The SolidWorks Blog

Celebrating International Women's Day with our Top Sales Award Winners

Today is International Women’s Day, a 101 year old holiday commemorating women’s role in society. Women’s growing contribution to science, technology, business, the arts, politics, and economics exemplify the holiday’s mission.

This year, International Women’s Day is especially important here at SolidWorks. At SolidWorks World, we always recognize the reseller sales representatives who have sold the most SolidWorks software solutions in the previous year. For the first time in SolidWorks history, three ladies swept the top spots for  Top Sales Award at the Reseller Awards Dinner at SolidWorks World:  Denee Busby from GoEngineer, Irina Gumeniuk from SolidWorks Russia, and Tia Jax from Progression Technologies.

Bertrand Sicot, CEO of SolidWorks, and Ken Clayton, VP of Worldwide Sales, posing with Top Sales Award recipients (from left to right) Denee Busby, Irina Gumeniuk, and Tia Jax.

We congratulate Denee, Irina, and Tia for their achievements and for their service to you, the SolidWorks community. Also, don’t forget take a moment today to thank some of the remarkable women in your life. Happy International Women’s Day!

SolidWorks World 2013 technical presentations are now available on our proceedings website

Maybe you couldn't make it to every session you wanted to attend at SolidWorks World 2013. Or maybe you couldn't make it to SolidWorks World at all, but saw a session on the schedule that you really wish you could have sat in on. Either way, you're in luck.

Earlier this week, the SolidWorks World 2013 proceedings website went live. When you visit, you can watch videos from many of the breakout sessions, as well as download the presentation files. You can also watch highlight videos, view and upload photos, and find out about SolidWorks World 2014 in San Diego.

Are you ready to learn something new? Visit the SolidWorks World 2013 proceedings website now!

It's easy to convert that old legacy data to SolidWorks!

A lot of cutomers don’t realise how quick the process of converting legacy files into SolidWorks format has become recently. By using the tools incorporated into SolidWorks such as Import Diagnostics, Feature Recognition, and Fully Define Sketch, Legacy files can be quickly converted into SolidWorks files.

The video at the end of this blog shows a .STEP file being opened and converted into a SolidWorks file with recognised features, fully defined sketches and a drawing sheet. All of this was done in less than three minutes by using the tools available within SolidWorks Professional and Premium.

The process starts by opening the file directly within SolidWorks. This instigates the Import Diagnostic tool that is part of the FeatureWorks Add-in available in SolidWorks Professional and Premium versions. In this case, the imported geometry had no issues, but Import Diagnostics would allow opportunity and help to repair faulty geometry.

Another function of the FeatureWorks Add-in is Feature Recognition. In the property manager for Feature recognition, the types of feature to look for in the part geometry can be defined. SolidWorks will then automatically associate features with the imported part geometry and create a Feature Manager Design tree containing the required Sketches and Features.

 

The Sketch geometry can now be edited and dimensions and relations automatically added by using the Fully Define Sketch available in the contextual menu shown when right-clicking the graphics area in the sketch.

Once all features and sketch geometry has been defined, the part can be quickly inserted into a drawing sheet. Inserting the model items into the drawing sheet will then pick up and insert all of the dimensions onto the drawing sheet as well.

Using this process a fully defined and editable SolidWorks part and associated drawing file were created without modifying any of the original geometry or sizes, creating an exact SolidWorks copy of the original file.

 

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Duncan Crofts is an Applications Engineer & CSWE at TMS CAD Centre, a SolidWorks Value Added Reseller in Scotland. He is a regular contributor to the TMS CAD Centre blog.

Want to try out SolidWorks 2013? You can request a free SolidWorks trial on our website.

Want to see how SolidWorks 2013 can help you win new business and get to market faster? Request a  SolidWorks demo today.

