Author Archives: DASI Solutions
5 Steps to Create a SolidWorks Rx Capture
Ever have a problem that you wish you could show someone step-by-step occurrences but found it too cumbersome to document? You can record and capture your problem by using SolidWorks Rx. SolidWorks Rx analyzes your system, suggests possible solutions, and
... Continued5 SolidWorks Tips You May Have Never Seen Before
Chances are if you’ve been around SolidWorks for any significant amount of time, you may have seen some of these before, but I’ll be surprised if more than a handful of seasoned SolidWorks users have seen all 5 of these
... ContinuedRevisiting 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.
... ContinuedGet Started with SolidWorks Simulation
Using Simulation tools in SolidWorks for the first time can be an exciting adventure. However, like anything in life, it’s a good idea to go over a few checklist items before you begin. Here are four suggestions for settings that
... ContinuedDimension Tangent to an Arc or Circle
When adding sketch dimensions from one circle or arc to another, a dimension will be added between the center points by default. However, by selecting the circle and/or arc when adding the dimension, the properties for that dimension now have
... ContinuedInteractive Scalable Vector Graphic Files from 3DVIA Composer
3DVIA Composer has long had the ability to save Views as Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG) files viewable with a web browser. However, there is a trick to getting nicely formatted SVG files to show on HTML web pages, and it
... ContinuedSolidWorks Enterprise Licensing Made Simple
You’ve anticipated installing a newer version of SolidWorks Enterprise PDM for the last month. You’ve let everyone know of the impending update. You’ve downloaded the latest service pack from www.SolidWorks.com. You’ve made backups of your SQL databases. You’ve ensured the
... ContinuedAssuming Small Displacement: The Large Displacement Flag
SolidWorks Simulation Premium includes a variety of analysis types (click here for full list). An assumption that Linear Static analysis makes is that the stiffness of the structure remains constant no matter what type of load is being applied. This
... ContinuedSave As Copy in SolidWorks
Many times a SolidWorks user wants to experiment with a part they are working on, but want to do it ‘safely’ as to not adversely change what they have already done. If there isn’t a data management system in place
... ContinuedDemystifying the Color Settings in SolidWorks Parts and Assemblies
Applying colors to parts and assemblies in SolidWorks is not a difficult task, but one must be aware of the many levels at which color can be applied as well as what feature colors ‘overrule’ one another. Colors can be
... ContinuedAssuming Linearity: Linear Static vs. Nonlinear
Background
SolidWorks has several different tools available for analyzing structures. Static analysis (discussed in my previous blog article) is available with the purchase of SolidWorks Simulation (included in SolidWorks Premium). Nonlinear analysis is available with the purchase of SolidWorks Simulation Premium (see Figure 1).
Figure 1 – SolidWorks Simulation study types
When a force is applied to a structure (a pencil, a building, a fixture, etc.) the internal pressure in the structure builds up. We call this internal pressure, stress. As stresses rise, the structure gets longer or shorter. We call this elongation, strain. When we run a Static analysis, we are assuming that the relationship between stress and strain is a simple one; we assume the relationship is linear. By making this assumption, we can potentially make an otherwise difficult or sometimes impossible problem very easy to solve.
However, this assumption isn’t all true. In reality, the relationship between stress and strain is never “perfectly” linear. But this assumption is close enough for many scenarios, and the amount of error it introduces may be negligible.
... ContinuedHide vs. Suppressed in SolidWorks Assemblies
Hiding and Suppressing parts in SolidWorks assemblies can have similar looking results, but both operations behave quite differently from each other. At the time this article is written, SolidWorks 2012 has several capabilities of both Hide and Suppress, and even
... Continued