Hello to all,

Welcome to the new edition of the SOLIDWORKS Support Monthly News!  This monthly news blog is co-authored by members of the SOLIDWORKS Technical Support teams worldwide.

Sheet metal bend/gauge table bend deduction warning message is correct

By Mario Iocco

We get quite a bit of users reporting sheet metal table problems. Around 80% of the reported issues are know how problems. This particular problem relates to bend deduction tables. When the user inserts a bend deduction table, the system displays the following warning: “The specified bend deduction value for the given radius and thickness is invalid….”

In the below video, I decided to explain this issue in detail.

Creating and updating custom properties using Treehouse

By Ankit Gupta

In Treehouse, you can set up your assembly hierarchy in a graphical user interface before you build your models in the SOLIDWORKS software. You can add to an existing file structure in Treehouse.
But do you know, you can add/edit custom properties to a Treehouse node. This functionality is identical to the functionality available in the SOLIDWORKS software.
Custom properties can be add/edit to the part without having to open in SOLIDWORKS. Simply double click the part or by selecting the ‘Show Document Properties’ icon and this will open the properties tab.

Please refer to this video for visual demonstration:

In Treehouse, user can choose a custom property to be displayed as the name of part, this can be used well if the description property is more informative than the file name, making it easier to identify parts.

SOLIDWORKS® Flow Simulation 2019 SP1.0 – Free Surface Updates

By Suresh Nikalaje

Free Surface, capability introduced in SOLIDWORKS® Flow Simulation 2018, allows modeling two immiscible, incompressible fluids (for further details please refer solution S-074515). However, with 2019 SP1.0 release & onwards, mixing Newtonian and non-Newtonian fluids became possible.

To demonstrate this 2019 SP1.0 capability enhancement an ‘Intravenous’ therapy (IV therapy) is modeled. Further assumptions has done to model sample ‘Intravenous injections (IV)’, involve inserting a needle into a vein allowing saline water to be delivered directly into the bloodstream. In this example, a Gauge Size 20 needle (Color -PINK) is modeled with 0.6 mm inner diameter suitable for small Vein (approximately 1.50 mm ID & 1.55 mm OD). For ‘Saline Water’ a new fluid is added to the Engineering Database, and ‘Blood’ is defined, as it is available in the Engineering Database. Since saline water, is a mixture of sodium chloride (NaCl) & water and has viscosity 1.011 cP (wt 0.5% ), for new fluid definition all properties assumed identical to water. Effectively, blood is a non-Newtonian liquid, while saline water is Newtonian. Flow simulation does not simulate the fluid mixing; we can visualize / animate the interface plotting the mass / volume fraction of one fluid in a cut-plot.

Fig: Mass Fraction of Blood 

Animation: Mass fraction of SalineWater  

Project at Glance:

Total Cells: 3858696

CPU Time: 209 Hrs

In SOLIDWORKS® Flow Simulation, with 2019 SP0 and earlier versions an alternate possibility that does not require the use of Free Surface, is to define the Newtonian liquid as a non-Newtonian liquid and perform the simulation as the mixing of two non-Newtonian liquids. Please refer the full article available in knowledgebase Solution S-018693: Mixing Newtonian and non-Newtonian fluids.

The Free Surface simulation is a complex analysis that requires time and attentiveness. Here are general guideline while conducting the free surface analysis:

1. Start with simplified model, best way to solve problem as two-dimensional (2d simulation) problem, this will save computational time and easy to troubleshoot the issue.
2. Check the mesh quality. Make sure the mesh is fine enough to capture the interface between the two immiscible fluids. (If you are using pipes to inject the fluid, make sure that the mesh in the pipe or channel is fine enough). To visualize the interface, plot the volume fraction of one fluid in a cut-plot.
3. Check the velocity magnitude. When using high velocity, use of the ‘Free Surface’ feature is not recommended. Start by using a low value of the velocity at the inlet.
4. Define goals to measure the mass of each fluid and make sure that the mass conservation (mass in=mass out) is satisfied for each fluid. Refine the mesh until it is satisfied within a tolerance. Usually, starting with a simulation with only one fluid can give you a better idea on the mesh requirement.
5. Check the time step. Use an auto time step or a small manual time step.

Noteworthy Solutions from the SOLIDWORKS Knowledge Base

Is there a SolidPractice available on the topic of “Working with Weldments”?
The document attached to solution id: S-078458 contains the solidpractice document for the topic “Working with Weldments”.

Why does a ‘Swept Cut’ or ‘Extrude’ feature from an earlier SOLIDWORKS® version return the following error in the latest version? ‘The sweep could not be completed because it intersected itself when passing…’
The full error message is ‘The sweep could not be completed because it intersected itself when passing through the first segment of the path.’ To know more, please visit the solution Id: S-078569

IIs there a SolidPractice available on the topic of “Understanding the Data Model for SOLIDWORKS® Manage”?
The document attached to solution id: S-078473 contains the solidpractice document for the topic “Understanding the Data Model for SOLIDWORKS® Manage”.

Is there a SolidPractice available on the topic of “Linear Dynamics – Concepts and Applications”?
The document attached to solution id: S-078397 contains the solidpractice document for the topic “Linear Dynamics – Concepts and Applications”.

That’s it for this month. Thanks for reading this edition of SOLIDWORKS Support News. If you need additional help with these issues or any others, please contact your SOLIDWORKS Value Added Reseller.

Comments and suggestions are always welcome. You can enter them below.