The SolidWorks Blog

Improving Tech Pubs With SolidWorks Composer: Integrating Color

So, we talk to a good number of customers about improving their internal pubs to reduce assembly errors and assembly time, and usually, the customer’s work instructions start off looking something like this:

That’s the image the assembler has to use for all twenty steps of the installation process. And that little thing squished down at the bottom? That’s the BOM for all twenty steps as well. Hopefully the assembler has a good bookmark, because he’s going to need it, constantly flipping back to page 2 of the drawing to see what part number refers to what. Is it any wonder assemblers have a historically high turnover rate? I wouldn’t want to squint at that picture all day, every day, either. What if step 1 of the work instructions looked like this instead?

Isn’t that a hundred times more comforting to look at? Isn’t it eight million times more obvious what parts step 1 involves, without having to flip pages? What did we do? Just added color, that’s all.

Most detailed work instructions don’t include color images for every installation step. Why not? It might be the cost of color printing: a quick web search shows that you can get black and white copies for 3 cents a page, but color copies cost 15 cents per page, which is five times more expensive. But that’s also just 12 cents more expensive, so keep it in perspective. How much does an assembly error your shop floor cost you, on average? More than 12 cents?

Related is the objection “We can’t have a picture for EVERY assembly step; our instructions would be a hundred pages long!” Have you ever tested how much heavier a 100 page PDF is to carry around versus a 5 page PDF? Not much difference.

Usually the word “paperless” comes up here, but no matter how you integrate color into your instructions (either by paying a whole 12 cents more per printed page or by making the “huge investment” to make your high-tech, cutting edge factory barely equal to the mass-market cell-phones all your workers carry into the plant each morning), let’s take a look at some of the benefits of color. Color improves comprehension by 73 percent. Which of the two images below are easier to understand? This black and white one:

Or this one:

With color, we can get rid of those extremely-easy-to-misread octopus tentacles that always stretch from balloons to parts, since now it’s obvious what parts we mean. How much better would that make your manuals? 73 percent better, if studies are to be believed. Color allows subtle contrasts and thus more data per image. Try to imagine how many balloons with octopus tentacles, separate images, or BOM rows it would take to convey the same amount of information that this one image does:

Color is how humans are built to make distinctions between separate shapes close together, which is why we use it in maps. Why not make your work instructions as information dense and as easy to read as the best road atlas out there? When most people try to apply color, they immediately go for the big stick: red.

But red is very overpowering for humans, which is why your eye keeps flicking back to that red word in the previous line even as you try to pay attention to these black and white words. Why is red so potent? One theory is that it was the main way early primates identified ripe fruit in the forest, making it a huge evolutionary advantage to spot red before the next guy. Either way, use red sparingly. We’ve found that, on computer monitors, light green works well as a highlight:

But for the printed page, yellow works better than green since prints aren’t backlit:

And if you HAVE to use red, tone it down, perhaps using it to remove those horribly tiny and unnecessary Bills of Material, and to make those normal octopus tentacles actually stand out to become something useful:

Compare that to the first image in this post, and think about which one you’d rather deal with every day. Aall the images shown were created with SolidWorks Composer, a new product that lets you take your 3D CAD data and create useful, colorful images in half to a third of the time as you’re spending to make black and white ones now. And they update when your model changes. Next time: Text versus pictures: which one is best for what task?

For more information on how SolidWorks Composer can help you create technical publications quicker and easier, check out our User Manual video series.

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Shuvom Geose is an Account Manager at CAPINC, a SolidWorks Value Added Reseller with locations across New England. He is a regular contributor to their CAPINC University blog.

Use SolidWorks Models in an Apple iBook

Several months ago, Apple announced some major initiatives in electronic publishing, particularly for the primary and secondary school "e-textbook" market. As part of that initiative, Apple launched their free "iBooks Author" product.

iBooks Author allows anyone with a Mac (sorry, PC lovers) to create compelling content in the form of an iBook. This format works really well with the incredibly-popular iPad device, and lots of people outside the "school textbook" market have been interested in the platform. It's really quite easy to include videos, interactive widgets, and 3D models into an iBook.