Learn how USSC Group developed a breakthrough product in just four months after switching to SolidWorks

USSC Group is a leading manufacturer of world-class seating for many types of specialty vehicles, such as buses, locomotives, and fire trucks. To maintain its industry-leading engineering capabilities, USSC periodically assesses the effectiveness of its design and engineering tools. In 2009, the company evaluated the Siemens Solid Edge® software it was using against SolidWorks software, using a range of evaluation criteria.

Following that evaluation, USSC chose SolidWorks solutions because they gave the company more freedom to work with partners and customers and other integrated technologies. The seating manufacturer acquired 14 licenses of SolidWorks Professional and SolidWorks Premium design software, SolidWorks Simulation Premium analysis software, the SolidWorks Enterprise PDM product data management system, and SolidWorks Composer technical communications software.

By selecting SolidWorks solutions, USSC was able to introduce its patent-pending single-point release firefighting seat, develop a breakthrough product in just four months, improve its ability to work with partner and customer data, and realize better design communication and demonstration capabilities.

Download the complete case study to see how SolidWorks is helping USSC revolutionize firefighter safety.

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.

Snapshots of PhotoView 360: Viewpoint

Read the Entire Series: (Part One: The Basics, Part Two: Appearances, Part 3: Scenes, Part 4: Lighting)

PhotoView 360 gives the user the option of using a standard named view for the orientation of the rendering or a camera. A named view requires less time and setup than a camera; however a camera gives many more options. These two methods will be discussed in this snapshot.

Named Views

Named views allow the user to either use standard views like isometric or trimetric from the orientation views selection. The other option is the orient the model that way the user would like to render it, and save the view, so the user can come back to it later.

To do this: 

• Open the orientation dialog (spacebar or the heads-up view toolbar)
• Click New View
• Type the name of the view

 

 
Perspective View

Perspective view gives a more realistic real world view, related to the size of the object and the observed and the distance of the object from the observer.

See the full tutorial after the jump -

Using the Intersect tool in SolidWorks 2013

A new powerful tool introduced SolidWorks 2013 is Intersect. Intersect enables you to perform complex operations to quickly combine surfaces, planes and solid bodies in practically any way you need without the need for multiple cut, trim and fill features.  The tool's visual interface allows you to do all the experimenting you'll need in order to create the final shape you want.  The following is an example of how Intersect can help you to quickly build a part from multiple intersecting bodies.

This is a junction box.  The goal is to add four connection ports for the conduit that currently intersects the body of the junction box.

1. Start the Intersect tool (found on the Features toolbar).
2. Select the three solid bodies.  As you select each one, they populate the Selections box in the PropertyManager.
3. Choose Intersect button.
4. A list of intersection regions is quickly generated in the Regions to Exclude box in the PropertyManager.
5. Regions may be included or excluded from the final result.  In this example, select the regions of pipe that fall inside of junction box using two methods: 
   1. Select regions from the graphics area.
   2. Select regions from the Regions to Exclude box.
6. As you select regions, they will highlight in the graphics area.  Some regions may not be selectable in the graphics area because they fall inside of the body.  In the case of this junction box, I recommend simply going down the list in Regions to Exclude box for visual identification before selecting the region.
7. Make sure Merge result is checked on the Options box in the PropertyManager.
8. Once you are satified with the previewed result, choose OK (green check mark button) to accept and apply.
9. The result is finalized.  The entire operation appears as one new Intersect feature in the Freature Tree.  Because Merge result was selected, the end result is one solid body.
10. Adjustments to your selections can be made at any time by editing the Intersect feature in the same manner as any other features are edited.

 

 

JL Audio is creating assembly instructions that go BOOM! with SolidWorks Composer

Like most SolidWorks users, I love technology.  I love to see what’s next, and get excited when I see our customers create something truly original.  For example, at SolidWorks World 2013, Dr. Vijay Kumar's presentation on micro-robots was my favorite presentation, as there were so many useful possibilities for these robots in our world.

