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. Here is the list of topics covered in this month’s Blog:

1. Why does eDrawings® default to an older version and fail to recognize the latest installation while opening the file, even after specifying it as the default app?

2. Pipe Bending Animation in SOLIDWORKS® Using External References

3. SOLIDWORKS® Electrical: Excluding components from Bill of Material

1. Why does eDrawings® default to an older version and fail to recognize the latest installation while opening the file, even after specifying it as the default app?

–  Sohan DHAKE

You might have struggled with eDrawings® opening an older version instead of the latest one, despite setting the latest version as the default app. This issue arises due to installation conflicts when multiple versions of eDrawings co-exist on the same machine.

For instance, imagine you’ve installed eDrawings 2025, but an older version i.e., eDrawings 2024 is still present on your system. When you try to open a file, even one saved using the 2025 version, it defaults to eDrawings 2024. This results in a “Future version file” error because the older version can’t recognize files from the newer one. The following image shows that there is no instance of eDrawings 2024/SOLIDWORKS® 2024 installed on the system yet the eDrawings 2024 is present on the system.

The first step to resolve this would be uninstalling eDrawings 2024. However, it doesn’t appear in the Programs and Features list in the Control Panel. If you try to use the MsiExec.exe/x{…} uninstall command string, it will throw an error of “The Product does not exist on the system.” Generally, this happens when modifying the SOLIDWORKS installation with multiple versions where numerous folders are created.

Multiple versions of eDrawings installed on your system can lead to duplicate folders and conflicting file associations between the versions. Even if you specify eDrawings 2025 as the default app for opening files, the system may still revert to eDrawings 2024 due to these conflicts.

Here’s an example:

When browsing through the installation folders, you might notice that both eDrawings 2024 and 2025 folders are present. Unless you rename or remove conflicting folders during installation, Windows® may assign generic numbers to them, making it hard to distinguish between versions.

How to Fix This Issue:

1. Delete Unnecessary Folders: Locate the older version’s installation folder and either delete it or rename it to prevent conflicts.
2. Organize Installation Directories: While installing SOLIDWORKS, ensure the installation directory is properly renamed with their version numbers when dealing with multiple installations on the same system. This can help avoid duplicate folders.

How to Prevent This in the Future:

1. Perform a Clean Installation: Always uninstall the previous version completely before installing a new one. Follow clean installation guidelines from QA00000124030 article for SOLIDWORKS and QA00000108170 article for eDrawings in the Knowledge base to remove all residual files.
2. Rename Directories During Installation: If you’re maintaining multiple SOLIDWORKS versions, rename the installation directories appropriately during installation to avoid overlap.

By taking these steps, you can ensure a seamless experience with eDrawings and avoid the hassle of future version errors or file association issues.

2. Pipe Bending Animation in SOLIDWORKS® Using External References

–  Kundlik GADADE

External references in SOLIDWORKS® link one document to another, ensuring that any changes in the referenced document are reflected in the dependent document. This feature is particularly useful when simulating complex processes, such as pipe bending, where the movement and shape changes of components must remain interconnected.

In this example, an assembly is created to represent a pipe bending machine. Pipe bending involves reshaping tubes or pipes into desired configurations. The animation showcases the bending process by simulating the interaction between the pipe and a rotating bending die.

To Create the Pipe Bending Animation:

1. Model Preparation:
   • Design the Fixtures and Die: Use part modeling to create the required fixtures and bending die.
   • Assemble the Components: Build a new assembly with appropriate mates to replicate the desired motion.
2. Create a New Part in Context of the Assembly:
   • Insert Component: Use the ‘Insert Component’ feature and select ‘New Part’  to create a new part within the assembly context.
   • Add Constraints: Constrain the new part so its motion depends on the rotating die. In this example, the pipe’s path angle is constrained to maintain a constant relationship with the die’s rotation, regardless of its position.
3. Animate the Assembly:
   • Set Up the Motion Study:
     1. 1. Navigate to the ‘Motion Study’ tab.
        2. Drag the time bar to define the animation duration.
   • Simulate the Motion:
     1. 1. Drag the rotating die to its desired end position.
        2. Calculate and play the animation.
        3. Observe how the pipe bends around the pivot as the die moves, guided by the added mates and constraints.

In this simulation, external references play a critical role by recalculating the motion frame by frame, ensuring realistic pipe bending behavior.

Final Result:

The animation provides a representation of the pipe bending process, simulating the interaction between the pipe and the bending die. While this is a simplified depiction, it effectively demonstrates the potential of SOLIDWORKS® for simulating such processes.

Note: This example is intended for demonstration purposes and may not precisely represent industrial pipe bending equipment.

3. SOLIDWORKS® Electrical: Excluding components from Bill of Material

–  Atul KORADE

There are instances when a user wants to hide a certain manufacturer part number in the Bill of Material (BOM). Upon generating a BOM report, all the manufacturer parts are included and it will be an additional task for the user to remove a certain manufacturer information from the report.

To avoid this rework, the user can simply use a filter in the reports to remove a certain manufacturer part. However, for this filter to work, the user must activate the option ‘Exclude from bill of material’ in the Manufacturer part properties.

While generating reports, select the filter ‘Do not show excluded manufacturer parts’ from the dropdown.

If the user wishes to create a new filter other than the default filter, follow the steps given below:

1. Select the report type and click on ‘Add filter’ from the ribbon menu.
2. In the pop-up window, enter a name for the filter.
3. In the conditions tab, add a field from the available fields as per the requirement and click OK.

This new filter will appear will appear in the reports filter description.