If you're interested in exploring the iBook format, as a SolidWorks user you'll probably want to know how to get your models into iBooks Author. It turns out that the Mac supports Collada at the operating-system level, and anyone can preview and spin around Collada 3D models in recent versions of OS X. That being the case, Collada is also supported in iBooks...and it's the only format.

How do you get SolidWorks files into Collada? There are a few ways. The simplest is to use the "Save As Collada" plug-in from labs.solidworks.com. The ad-in at SolidWorks Labs is provided "as-is, no warranty expressed or implied..." and it works for some people. It hasn't been updated for a long time, though, so there's a very good chance it won't work for you. Don't despair, because there is another way.

It's now possible to save models from 3DVIA.com into Collada format. In order to make that option available, you need to have a paid 3DVIA.com account (not expensive). After uploading the model to 3DVIA.com (in SolidWorks, go to File > Publish To 3DVIA.com...) you log into 3DVIA.com from the web interface and Save As Collada. Personally, I love to use 3DVIA.com as-is for general publishing of models to iPhone and iPad, but if you need Collada format for iBooks, this option works very well. Since you can also publish models from 3DVIA Composer to 3DVIA.com, you can get them into iBooks as well using this same method.

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Jeff Setzer is Technical Services Manager at Graphics Systems, a SolidWorks Value Added Reseller with locations across Wisconsin and Illinois. He is a regular contributor to the Graphics Systems’ blog: SolidNotes.com, your source for SolidWorks, Simulation, Data Management, & Product Communication Tips & Tricks.

Want to try out SolidWorks? You can request a free SolidWorks trial on our website.

Want to see how SolidWorks can help you win new business and get to market faster? Request a  SolidWorks demo today.

There's got to be a better way of creating owner’s manuals

I just bought a food processer last week. As eager as my wife and I were to check out this new toy, we were stuck on how to install a slicing blade to the rotating motor. Remember, we both hold pretty serious degrees in Engineering--she has a PHD, and I have a master's (oh, yes, you are right: she’s way smarter than me). But let’s get back to the point: the installation takes some deciphering. So we turned to the owner’s manual. To its credit, it included some nice dish recipes, but the installation instructions were intimidating with pages of tiny text.

For a non-native English speaker like me (even for native speakers I guess), my eagerness to check out this fresh product got reigned in, and my head hurt.  The problem is I didn’t want--or need--to read all the pages to locate one tip, as most of the components are self-explanatory, even without instructions. Ctrl+f to search for the key words would have been helpful…

So (literally), I threw away the manual and went to YouTube to find a live demo video, jumped to the blade installation clip, and bingo--we found it.  

How do I buy SolidWorks or get a trial version?

Here at SolidWorks, we work hard to make our products easy to buy, learn and use; however, two of the most common questions we receive are:

• How do I buy SolidWorks?
• How do I get a trial version of SolidWorks?

The answer to both questions is actually the same--by contacting a SolidWorks Value-Added Reseller. Unlike many companies selling software for the consumer market, SolidWorks does not sell directly, or offer trial versions for download from our website. And there's a reason for this.

Despite being easy to learn and use, SolidWorks is a sophisticated piece of software with multiple package options and add-ons, with functionality for building everything from simple sprockets to complex cars and airplanes. When you express an interest in SolidWorks, we want to make sure that you talk with someone who can discuss your business with you personally and recommend the ideal solution.

That's where your local reseller comes in, meeting with you and putting together a personalized quote to meet the needs you have today and help you be more productive in the future. The same goes for product trials. We want to ensure that you have the best possible experience when you're evaluating our products, which is why trials are only available through your local reseller. Once your reseller has discussed the right options for your business, he or she can provide you with the corresponding trial software, and will be available to answer questions during the trial period.

SolidWorks resellers are also the first line for product support, and when you buy SolidWorks, you can be sure that you have a local team available to help you out with the initial set-up process, as well as walk you through any support issues you may have in the future. They are committed to working with you and helping you be successful.

When you contact SolidWorks directly, we will pair you with the best reseller in your area to speak with.  They will contact you directly to schedule a consultation and demonstration, and when you're ready, provide a comprehensive quote. And if you like, they can provide a trial version of SolidWorks and any of our other software solutions.

Want to try out SolidWorks? You can request a free SolidWorks trial on our website.