Some great technology stories are never seen on the main-stage since they are advancements in production, and not as sexy as flying robots.  However, these advancements are incredibly important, very innovative, and will save companies money and many headaches.  I want to tell you about one of these stories.

I was looking forward to presenting with one of our customers this year: JL Audio.  Yes, JL is the company that makes high-end speakers and other audio devices for everything from cars, to boats, to motorcycles, anything you can imagine.  And yes, the speakers are cool and they sound incredible, but designing top of the line speakers was not the problem JL faced.  The issue was on the assembly end. Basically, how do you deliver quality, intuitive instructions that have many applications (how do you install one speaker model in several different cars or boats) and still meet the customers’ high standards?

To tackle this issue, JL Audio uses SolidWorks Composer to convert their 3D CAD speaker models into images and animations for assembly instructions and product manuals. It takes less time than taking photos and  the Composer images look a lot better than the digital photos JL Audio had used previously.  Check out these before/after pictures to get a better idea:

Before:

After:

Instead of using a block of wood to resemble a $100,000 boat that you are attaching the speakers to, JL was able to represent the overhead bar of the boat with an actual cylinder with the help of Composer.  The images are much more professional, but the best part of using the software is that the “after” instructions took less time to create.

JL Audio uses SolidWorks Composer to create their 3D communication. As a result, it has cut down cost, production time, and many errors. 

I realize reducing costs and errors on an assembly line is not as interesting as flying robots or high speed motorcycles, but what about all the time and money you save could kick-start time working on new robot ideas?

For more information on SolidWorks Composer, check out our User Manual video series (you will need to register first)

 

Donn McKinney’s U.S.S. Missouri Propelling Forward with eDrawings

Since 2011, when we first featured Donn McKinney’s U.S.S Missouri project, our friend Donn has further progressed in his work. To give some background to those of you who are unfamiliar with Donn’s project, Donn, a fan of World War II-era US battleships, is currently building a fully operational virtual replica of the U.S.S. Missouri in collaboration with the U.S. Navy. Using the replica, he plans to examine the boat’s functionality.

To show us some of his work, Donn converted his models into eDrawings files. And here’s the best part: you can view them too! Click here for a full download: Download Donn McKinneys Models in eDrawings. If you don’t have eDrawings already, you will need to download it to view his spectacular model from all 360 degrees.

Donn was very eager to convert his models into eDrawings files because they’re much easier to share and are generally smaller than SolidWorks files. In fact, using eDrawings for iOS, you can share models with customers, friends, or family using your iPhone or iPad. With eDrawings' new augmented reality feature, Donn can even see how the replica would look in his house!

Donn has realized numerous possibilities with the eDrawings software propelling his efforts forward. Do you have any stories about how you have used eDrawings?

New “Bounding Box” in SolidWorks 2013 (it's not just for weldments!)

If you attended a “What’s New in SolidWorks 2013″ rollout or even if you were a good user and read the “What’s New” guide for 2013, you hopefully saw something about the new automatic Bounding Box that gets created for plates in Weldments.  But, if you don’t do weldments you may have also thought, “So what?”  Well here is what...

You can use the new automatic bounding box tool for any kind of part!

Say for example you want to find the material needed to machine a part.  Once you get any SolidWorks part modeled (or imported), use the INSERT–WELDMENTS–WELDMENT feature to “turn it into a weldment” (even though it really isn’t), then Rt+Clk the “Cut list” item in the Feature Tree and choose Update.  Expand the “Cut list” item in the tree, Rt+Clk the “Cut-List-Item1″ folder that got created, and choose Create Bounding Box.

If you just want to see the 3D bounding box that got created, expand the “Cut-List-Item1″ folder and Show the 3D Sketch that was created.   If you don’t like how the bounding box is oriented, no problem. Just another Rt+Clk on the “Cut-List-Item1″ folder and choose Edit Bounding Box!

