Tips & Tricks
How to overline text on a SolidWorks drawing
Remastered from SolidWorks Legion article entitled How to overline text on a SolidWorks drawing. Occasionally, a SolidWorks user may need to state a number or variable as approximate within an annotation note. The mathematical symbol for this is an overline.
... 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
... ContinuedCreating Drawings for SolidWorks Multi-body Parts
When you have a multi-body part in SolidWorks the question that comes into play at some point is how do I make a drawing for each of the different bodies “parts”. The answer to this is like many items in
... ContinuedEnterprise PDM: How to Map to Microsoft Office
EPDM variables can be mapped to a Microsoft Office document. This can be used to automatically populate documents such as ECN’s (Engineering Change Notices). The first step is to define variables in EPDM: Right Click on the Variables node in
... ContinuedMake A Single Body with Multiple Open Contours in SolidWorks 2013
SolidWorks 2013 has a great new set of behaviors with thin feature extrusions. In the past, if you wanted to work with open contours, only one open contour was allowed. In SolidWorks 2013, multiple open contours can be extruded as
... ContinuedUsing SolidWorks to Create a Helical Pattern
SolidWorks has many different flavors of pattern features that can aid you in your design process. On top of the extensive capabilities available in the traditional linear, circular and mirror patterns, we can also create patterns utilizing data from curves,
... ContinuedSomething Intersecting in SolidWorks 2013: Join Your Parts to Find Volumes
This is yet another trick to find the volume of a fluid, air, etc in SolidWorks; I seem to get asked this often, so I’d like to share all the different tips and tricks you can use to make your
... ContinuedWhy are some of my dimensions grey and others black?
Remastered from SolidWorks Legion article entitled Color for non inserted dimensions. SolidWorks has many default colors for different types of dimensions. On drawings, the two main types of dimensions are inserted (driving) and non inserted (driven). Inserted dimensions are called
... 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
... ContinuedThree New Simulation Functions in SolidWorks 2013
From CAPINC's What's New Segment, here are three new SolidWorks Simulation functions in 2013.
Shell Edge to Beam Bonding
The bonding of shell edges that belong to surface or sheet metal bodies to beams, commonly used to simulate gusset plates connecting beams, is supported through manual contact set definitions.
This functionality is available for linear static, frequency, buckling, and linear dynamic studies.
To create a shell edge to beam bonded contact, in the Contact Sets PropertyManager, under Type, select Bonded. For Set 1, click Beams and select the beam from the graphics area. For Faces, Edges for Set 2, select the shell edge.
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
... ContinuedSolidWorks Materials: Manage & Customize
You can add materials you often use to your favorite list for faster access.
... ContinuedUse Luxology Appearance Files When Rendering in SolidWorks 2013
As far as favorite new features go for SolidWorks 2013, using Luxology appearances to render my SolidWorks models is one of my favorites.
... 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
... ContinuedCustomizing SolidWorks Flyout Toolbars
The other day while watching a video on some of the new SolidWorks 2013 features, I noticed that one of the Flyout Toolbars for Annotations had a command for Cosmetic Threads that I did not have in my Flyouts, so
... Continued