Want to see how SolidWorks can help you win new business and get to market faster? Request a  SolidWorks demo today.

Creating manufacturing jobs through innovation at Yaris

Creating jobs has been a hot topic these days in the weak global economy. Many answers are out there, but innovation is a proven engine to the economy as shown by Apple who created or supported over 500,000 jobs for U.S. workers in the Apple economy through innovation. 

In our space of manufacturing, I’ve seen encouraging examples of successful companies creating jobs through innovation too.

Founded in 1976, Yaris began producing tractor cabs in a 1,000 m² area in Turkey. Following the technology development and commitment to quality in the past 36 years, the company today operates on over 250,000 m² working area with over 1,000 employees. Now Yaris has become the leading cab producer in Europe, exporting 70% of its product overseas.

Yaris had several challenges on their shop floor before:

1. Need to accurately and instantly pick and install 60 to 80 part groups out 450 groups for customized orders
2. Construction machinery assembly steps are intensely complex to explain and understand
3. Customer’s cab projects require the installation guide, repair instructions, and spare part catalogs delivered all together.

In 2009, Yaris started implementing 3DVIA Composer and has witnessed tremendous progress in the past three years as shown in this Yaris shop floor video.

 

• They assigned each assembly procedure with an assembly station number and a bar code on the routing sheet.
• Say I’m an assembly line worker at station 4 and I just need to scan the bar code for my station. Then my job specification is clearly populated and explained on the touch screen with detailed graphical steps.
• I can switch to the exploded views with a part list. I can also refer to the 3D models. With multi-touch gestures, I can interrogate the model easily while with traditional assembly instructions embedded with photos, there was no way to explore a different perspective.
• Yaris even integrated the tightening torque specification required for all fixtures and the tools needed for each job.
• The best part is all the information is digital and up to date. You don’t have to worry about the design team releasing the 7^th revision while the procurement purchasing according to the 5^th version BOM and manufacturing team producing based on the 3^rd draft.

Now Yaris is able to cut technical documentation time by 13%, improve the quality of our technical communication, and provide assembly line workers instant access to 2,000 parts in 450 groups.

Dr. Kayhan Çalişkan, Project Manager at Yaris shared his experience: “While initially deployed to improve the quality of our complicated installation and repair manuals, 3DVIA Composer has also enabled us to improve the proficiency and efficiency of our assembly line workers.”

Remember this is not just talking. Yaris shop floor video proudly shows the world that Digital Manufacturing is now the reality. Unleashing the power of the 3D CAD data treasure, 3DVIA Composer along with several hundred dollars for a touch screen and a bar code scanner makes a digital shop floor commercially viable.

If Yaris can do it, why can’t we do it? Why can’t we create more jobs through innovation like Yaris?

The coming blogs will share more examples of innovative manufacturing businesses and how best-in-class companies achieve outstanding performance. 

 

For more information on 3DVIA Composer, click on the images below to view 3DVIA Composer videos:

1)     First Look at 3DVIA Composer Video

 

 

2)     3DVIA Composer User Manual video series (registration required):

CP Manufacturing: Efficient Engineering and Recycling Manufacturing

As recycled materials become the new norm in many paper and plastic products, an efficient recycling facility is key for managing the influx of recycled items. CP Manufacturing designs plants that divide paper, plastic, rubber and all sorts of recyclables through a series of automated processes that separate material by type. To streamline and accelerate the development of waste management centers and equipment, CP Manufacturing enlisted the SolidWorks Professional, SolidWorks Enterprise PDM and 3DVIA Composer.

Using SolidWorks design, analysis,product data management, and technical communications solutions, CP Manufacturing has accelerated the development and improved the quality of its recycling plants.

CP Manufacturing, the leading innovator in the waste management and recycling equipment industry, has built more than 400 Material Recovery Facilities since its foundation in 1977. To accelerate development and shorten the design-to-operation cycle, CP moved to SolidWorks 3D solutions. Since its switch to SolidWorks Professional, CP has cut its design time in half and reduced design errors. Using SolidWorks, the manufacturer has more accurate designs that accelerate release to manufacturing and cut the release cycle from up to two weeks to a day.