You could add reference dimensions to the bounding box if you wanted to actually show some dimensions, or if you just want to know what the dimensions of the box are, guess what you Rt+Clk on ??? Yep, the “Cut-List-Item1″ folder once more, and this time choose Properties.  In here you will see the Thickness, Length, Width, and Volume of the 3D Bounding Box!

And of course, if you make any changes to the size of the part file, the bounding box updates!

Pretty great new feature in SolidWorks 2013 that can save you a lot of time and definitely not just for Weldments!

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Randy Simmons is an Application Engineer at 3DVision Technologies, a SolidWorks Value Added Reseller with locations across Ohio, Indiana, and Kentucky.  He is a regular contributor to 3DVision Technologies' Blog where you will find new ideas to improve your productivity with Enterprise PDM and SolidWorks.

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.

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Revisiting Your SolidWorks Copy Settings

Most users run the SolidWorks Copy Settings Wizard after they have initially set up the SolidWorks interface to their liking. The problem with this is you turn on all the possible options you may use and leave them at that. In most cases, you’re working on a project for a specific customer and their product might not require half the options you enabled. It’s like leaving the ladder in the middle of the room after you changed the light bulb a month ago.

With SolidWorks 2013, you can change the setting with the application turned on. No longer are the days of having the sheetmetal tools in your way while working with the mold tools. This will also give you quicker access to the tools you need by removing the one not used.

You can Save or Restore system settings for:

1. Keyboard shortcuts
   • Start reusing left hand keyboard shortcut command options based on the type of project you're working on.
2. Menu customization
   • Turn on visibility option in the view menu during part creation that might get in the way when putting together that assembly.
3. System options
   • Create Project/Customer specific paths for templates and sheet formats.
4. Toolbar layout (All toolbars or Macro toolbar only)
   • Have post processing macros for exporting to PDF or DWG available based on the customer requirements.

Starting the Copy Settings Wizard

You can launch the Copy Settings Wizard from the Tools > Save/Restore Settings in the SolidWorks software or click Start > All Programs > SolidWorks version > SolidWorks Tools > Copy Settings Wizard .

When you start the wizard from the SolidWorks software, the wizard runs in a special mode which allows the SolidWorks software to remain up and running, while you save or restore your current user settings.

If you start the wizard from the Start Menu, you can save settings while SolidWorks is running but any options set during the current session are not saved. Also, if you are restoring settings, ensure that the computer or user to which you are restoring settings is not running SolidWorks.

Saving System Settings

To save system settings:

1. In the Welcome dialog box, select Save Settings, then click Next.
2. Browse to a location and file name, select the types of settings, then click Finish. The wizard confirms that the settings have been written to the specified file.
3. Click OK. The settings files have a default extension of .sldreg. If you double-click a file with this extension, the Copy Settings Wizard appears.

Restoring System Settings

To restore system settings:

1. In the Welcome dialog box, select Restore Settings, thenclick Next.
2. Browse to a file from which to restore settings, select the types of settings to restore, then click Next.
3. Select the type of destination (Current user, One or more network computers, or One or more roaming user profiles), then click Next. If you selected One or more network computers, a list of available computers is displayed. If you selected One or more roaming user profiles, a list of available users is displayed.
4. If you selected One or more network computers or One or more roaming user profiles, select a user or a computer and click Add, repeat until you have specified all computers or users, then click Next.
5. Select or clear Create backup of current settings for each_computer_or_user, then click Finish. The wizard confirms that the settings have been copied successfully.
6. Click OK.

No more excuses with not being able to find the right tools or complaints about the toolbars taking up to much of the SolidWorks interface. Remember what Dad always said, “When you’re done with the tool, put it back where you got it.”

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Jerald Staley is a Certified SolidWorks Expert and a member of the technical staff at DASI Solutions, a SolidWorks Value Added Reseller with locations throughout Michigan and Indiana. He is a regular contributor to the DASI Solutions Blog.

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.