision:

So the Fate of the individual particles may be to reach the opening, be absorbed, or possibly to end their time still within the domain when the calculation finishes.

Technorati Tags: SolidWorks Flow Simulation,Tips and Tricks,Particle Study,Residence Time

SolidWorks Time-Saving Tips: Templates and Mate References

Here are the next two videos in our time-savers series, focusing on templates and mate references. Who knows, you might just learn something.