To further streamline development, CP also uses SolidWorks Enterprise PDM solutions thereby automating workflow and eliminating paper from the document management process. eDrawings has also helped CP replace paper drawings with electronic sketches for review, redlining and approval, thus allowing the company’s Engineering department to go 100 percent paperless. To complete CP’s usage of SolidWorks product suite, the manufacturer also uses 3DVIA Composer to automate the production of its user manuals and creat high-quality images for sales presentation collateral.

By automating the design process and increasing manufacturing efficiency, CP Manufacturing not only creates recycling plants but also does its part to keep this planet green. To learn more about how CP Manufacturing implements SolidWorks solutions for a greener Earth, read the case study.

An Easy Way to Explain How Things Work? Try 3D Images.

Have you ever tried to put together a model without the instructions? Or tried to recreate a gourmet meal without a recipe? Or tried to take a decent picture with a dSLR camera without reading up on the different settings? Written instructions will surely help, but if you’re a visual learner, a few photos are just what you need to get the job done, and done right. Taking it a step further, how cool would it be if the products in our life came with manuals and diagrams that were animated, 3D images?

pester pac automation GmbH, a packaging company from Germany, believes that it is easier to explain how machines work using 3D images, and is relying on 3DVIA Composer to make animated operating manuals and diagrams a reality for its customers. Visual learners rejoice!

SolidWorks’ technology makes it possible for pester pac automation to convert 3D data into realistic images that can be integrated into user manuals, installation guides, training documents or marketing materials, to precisely demonstrate and explain individual details, uses and functions of its products.

Over the years, toys have become more sophisticated, and toy assembly has become much more complicated – complicated enough for the likes of Mattel, Hasbro and Toys ‘R’ Us to offer toy assembly services, so parents don’t have to muscle through the process on their own.

Would you like to see more companies adopt the idea of 3D manuals or instruction guides? How would they make your life easier? Tell us in the comments below!

For more information on 3DVIA Composer, click on the images below to view 3DVIA Composer videos:

1)     First Look at 3DVIA Composer Video

 

 

2)     3DVIA Composer User Manual video series (registration required):

 

 

 

Five Best Practices for Building Great Product Communication

If you handed a child instructions on how to tie their shoes, do you think they could tie them?

Could you?

1. Cross the left end over the right end.
2. The left end is now on the right side. Begin to wrap the right end around the front of the left lace to end up at the back of the gap between the laces.
3. Feed the right end through the gap to emerge at the front right hand side. Pull both ends tight to complete the starter knot.
4. Make the right end into a “loop” by doubling it back on itself.
5. Take the left end and pass it around to the right, going behind the right loop.
6. Continue the left end around the right loop to end up in front. Start to feed the left lace into the “hole” that has just been made.
7. With the left lace now through the “hole”, grab hold of both loops and start to pull the knot tight. Continue pulling on the loops until the knot is tied.

We can all agree that it is easier to learn by doing – in this case by experiencing what it is like to tie a shoe.   But if we can’t learn by doing, then having a visual guide with pictures can be a close runner up.  Visualizations make it much easier to understand how a product is used, assembled, or repaired. We are all too familiar with bad technical communication (assembly instructions, maintenance manuals, user manuals, etc.).  The worst offenders are instructions completely text based, with absolutely no visuals.  When I am given these, and I use the term loosely, “instructions” usually just get tossed aside while I attempt to figure out assembly myself. 

As a technical communications expert, I try to adhere to five “Principles” for building technical communications, which I’m happy to share with you. 

Cliff’s Five Principles for Building Great Technical Communication:

1-     Legos: Have you ever seen a Lego instruction booklet?  Simply sublime. Lego uses no words, and just shows the current design, and highlights the piece(s) being added.  Very Simple, very clear. Even my 8 year old son can build some of the most complex 500+ Lego sets with just a simple Lego instruction booklet.  Principle #1 (the Lego principle): Always highlight the part of interest.

 

2-     More Pictures, Less Text:  This one is quite obvious, but even I find myself using the images I initially created, then adding in too much text.  A good rule-of-thumb is:  If you use more than 3 sentences, create a new diagram, or image. 

3-     Black and White:  I create all technical communications using 3DVIA Composer, so I usually use as much color as possible; however, I remind myself that documents are often copied into black and white, so I find other ways to place emphasis on the parts of the assembly. For example, If I have a part highlighted in a color, I should also add a thicker outline to the part being emphasized, as the color may not be recognizable after being photocopied.

Here is an example, with a part highlighted in blue:

Shaded Diagram

in color                            black and white

Outlined Diagram

in color                            black and white

*As you can see: the different rendering effects used make all the difference when the images are converted to black and white.  The highlighted object is still noticeable with the outlined diagram, but not with the shaded diagram. 

4-     More is More:   “Less is More” is the more common phrase, but when it comes to technical communication, you can never provide enough detail (in pictures, not words).  You know the product in-and-out, but the final user will not.  Give them every amount of detail necessary.

5-     Un-biased Test:  I like to think that I can test my own documentation, but this is never the ideal solution.  What is obvious to me may not be for someone else.  Being under deadlines means we often skip this critical step. But do yourself a favor, and the end user one as well, and have several unbiased people test your documentation.  It’s the best way to be sure it is clear.

Obviously I use 3DVIA Composer for technical communication documents. When I speak to SolidWorks users who have not tried Composer, I often hear that: 1) they don’t have the time to learn another tool, or 2) they are fine with the tools they currently use (which are tools which take much longer to produce lower quality technical communication).  I probably thought the same thing before I used 3DVIA Composer, but I would encourage you to give it a try.

For more information on 3DVIA Composer, click on the images below to view 3DVIA Composer videos:

1)     First Look at 3DVIA Composer Video

 

2)     3DVIA Composer User Manual video series (you will need to register first):

Please share your thoughts or other technical communication principles in the comments below…

-Cliff-

 

 

Create your best detailed views ever with the Digger!

Hi - this week I want to tell you about some more cool (but valuable) functionality in 3DVIA Composer - the Digger. The Digger is patented technology that allows you to quickly create sophisticated detailed views of your 3D models. 

You can zoom in on different areas of the model and peel away geometry to see what's behind it. And as you peel away geometry, you can do it in Onion Skin mode to hide the geometry you peel away, or X-Ray mode, which leaves a ghosted image of the peeled away geometry...very cool stuff. The Digger tool looks like this:

 
Its controls are intuitively arranged and easy to use. Any time you want to activate it in 3DVIA Composer, all you have to do is hit your space bar.  Once you're happy with the detailed view you've created inside the Digger Zone, you can capture it as a 2D image that can be saved off with a new view. And of course, if you read my I Hate Cool Technology!!! blog post, you'll know that those views can be saved as hi-res imagery and inserted into your technical communication deliverables, such as assembly instructions, product manuals and marketing collateral. 

If you want to see the Digger in action, check out the video below or click here to download a trial version of 3DVIA Composer and try it for yourself. And until next time...clear your mind, focus, and get that project done!

Made in 3D: The 3D Printing Challenge

By now, I'm guessing that most of you know all about rapid prototyping and 3D printing, and how they make it infinitely easier to visualise your design concepts before actually making a working prototype. But if you're not familiar, imagine being able to manufacture pretty much any challenging shape, any prototype, any design in a few hours. Pretty cool, right?

Take for example the above below, which was designed in CATIA, and which the original designer calls “The Mush.”  The design naturally amplifies and changes the sound coming from an iPhone. The designer recently used a 3D printer to create a real working prototype, and was actually able to test the acoustic properties. From what we hear, it sounded great.

So why are are talking about this? Well, last month at the Cumulus Conference “Crossing Talents” in France, Dassault Systemes announced the Made in 3D Challenge. Designers are invited to submit their best 3D models, and it's open to all designers, as well as any members with a free 3DVIA account.

The person submitting the best model will win an iPad2 as well as a 3D print of his or her design, and will will also be featured in TL Magazine, a quarterly magazine dedicated to innovative talent, materials and trends in the field of design, fashion, retail and urban environments.

Full contest details are available here. As you're designing, bear in mind the object scale, as you'll be printing in a maximum of 15cm x 15cm x 15cm. Any standard 3D file format is accepted. Just upload your 3D file on a free 3DVIA account before September 18th and tag it “madein3d”. And remember, SolidWorks includes a Publish to 3DVIA function starting with SolidWorks 2009, making the process even easier.